Wicked Pictures’ Manhunters scored an overall high of 24 nominations, including Best Film, in the race for the 2007 AVN Awards. The nominations, announced today, represent the best of the over 6,000 new adult videos reviewed during the eligibility period, Oct. 1, 2005 to Sept. 30, 2006.
Click" > here for a complete list of nominations.
Ninn Worx’ Sacred Sin, co-produced by rocker Eddie Van Halen, snagged 18 nominations, including Best Video Feature, where it competes against almost twice as many nominees as those for Best Film.
Hot on its heels, with 17 noms, was Corruption, the first big-budget feature from Sex Z Pictures, a company just a few years old.
Close behind Manhunters in Best Film was Vivid’s big-budget Emperor with 18 nominations. Adam & Eve (Tailgunners), Club Jenna (Jenna's Provocateur), Digital Playground (Island Fever 4), Evil Angel (The Fashionistas - Safado) and Studio A Entertainment (Valentina) also received double-digit nominations for releases in the two major categories.
“I must say how proud I am of the AVN staff for vigorously watching thousands of titles to come up with these nominations,” said Paul Fishbein, president of AVN Publications. “It took a month of non-stop viewing to get through all the material.”
Winners will be announced at the 24th annual AVN Awards show, January 13, 2007, at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.
Production companies nominated for awards should immediately mail or hand-deliver DVD copies of each nominated title to AVN, 9414 Eton Ave., Chatsworth, CA 91311, Attention: Screeners Editor Leslie Limerick.
This year’s categories number 119, up from last year’s 104. Most have 15 nominees, which, according to Fishbein, “is designed to reward the thousands of people working in the adult business. While it may seem to be a large amount of nominees, it really isn’t, comparatively speaking.”
An important new prize comes from splitting the Female Performer of the Year category into two parts, with a separate award for Contract Performer of the Year. “Contract girls, who generally work less during a year than freelancers,” Fishbein said, “tend to get overlooked when we reward talent for a body of work.”
Additionally, there’s a brand new award for Most Valuable Starlet, given for Unrecognized Excellence.
Also debuting is Director of the Year, honoring body of work. “We have individual awards for specific projects,” Fishbein said, “but there are some directors who work all year and do excellent work, and we want them to be noticed as well.”
Other new categories include Best Hard-Edged All-Sex Release, Best POV Sex Scene, and Best Asian, Black, Latin and Interracial Series.
One missing category this year is Best DVD, considered to be a relic from the days when digital video discs were novelties, often lagging behind release of the VHS version.
There are 12 new members of the AVN Hall of Fame and four inductees into the Hall of Fame, Founders Branch, established last year. No Reuben Sturman Award will be presented in 2007.
Questions about voting screeners should be directed to Limerick at 818.718-5788, x142, or [email protected].
