"Hangover" beats "Avatar" in MTV movie award nominations

Director Todd Phillips (C) accepts his award after winning best comedy movie for 'The Hangover', with actor Bradley Cooper (R) and producer Daniel Goldberg (L) at the 15th Critics' Choice Movie Awards at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles January 15, 2010.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Raunchy comedy "The Hangover" led nominations for the MTV Movie Awards, beating blockbusters "Avatar" and the "Twilight" vampire sequel "New Moon" into second place, MTV said on Wednesday.

But "Twilight" stars Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner dominated the contenders in the new global superstar category, while Betty White, 88, picked up a surprise mention in the usually youth-dominated awards.

"The Hangover" had six nominations, including best movie, best villain (Ken Jeong) and best comedic performance for actor Bradley Cooper.

"Avatar" -- the biggest grossing movie of all time -- and "New Moon" had five nominations apiece, followed by "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" and the Sandra Bullock comedy "The Proposal" with four each.

White, the former "Golden Girls" actress who has won new fans by playing on her age and contrasting her sweet matronly image with raunchy jokes, was nominated in the new "Best WTF Moment" for a dress fitting scene in "The Proposal" in which her character gets up close and personal with Bullock.

Bullock picked up nominations for best female performance for her Oscar-winning role in drama "The Blind Side", as well as best comedic performance for "The Proposal".

In the popular "Best Kiss" category, Stewart scored a double nomination for her smooch with "New Moon" co-star Robert Pattinson, and for a lesbian clinch with Dakota Fanning in "The Runaways". Lautner and his former girlfriend, country music singer Taylor Swift, are also competing for their kiss in "Valentine's Day".

The nominations were decided by fans, who will also choose the winners by voting online at MovieAwards.MTV.com from Wednesday until June 5.

A full list of nominations for the 2010 MTV Movie Awards can be found on the website and the golden popcorn statues will be handed out on June 6 in Los Angeles in a live TV ceremony hosted by "Parks and Recreation" actor and stand-up comedian Aziz Ansari.

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant, Editing by Christine Kearney)