HOLLYWOOD, Calif.—The stars of adult entertainment came out in force Thursday night for the 2016 AVN Nominations Party in the heart of Hollywood.
Sponsored by MyFreeCams.com, the bash went off at the Avalon nightclub, where several hundred industry members gathered for the official announcement of the finalist nominees for the 2016 AVN Awards Show.
The 33rd annual ceremony, presented by Chaturbate and hosted by Anikka Albrite and Joanna Angel, is scheduled for Jan. 23 at The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.
Angel called the evening’s festivities “amazing.”
“The energy in the room was so positive and happy,” Angel told AVN. “It was a lot of fun! I am so honored to be hosting the show this year with Anikka. I very clearly remember going to my first AVN 10 years ago and I was thrilled to just be able to get a ticket. To think that I'm a host now feels so surreal. I can't wait to get on that stage at the Hard Rock and kick some ass!”
After a lively hour of red-carpet arrivals, adult film star Vicki Chase took the microphone as the master of ceremonies for the second annual event as the well-heeled crowd got lubricated at the open bar.
Chase kicked off the program by introducing the 2016 AVN Awards Trophy Girls, Jenna Sativa and Elsa Jean, who revealed the nominees for Best Affiliate Program and Best Pornstar Website.
Then director and screenwriter Jacky St. James stepped on the stage to announce awards finalists in eight more categories, including the highly anticipated Best New Starlet, Female Performer of the Year and Male Performer of the Year nominees.
“It’s great to be up there and see how excited everyone gets when their name is announced,” said St. James, who is known for her story-driven features and vignette releases at New Sensations. “It’s a lot of fun to be able to bring them joy.”
Chase did the honors once again when it came time to introduce the 2016 AVN Awards comedian, Kate Quigley, who entertained the party-goers with the nominees for Most Outrageous Sex Scene.
“I’d like to have outrageous sex with half the people here,” Quigley cracked.
Angel and Albrite returned to wrap up the fast-moving presentation, unveiling the nominees for Best Gonzo, Best Comedy, Director of the Year, Best Parody and Best Drama, before Chase came back with Sativa and Jean to close the show.
“It was fun being up on stage with Joanna and getting a small taste of what’s to come for the big show,” said Albrite, the reigning AVN Female Performer of the Year. “It was a great party and everyone seemed to walk away with a smile on their face. Congratulations to all the nominees for their great work.”
Chase, a 2016 nominee for Female Performer of the Year, said hosting the nominations event “was kind of like on another level.”
“Oh wow. The production value and everything was just bigger than last year,” Chase told AVN. “I got there and did the rehearsal and it just felt different. I was honored and happy to help out in any capacity but being given the role of master of ceremonies for the night was… It was really cool.”
Chase continued, “Everything was on point. The crowd was engaged…Hosting is awesome. To top it off I got six noms, one of them being Performer of the Year, so yeah I had to keep it together. I couldn't just go celebrate. I had to finish being the MC, but it was a really good night.”
Gary Miller, the executive producer of the AVN Awards who orchestrated the nominations program, agreed.
“I think it went fantastic,” Miller said. “I think everyone did a great job. Doing an event like this is fun for the whole industry and it also gives the people who are going to be in the Awards Show a chance to get their feet wet being on stage and do a practice run before we get to Vegas.”
For the complete list of 2016 AVN Awards nominations, click here.
