MTV Movie Awards to Give Prize for Best Weight Gain

Hollywood starlets who pack on the pounds for art will have the opportunity to compete for a golden popcorn trophy at the 2010 MTV Movie Awards: Best Weight Gain.

The network already includes unconventional categories that have never been contemplated by the more staid Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Hollywood Foreign Press, which hand out the coveted Oscars and Golden Globes. MTV bestowed 2009 trophys for "Best Kiss" to Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson for Twilight and "Best WTF Moment" to Amy Poehler in Baby Mama for peeing into the sink.

The rationale for best weight gain, which will include male and female categories, is to honor thespians brave enough to purposely and authentically mar their images for their work. Fat suits will be an automatic disqualifier unless they are deemed to add less than five percent bulk to their bodies. That means that Gwyneth Paltrow's turn in Shallow Hal as a 300 pound obese woman would not qualify, nor would Julia Roberts's flashback to her chubby days in America's Sweethearts.

Examples of possible past winners include Renee Zellwegger for her turns in Bridget Jones's Diary and the sequel, as well as Sylvester Stallone for Cop Land. Zellwegger twice gained around 30 pounds to play the title character and is considering doing so again for a third Jones movie. The famously fit Stallone gained 40 pounds to play a paunchy local sheriff in a role that brought him significant acclaim.

Actors who added inches in this year's movies include Denzel Washington in The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 and Meryl Streep, who portrays Julia Child in Julie & Julia.