Johnny Depp, actor, musician, and all-around famous individual, received the Generation Award at the 2012 MTV Movie Awards on Sunday. In addition to accepting the statuette for his contributions to the world of film and popular culture, Depp decided to flex his considerable musical muscles by performing “Gold on the Ceiling” with the Black Keys. All in all, I’d say it was a pretty snazzy night for the “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape” star.
On-hand to present the Generation Award to Depp were Aerosmith’s Joe Perry and Stephen Tyler, which gave them a prime opportunity to sing the actor’s praises. “Johnny Depp is a rock star in the world of movies,” Tyler remarked. Perry, meanwhile, stated that Depp was a “a gusty actor, a gutsy musician, a gutsy artist with passion.”
The Black Keys’ lead singer-guitarist Dan Auerbach had nothing but kind thoughts and feelings to express about the actor. After the show, Auerbach told CNN that Depp was “legitimately great on guitar”. Anyone who was alive and/or into alternative music back in 1993 should already be aware of this fact. Depp, as you may recall, teamed up with Butthole Surfers frontman Gibby Haynes to form the band P way back in the day. Their first — and only — album was released in 1995, though a reissue was delivered in 2007. Look it up, kids. It might blow your mind.
Otherwise, the 2012 MTV Movie Awards unfolded as expected. Host Russell Brand made jokes about penises, Jennifer Anniston won “best on-screen dirt bag” for her performance in “Horrible Bosses”, and “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1” brought home the trophy for movie of the year. In other words, unless you’re knee-deep in the world of pop culture on a regular basis, chances are you’re going to be completely disconnected from these events.
Of course, the highlight of the evening was Depp’s Generation Award and his performance with the Black Keys. Honestly, I’m kind of sad that I missed the show. I suppose I’ll just have to live vicariously through all of these Twitter users. You can find a sampling of their reactions below.
The best part of the MTV movie awards was Johnny Depp playing with the black keys
Johnny Depp playing with the Black Keys. I died.
The Johnny Depp tribute was legit
