Floyd Mayweather, Chelsea Handler and Salma Hayek are joining the constellation of stars receiving honors at Spike TV’s “Guys Choice Awards,” taping Saturday in Culver City, California, and airing on June 18.
The show’s signature trophy, dubbed the “Mantlers,” will be handed to Mayweather as “TBE,” or The Best Ever award. Handler will take “Funniest M.F.,” a prize previously received by Kevin Hart, Jimmy Kimmel and Seth MacFarlane.
Hayek will accept the popular “Decade of Hotness” prize, joining a class that includes Sandra Bullock, Jennifer Aniston and Charlize Theron.
TV’s reigning power couple, Terrence Howard and Taraji P. Henson of “Empire,” will host.
Riding high on the smash hit “Lip Sync Battle,” TheWrap spoke with “Guys Choice” executive producer Casey Patterson about what to expect from the broadcast, which will also honor Chris Pratt, Liam Neeson and LL Cool J. Here, find five teasers for the manly show:
1. Extreme Fanfare for Liam Neeson The seasoned action star is taking home “The Biggest Ass Kicker” award, and the show is sparing no compliments for the “Taken” idol. Ben Kingsley and Avan Jogia, stars of the Spike summer series “Tut,” will present to Neeson.
“We’re all pretty obsessed with Liam,” Patterson said. “He’s this salty-dog action god. He’s got a steely gaze but with a twinkle in his eye, and this amazing sense of humor.”
Neeson even nicknamed the honor the “Biggest Asshole Award,” said Patterson.
2. The Lyons Will Crush It Howard and Henson are the first hosts of the Guy’s Choice Awards in eight years. “Tracy Morgan hosted the very first show, and he was so good we just retired the idea of having a host,” said Patterson. “The greatest part about Tracy was he was on house arrest while hosting Guys Choice. He hosted with his parole officer and his ankle bracelet.”
Patterson booked Henson and Howard after the “Empire” stars competed on the first season finale of Patterson’s other show, “Lip Sync Battle.”
“They’re the new Diana Ross and Billie Dee Williams,” she said. “The chemistry between them is just classic,” she said.
3. Taraji’s Doin’ It for the Girls It was important for Patterson balance all the testosterone with a female co-host in Taraji P. Henson.
“We’re balancing the gender scales here,” Patterson said. “And if there’s any woman to come into this world of men and shake things up, it’s her,” Patterson said.
4. Salma Will Sizzle “Last year we had America’s sweetheart,” Patterson said of 2014 Decade of Hotness honoree Sandra Bullock. “So this year we took a turn, and we’re going in the sultry direction and honoring Salma Hayek.”
The multi-hyphenate seemed like the perfect choice. “She has that classic Hollywood siren things,” Patterson said. “She’s one of the grande dames, she owns her sexuality in a way that women love her, men love her.”
5. Saluting the Troops:
Spike programming often recognizes the work of U.S. armed forces. “Guy’s Choice” specifically wine-and-dine’s local service members at the show, offering up backstage access and primo seats. This year, Patterson said members of Veterans Operation Wellness will have a presence on site at Sony Pictures, and a “big surprise” is coming for the troops during the taping.
The Almost-Caitlyn Jenner Moment: Patterson said a priority for her award show was to show a lot of love to the just-revealed Caitlyn Jenner.
“From the very beginning, I wanted Guys Choice to embrace that choice,” she said. “We had a lot of discussions, but accepting the Courage Award at the ESPYs ended up being the right choice for Caitlyn’s first live appearance.”
The 2015 Guys Choice Awards airs June 18 at 9p ET/PT on Spike TV.