It was a night of fun, laughs, and lots of sexy women, as well as a night when the adult entertainment industry celebrated its finest achievements of the previous year. In terms of glamour and prestige, the Adult Video News Awards lived up to the nickname the mainstream media has given it: the Porn Oscars.
But it was a whole lot more fun than that tiresome show in Hollywood.
The Grand Ballroom of the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas...about the size of a football field...was packed with industry members and fans who were panting for action. The tables stretched back as far as the eye could see from the perfect pink rectangle of a stage hugged by two giant video screens.
Jenna Jameson looked utterly glamorous, but then, she usually does. Her co-host, comedian Jim Norton, was an admirable foil. Short, pudgy, but sharp as samurai steel, he drew lots of laughs with his self-deprecatory cracks ("I have the sex appeal of leukemia"). And not only was he funny but he was a fan. The audience responded appreciatively to his porn savvy, which included a not-bad impersonation of Max Hardcore.
Mark Stone's filmed "Tips from the Stars" segments, shown throughout the evening to break up the march of presenters to the podium, came close to stealing the show. They were tongue in cheek illustrations of porn essentials...such as "The 3 Ss: Spanking, Spitting and Strangulating." Especially hilarious was an anal sex segment with Nikita Denise that had Tony Tedeschi pulling an array of large objects from her famously active anus.
As for the awards themselves, there were a few surprises, but only a few. The big winners were the big companies. Evil Angel, as it has so often, led the way, with 14, followed by Wicked Pictures with 13 and Vivid with nine. Other companies with four or more awards were Elegant Angel, Hustler, JM Productions, Ninn Worx, and Studio A.
The evening's biggest single winner was Jules Jordan, who took home six awards...five as producer and one as performer-director (for Best Threeway Sex Scene, with Jessica Darlin and Brian Pumper, in Weapons of Ass Destruction 2).
Another multi-scorer was Andrew Blake, who won for Best All Sex Film, Best Art Direction, Best Editing and Best Cinematography, all for Hard Edge. After the show he was spotted shlepping a carton, presumably bearing the loot, through the Venetian casino.
Wicked's trophy count included one for Stormy, their contract girl, as Best Starlet. Pre-show speculation about the winner focused on the heavily hyped Mary Carey and Jesse Jane, with critics' darling Lauren Phoenix as a dark horse. But it was the gorgeous Stormy who took home what presenter Jenna Haze (last year's winner) called "the most coveted award." No one was more surprised than Stormy herself. "Damn, I just lost a $500 bet," she exclaimed, before going into the ritual thanking of Wicked Pictures and "my husband Pat Myne."
Another surprise was a tie for Best Video Feature between Adam & Eve's Rawhide and Wicked's Beautiful. The producers for each feature piled on stage, just like they do at the Oscars. All of them seemed to be happy kissing their sister. Beautiful's director, Michael Raven, sighed, "I'll take a tie any day." Rawhide director Nicholas Steele, thanked his cast and crew for "working their asses off." Earlier, when he was named Best Director-Video for Beautiful, Raven said "Nick Steele, I thought you had it, man."
Winners were uniformly gracious. When The Fashionistas was named Best DVD, director John Stagliano pointed out that he had produced only the movie, not the DVD, and deferred to the woman who did, his wife, Tricia Devereaux. She seemed deeply moved by the gesture.
AVN owner Paul Fishbein presented the awards for Best Renting (The Fashionistas) and Selling (Hustlaz Diary of a Pimp). Stagliano praised AVN for "doing some really good bookkeeping." Larry Flynt himself accepted the award for Hustlaz' Snoop Dogg, who was said to be in Brazil. He praised Fishbein and AVN for "lifting this industry out of the gutter" and delivered a typically Flynty pep talk on celebrating sexuality.
This year there were no tears at the podium, although a friend of Michael Stefano revealed the next day that the hard-slamming stud had told him he almost cried when he was named Male Performer of the Year. It was a popular choice with industry members, as was that of Ashley Blue for Female Performer.
It's too bad that the Hall of Fame had to be rushed through, with nary a glimpse of the inductees. The twelve names were rapidly read off by a disembodied voice. But Norton singled out two them, both Golden Age greats, who were in the audience: Rhonda Jo Petty and Johnny Keyes. "You guys are fucking great," he said.
As expected, Wicked took home the prize for their big-budget sex comedy, Space Nuts. Director Jonathan Morgan paid tribute to the "over 100 people in cast and crew who all gave 110 percent." He said the award was "the second best thing ever to happen to me. The best was, I found the love of my life, Nikki Fritz." He gestured toward her in the audience. "Words are not enough to tell you how much I love you."
Paul Thomas made what has become a ritual trip to the podium to accept the Best Director-Film award for Heart of Darkness. "I'm trying my best to feel blase," he said, "but it's great to win. All I do all year is plan acceptance speeches." He thanked Steve Hirsch and the Vivid organization for giving him opportunities most directors don't get.
