I always find it strange when award shows announce who they’ll give an award. Isn’t it supposed to be a surprise? Today MTV said they will give ‘man-child’ Adam Sandler a Generation Award, previously given to Jim Carrey (2006) and Mike Myers (2007). “A 30-something water boy, a brokenhearted `80s wedding singer and a rejected hockey player-turned-pro golfer … now that’s an impressive resume,” MTV president Van Toffler said, like he’s looking to hire Sandler.

He’ll get the precious MTV Movie Award for his “amazing contribution to Hollywood.” It’s probably not a bad promotion for his new $75 million ‘You Don’t Mess with the Zohan’ either, which will be out June 6.

The MTV Movie Awards will brighten up your TV set this Sunday.

The AFTRA (Radio and Television) today agreed on new contracts with the studios, a small three weeks after the negotiations started. “This is a challenging time in the entertainment industry, and this was a tough negotiation,” an AFTRA spokesman said. The deal comes as quite a surprise, since the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) negotiations dragged on and on last month and were broken off to make way for the AFTRA. This will put extra pressure on the SAG, which was already accused of setting unreasonable demands.

“Our ability to achieve these crucial breakthroughs for performers was a direct result of AFTRA members’ pragmatic approach to collective bargaining,” the AFTRA said, taking a small stab at the SAG. The main dispute between the AFTRA and the studios were online clips. The studios wanted to be able to show them without consent, while the AFTRA wanted their members to approve such clips. The two now agreed to have a broader system, where members can approve for example the clips from an entire TV series.

It was the first time in 27 years that the SAG and AFTRA bargained separately. The SAG, which has three times as many members, is expected to resume their talks shortly.

Willem Dafoe signed for the big-budget adaptation of the kid-lit fantasy ‘Cirque du Freak.’ Dafoe joins Salma Hayek and John C. Reilly at the set of Paul Weitz, who also directed ‘American Pie’ and ‘About a Boy.’

The story revolves around a boy named Darren, who meets a strange man at a freak show. The man turns out to be a vampire and Darren has to go on the road with him and Cirque du Freak to save his friend’s life. Of course, there’s no going wrong by casting Willem Dafoe as a vampire. Although the above picture is photoshopped (as always), he played a blood thirsty creature two times before.

The movie already started shooting in Louisiana and is expected to hit theaters February 19, 2009.