1992 MTV Movie Awards

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• published: 03 Jan 2016
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All material copyrighted to MTV/Viacom. None of this material is mine except for the words in the description. I post this only for archival and nostalgic purposes and no infringement is intended. The VMAs were 8 years old and MTV had shifted position over the previous 4 years, following music magazine "Rolling Stones" own lead. While it focused on music, it was now more clearly about youth culture. To an extent, the two are one in the same and comedians, actors, and sports stars had all graced the channel from its beginning. But beginning with Remote Control, with Ken Ober, Adam Sandler, Dennis Leary, and Colin Quin MTV made it more apparent. It was their first non-music show yet still had a rock music video style and feel (though to be fair, there was a "wall of music videos" challenge at the end of most episodes). Following the massive success of Remote Control, MTV embarked on producing non-music programming of its own. "The Half-hour comedy hour" featured many comedians who have since gone on to do big things (Like Louis CK.) "The Ben Stiller Show" brought us not only stiller, but Andy Dick and Janeane Garafalo. "The Real World" followed close behind and the effect of that show cannot be understated in any way. And then there was "The Big Picture Show" hosted by Chris Connelly, Rolling Stone writer (like Kurt Loder) and editor of Premier magazine. The show was only 30 minutes but it featured upcoming movies and interviews that the network felt that young people would enjoy and relate to. The show was successful. MTV also began to do specials about specific movies and their star studded premiers, such as 1991's "Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey" and 1992's "Terminator 2: Judgement Day" and "Wayne's World". So it was not surprising that MTV decided to produce their own music-youth oriented movie award show. Following in steps of its older sister, it would attempt to be irreverant and hip, fun and chaotic. And it succeeded, though maybe not that first year. People were still unsure about MTV doing a movie award show. The host himself (a surprisingly very left-leaning) Dennis Miller opened with a joke about American Movie Classics hosting Headbangers Ball. And those receiving awards or presenting clearly seem a bit confused as to what they are doing there. At one point Dennis Leary quips "I've been told that recipients should try to keep their acceptance speeches to a MINUMUM of 10 seconds." But it really was a good fit as the following years went on to prove. Things to look for: There is no golden popcorn. The award was a movie reel. Dennis Miller taking shots at Quayle, Bush Sr, Clarence Thomas and others.. Keanu Reeves really does owe MTV quite a lot for his career, in terms of promotion. He actually did commericals for MTV in 87 and his persona just fit the channel. Poor Alex Winters. Arnold was everywhere. En Vogue steams up the screen. Denzel Washington gets the award he should have gotten at the Oscars for his portrayal of Malcolm X. William Shatner finally embraces an exaggerated over-the-top version of himself as he "spoken-words" theme songs of the year's movies. A young Robert Downey Jr. Brilliant marketing/outreach (depending on your cynicism) by the Clinton campaign. 1992 was his year and MTV's Rock the Vote played a huge roll. His willingness to appear on the channel and appear accessible was a stark contrast to the other candidates (including Bush Sr's "get off my lawn" style when he was finally forced to give MTV's Tabith Soren the time of day.) Nowadays all candidates use social media and frequently appear all over pop culture outlets. But 1992 was the first time this was done. And MTV was the Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Youtube of the day. Making yourself available to young voters was a new and clearly powerful tool. And more. Enjoy.