Pirates of the Caribbean received the most nominations

Pirates of the Caribbean is competing for the most awards, having picked up six nominations including best actor for Johnny Depp.

Surprisingly, Lord of the Rings: Return of the King has just two nominations.

The Los Angeles ceremony will be hosted by teen actress Lindsay Lohan, and MTV will screen it in the US on Thursday.

"We try to be irreverent. We try to add some comedy and flavour," the ceremony's producer Salli Frattini said.

"With the Oscars, things are very serious and this is the biggest moment of (a star's) life, but by winning an (MTV) award, you know you mean something to the younger audience out there."

Presenters for the event include wrestler-turned-actor The Rock, Vin Diesel, Kate Hudson and Kirsten Dunst.

Lindsay Lohan will host the show

Eminem and the Beastie Boys will be performing on the night.

Nominated in the best film category are: Finding Nemo, Pirates of the Caribbean, X- Men 2, The Return of the King and 50 First Dates.

Charlize Theron's Oscar-winning turn as a serial killer in Monster sees her competing in the best actress category alongside Queen Latifah for Bringing Down the House, Drew Barrymore for 50 First Dates, Uma Thurman for Kill Bill: Volume 1 and Halle Berry for Gothika.

Johnny Depp will be up against Tom Cruise, Bill Murray, Jim Caviezel, Adam Sandler for best actor.

The awards also feature a number of offbeat categories including best dance scene, best action scene and best kiss.