Andy DehnartMark Burnett, the executive producer of shows such as Survivor and The Apprentice will serve as the executive producer for MTV’s 16th annual Movie Awards this summer.
The show will be live “for the first time in Movie Awards history,” according to an MTV press release, and this really excites Burnett. “Adding a live element to the Movie Awards irreverence and spoofs, it simply means … anything can happen. Buckle your seatbelts!” he said.
MTV’s president, Christina Norman, says in the release that “Mark has great ideas and vision for the Movie Awards, and I know he’s going to bring some fresh energy to the show. I can’t wait to see how his vision comes together to create a one of a kind experience for the Movie Awards, on television and on line.”
Perhaps he’ll divide the audience by race, move the ceremony to the island he bought in Panama, or have Donald Trump fire the losers. But cheap, all-too-easy jokes aside, Burnett is unquestionably one of the most skilled producers in television, but mostly with edited content. It’s almost odd, then, that this typically pre-taped, completely orchestrated event would bring him in at the same time they decided to go live.