Rogen and Franco: The MTV Movie Awards
June 2, 2008

Hours after a fire ravaged the back lot of the popular Universal Studios theme park in Los Angeles, stars gathered for the MTV Movie Awards, which went ahead as planned despite the smoldering ruins not far away. While firefighters attended to the aftermath of the blaze outside, actor Johnny Depp took home two popcorn statues for his work in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End and Sweeney Todd, winning Best Comedic Performance and Best Villain respectively.

The big prize winner of the night was reserved for last year’s blockbuster hit Transformers, which won Best Film at the ceremony. After Transformers co-star Megan Fox pumped fans up for the sequel with a few choice and colorful words, director Michael bay revealed that production on the upcoming sequel begins today, Monday, June 2.

Other winners of the night included Will Smith for his Best Male Performance in I Am Legend, Halifax, Nova Scotia native Ellen Page for her Best Female Performance in Juno, Sean Faris and Cam Gigandet for the Best Fight in Never Back Down, and Briana Evigan and Robert Hoffman for their Best Kiss in Step It Up 2: The Streets. And this year's MTV Movie Awards be wouldn't be as cool without an appearance from Iron Man Robert Downey Jr., who accepted the award for Best Summer Movie.

However, the night wasn't without controversy, as Pineapple Express stars Seth Rogen and James Franco found themselves at the butt-end of a stoner joke gone awry after Rogen pulled out a fake joint and stated that "kids don't smoke fake weed like this." The MTV cameras quickly cut away from the stage, seemingly caught off-guard by the mixed message, but, as the Associated Press reports, Franco revealed backstage that they were taking a their lead from the cue-card, which had the instructions "Lights fake joint." As AP reports further, Franco elaborated that it was in the script. Was it really a controversy that MTV was concerned about? Well, photos of Rogen and Franco are plastered all over MTV.com. In other words, and an easier Pavlovian translation of the stoner stunt, that means... ding, salivate, and go see Pineapple Express when it hits theaters.