Hunger Games and Bridesmaids top MTV Movie Awards

This year's MTV Movie Awards will be a showdown between a bevy of bridesmaids and a cast of killer kids. Bridesmaids and The Hunger Games topped the nominations at MTV's annual film honours with eight nods apiece, including bids for best cast, breakthrough performance and movie of the year. Rounding out the best-picture contenders are Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, The Help and The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn . MTV announced nominations on Monday in 12 categories, including six new ones such as best on-screen dirtbag and best gut-wrenching performance. This year, nominees were selected by a panel of actors, producers and industry tastemakers instead of via a public online vote. Fans can still choose the winners online. For a complete list of nominations, visit www.mtv.com. The awards will be presented on June 3. Hiam Abbas is picked for Cannes jury The renowned Palestinian actress Hiam Abbas is set to join the likes of Ewan McGregor, Diane Kruger, Jean Paul Gaultier and Alexander Payne when she sits on the feature films jury of next month's Cannes Film Festival. Abbas, who has appeared in acclaimed regional productions such as Paradise Now and The Lemon Tree , along with international titles including The Visitor and Steven Spielberg's 2005 historical drama Munich , has recently finished shooting her directorial debut, Inheritance, a family drama set in Galilee. * Alex Ritman Santosh Sivan receives rare honour The cinematographer-turned-director Santosh Sivan has been invited to join the prestigious American Society of Cinematographers, making him the first South Asian to receive the rare honour. Sivan said he was recommended by the cinematographer Michael Chapman, who worked on Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver and Raging Bull . Sivan passed through a rigorous selection process in which 30 members had to accept the proposal of his membership. He has done award-winning camerawork for films such as Mani Ratnam's Roja and has directed Shah Rukh Khan's Asoka . The Bollywood star Shahid Kapoor congratulated Sivan on Twitter, posting: "A cinematographer brings light to a film … congratulations for taking our art and culture on to a worldwide platform." * Anjali A E! announces new shows The E! Entertainment network has expansion plans that include a new music series from the American Idol producer Nigel Lythgoe and a reality series with the oldest member of the Jonas Brothers. In Lythgoe's Opening Act , premiering on July 9, every week producers will choose an unknown musical act that has posted work online, surprising the artist with the chance to open a concert for the likes of Rod Stewart and Nicki Minaj. The series, which features Mary J Blige, follows the acts as they execute the career-changing gigs. In August, E! premieres the Ryan Seacrest-produced Married to Jonas , featuring Kevin Jonas and Danielle Deleasa, a hairstylist who met the musician while both were on holiday in the Bahamas. Another California family getting the reality-show treatment is the actor Clint Eastwood and his wife, Dina, a former TV anchor, in Mrs Eastwood & Company , which begins on May 20. * AP HBO renews the comedies Girls and Veep Veep is getting a second term on HBO, as is the comedy series Girls . The cable network announced on Monday that it ordered 10-episode seasons for both shows. Girls has been the recipient of some rapturous reviews. It was created by Lena Dunham, who stars as one of four young women in an up-to-date coming-of-age story based in New York. Reviews for Veep were more mixed, with Julia Louis-Dreyfus playing a vice president forced to endure some of the ritual humiliations of being second in command. * AP Maggie Gyllenhaal has a daughter The actors Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard have welcomed a second daughter into the world. Gyllenhaal's publicist said in an email on Monday that the actress gave birth to Gloria Ray on April 19 in New York. The couple had their first daughter, Ramona, in 2006. They married in 2009. * AP Big B remembers the vanity van Amitabh Bachchan owned the first vanity van in Bollywood before it became fashionable for stars to own one during film shoots, he revealed on Twitter. After attending a press conference for his new film Department , Bachchan reminisced about the van, tweeting: "Studios today well equipped, air-conditioned, comfortable ... artists get their own private vanity vans. Manmohan Desai started the concept of vanity van. Gave me one. It was the first in the industry." * Anjali A Follow Arts & Life on Twitter to keep up with all the latest news and events

Hunger Games and Bridesmaids top MTV Movie Awards

Plus: Hiam Abbas picked for Cannes jury; E! announces new shows; Santosh Sivan honoured; HBO renews Girls and Veep; Maggie Gyllenhaal has a daughter and Big B remembers vanity van.