RUSSELL BRAND TO HOST "2012 MTV MOVIE AWARDS"

21st Annual "MTV Movie Awards" Will Air Live Sunday, June 3rd at 9 PM ET/PT on MTV from the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City, CA

NEW YORK, NY (MAY 10, 2012) - MTV today announced that comedian, actor and TV personality Russell Brand will take the "MTV Movie Awards" stage for the first time as host when the show airs live on Sunday, June 3rd at 9 pm ET/PT on MTV from the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City, California. Brand will build upon his triple-threat skill set to give viewers a new, off-the-cuff and unique spin on the past year's biggest films and hottest stars.

"This MTV Movie Awards will be more impressive than The Avengers and you won't have to wait an hour for someone to Hulk out," said Russell Brand.

"With his amazing ability to span the full spectrum of comedy from the most high to lowbrow, Russell's smart, unpredictable wit uniquely connects him to our audience," said Stephen Friedman, President of MTV. "His rock-n-roll sensibility and fearlessness give us the perfect partner with whom to take a leap of faith with as we meld the worlds of movies and music together on one very special night."

In 2008, Brand burst onto the US-scene as host of the "MTV Video Music Awards," which he again hosted the following year. Since then, his career has taken off to include starring roles in films such as Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Get Him to the Greek, Despicable Me, Arthur and the upcoming Rock of Ages. In addition, Brand will soon headline a series of six half-hour late-night comedy specials that will be filmed in front of a live audience on the FX network.

Brand joins the ranks of past hosts such as Jason Sudeikis, Aziz Ansari, Andy Samberg, Ben Stiller, Jimmy Fallon, Mike Myers, Sarah Silverman and Justin Timberlake.

Fusing the MTV's musical core with the wonder and amazement of the comedy, drama, adventure and mystery inherent to the movie-going experience, the "2012 MTV Movie Awards" will continue its tradition as one of the most outrageous and distinctive televised award shows, while putting the spotlight on the most diverse roster of nominated films in years for the show.

Featuring a broad array of movies that resonated with the MTV audience this year, this year's nominees include both blockbusters and critically acclaimed films such as "Drive," "Like Crazy," "The Descendants," "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," and "My Week with Marilyn." MTV fans hold the "Power of the Popcorn" awards in their hands with voting available online via MovieAwards.MTV.com through Saturday, June 2nd. As always, voting for "Movie of the Year" will remain open throughout the live show on Sunday, June 3rd.

Previously, it was announced that chart-topping indie-pop group fun. will serve as the first musical performance announced for the "2012 MTV Movie Awards." fun.'s debut single, "We Are Young (feat. Janelle Monáe)," off their latest album, "Some Nights," is currently the unofficial anthem for the MTV audience and dominated the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for six consecutive weeks.

MovieAwards.MTV.com is the official site for the "2012 MTV Movie Awards" where fans can visit to vote and get up-to-date info on this year's show, watch video of last year's biggest occurrences, get the full list of 2011 show winners, and check out fashion and celebrity commentary from the red carpet.

The "2012 MTV Movie Awards" will air across MTV's global network of more than 60 channels reaching more than 600 million households around the world as well as through syndication. In addition, its convergent programming and content will reach the entire interactive community, via MTV's more than 200 digital media properties around the world.

Jesse Ignjatovic/Den of Thieves serves as Executive Producer for the "2012 MTV Movie Awards." Garrett English serves as Executive Producer and Executive In Charge for MTV. Amy Doyle is Executive in Charge of Music and Celebrity Talent. Joanna Bomberg is Executive in Charge of Music Talent. Wendy Plaut serves as Co-Executive Producer and Executive in Charge of Celebrity Talent. Lee Lodge serves as co-Executive Producer.

Official sponsors of the 2012 MTV Movie Awards include Bing, Chevrolet(R), Sprint(R), State Farm(R) and Taco Bell(R).

About MTV:

MTV is the world's premier youth entertainment brand. With a global reach of more than a half-billion households, MTV is the cultural home of the millennial generation, music fans and artists, and a pioneer in creating innovative programming for young people. MTV reflects and creates pop culture with its Emmy(R), Grammy(R) and Peabody(R) award-winning content built around compelling storytelling, music discovery and activism across TV, online and mobile. MTV's sibling networks MTV2 and mtvU each deliver unparalleled customized content for young males, music fans and college students, and its online hub MTV.com is a leading destination for music, news and pop culture. MTV, a unit of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB), one of the world's leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms.

About Den of Thieves:

Founded in 2007 by Jesse Ignjatovic and Evan Prager, Den of Thieves has quickly emerged as a force for ambitious event shows and uniquely stylized reality television series. Using their extensive experience working with talent, Ignjatovic and Prager launched Den of Thieves as the TV arm of the Warner Music Group in 2007. After a successful three year partnership, they branched out and are now fully independent. Den of Thieves continues to create, develop and produce original television.