Dude, Mike Myers has a new gig.
The live-action movie star has been selected to host the 2008 MTV Movie Awards—again.
The 17th annual show will air live from the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City, California, on June 1. Which is exactly 19 days before Myers' upcoming flick "The Love Guru" opens in theaters. (More on that big gig later.)
The last time the 44-year-old "Wayne’s World" star reigned supreme over the irreverent awards show that hands out Golden Popcorn trophies in categories such as “Best Kiss” and “Best Villain,” Bill Clinton was still in the White House.
Back then Myers had a worldwide audience in stitches with his hysterical over-the-top musical productions like the one that had him putting his own spin on Michael Flatley's“Lord of the Dance.”
“Survivor” creator Mark Burnett will serve as executive producer of the annual awards show and says he is letting Myers’ creativity take over, which means the audience should be prepared for anything.
"Hosting the MTV Movie Awards is like a party, but without having to do beer runs in your mom's minivan; we do beer runs in Will Smith's four-story motorhome," Myers said in a statement.
There’s little doubt that the "Shrek" star will use the MTV Movie Awards as a platform to promote his latest movie. It’s been more than a decade since Myers has hosted the show and about half as many years since fans have seen the funnyman serving up one-liners on the big screen in 2003’s "The Cat in the Hat."
Myers' latest live-action movie is “The Love Guru,” which also stars Jessica Alba, Justin Timberlake (Myers calls the singer turned actor “99 percent ham and 1 percent water”) and Ben Kingsley. The flick follows Myers as Pitka, an American raised in India. Years pass and Pitka becomes a self-help guru who returns to the United States and tries to smooth the marital rift of a hockey star and his wife.
Ontario-born Myers, who considers himself a "hockey junkie," says his love for the game served as one of the inspirations for the new movie.
As for why it took him so long to return to the big screen, Myers says he's very protective of his film characters. "I've written and created everything I've done, and it takes me a year to reflect on what I've done, a year to let the idea incubate and a year to create a new character,” he said.
With Myers’ ability to create iconic movie characters I can almost guarantee the actor will be back at the MTV Movie Awards next year… as a nominee.
Lucia Kim
**Read more articles by Lucia Kim**
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