2003 Empire Award Nominations Announced

Wicked Pictures led the pack for the 2003 Empire Awards, earning 18 nominations, largely on the strength of Space Nuts and Hercules, adult DVDs that earned six and four nominations, respectively.

The Empire Awards are presented by Adult DVD Empire in order to recognize the "best and brightest" of adult DVD.

Besides Space Nuts and Hercules, other DVDs that received multiple nominations included Evil Angel's The Fashionistas, Adam & Eve's Rawhide, Digital Playground's No Limits, Jesse Jane: Erotique, and Club Jenna's I Dream of Jenna – all of which were nominated for Best Overall DVD.

Red Light District's No Cum Dodging Allowed was also nominated for Best Overall DVD, though that was the only nomination the title received.

Best DVD Studio nominations were given to Digital Playground, Evil Angel, Private, Vivid, and Wicked.

For the most part the nominations offered few surprises, but one company was especially elated by the one nomination they received. Marty Zion's Mystified, the second title ever released by Nectar Entertainment, was nominated for Best All-Sex DVD.

"This is our second release ever," Nectar CFO Justin Brazilia said. "To be nominated with Wicked and New Sensations and Club Jenna, really puts us in the top tier of studios out there."

Sean Logan, president of Nectar, credited Marty Zion's directorial skills for earning the DVDs nomination. "For Mystified, Marty Zion recreated a Lord of the Rings enchanted forest," Logan said. "It took us more than a month to build and it was shot over five or six days. We had a crew here – a production designer, art director, we had about 20 guys in house for about four weeks building the set.

"Marty is the creator, he's the real genius behind the overall design. He's the craftsman. He's brilliant."

Winners will be announced on March 26.

The full list of nominations can be found at the Empire Awards Website.