Earlier, Randy Spears won his umpteenth Best Actor award for the Heart of Darkness. "All I ever wanted to do was act," which probably explains why he gets so many prizes. "PT, my buddy," he said to Thomas, in the audience, "we've been here before, here we are again."
The evening was full of celebratory moments. Vince Vouyer threw both hands in the air and cheered as Vouyer Productions' Breakin' Em In won back to back awards for Best Pro-Am Tape (Vol. 5) and Best Pro-Am series. Felicia Fox exulted upon winning Best Oral Sex Scene, in Heavy Handfuls 3, sharing the honor with Nevaeh. "My first nomination in two and a half years!" She thanked her partner, Tim Case, "for loving me for who I am."
And there were some minor upsets. Joey Silvera's long run of wins for Best Transsexual Tape (Rogue Adventures) was broken by his Evil Angel labelmate Nacho Vidal, whose She-Male Domination Nation took home the prize.
Vidal "couldn't make it this year," said his off-screen partner Belladonna when she accepted the prize for Best Sex Scene Coupling - Video. It was the first award to be presented, for their work together in Nacho's Back 2 Evil. She added, almost as an afterthought, "Thank you so much for letting me suck dick."
The show climaxed...an understatement...with a performance of "Get Low," the mega-hit from Atlanta-based Lil Jon and the Eastside Boyz. When Lil Jon asked for "every lady who likes to have sex to come on stage right now," what looked like every porn girl in the world packed the proscenium and shook their boobs and booties to the bass-driven sounds. "Oh my God,"exclaimed Lil Jon, practically drowning in babeflesh, "my dick is so hard!"
It used to be Chi Chi LaRue who got the girls up on stage and dancing...he made it a yearly ritual, but as an opener. Here, late in the program, it literally stopped the show. Nothing could have followed it, and the producers had the good sense not to try. The rest of the awards were raced through in a fast crawl on the video screen, and there was only one more in-person presentation: Best Film.
It was no surprise. Vivid's Steve Hirsch accepted the prize for Heart of Darkness. He thanked his family, then brought all the Vivid Girls on stage for a photo op with Lil Jon. By then the hordes had begun to file out of the Ballroom and into various post-parties, including the official AVN bash at the Guggenheim in the Venetian.
Incidental items: The delectable Trophy Girls were up and coming starlets Nautica Thorn and Serena South. The show opened with a number, "Don't Touch Me There," from The Tubes, whose "golden age" coincided with that of adult movies.
Here are the winner's list:
Best Film:
Heart of Darkness, Vivid Video
Best Video Feature: (Tie)
Rawhide, Adam & Eve
Beautiful, Wicked Pictures
Best Gonzo Release:
Flesh Hunter 5, Jules Jordan/Evil Angel
Best Gonzo Series:
Service Animals, Joey Silvera/Evil Angel
Best Sex Comedy:
Space Nuts, Wicked Pictures
Best All-Sex Film:
Hard Edge, Studio A Entertainment
Best All-Sex Video:
Fetish: The Dream Scape, Ninn Worx/Pure Play
Best DVD:
The Fashionistas, Evil Angel Productions
Best Interactive DVD:
My Plaything: Jenna Jameson 2, Digital Sin
Best Classic DVD:
Insatiable 2, i-candy Entertainment
Best High-Definition Production:
Rawhide, Adam & Eve
Best Continuing Video Series:
Girlvert, JM Productions
Best Vignette Tape:
Mason's Dirty Trixxx 2, Elegant Angel Prod.
Best Vignette Series:
Barely Legal, Hustler Video
Best Anal-Themed Feature:
Ass Worship 4, Jules Jordan/Evil Angel
Best Anal-Themed Series:
Ass Worship, Jules Jordan/Evil Angel
Best All-Girl Feature:
Babes Illustrated 13, Cal Vista/Metro
Best All-Girl Series:
No Man's Land, Video Team
Best Ethnic-Themed Video, Asian:
Asia Noir 2, Video Team
Best Ethnic-Themed Video, Black:
Hustlaz: Diary of a Pimp, Hustler Video
Best Ethnic-Themed Video, Latin:
Spanish Fly Pussy Search, Evasive Angels
Best Ethnic-Themed Series:
Chasin' the Big Ones, West Coast Productions
Best Oral-Themed Feature:
Feeding Frenzy 2, Jules Jordan/Evil Angel
Best Oral-Themed Series:
Gag Factor, JM Productions
Best Amateur Tape:
NYC Underground: Manhattan Girls, Black Mirror Productions
Best Amateur Series:
Homegrown Video, Xplor Media Group
Best Pro-Am Release:
Breakin Em In 5, Red Light District
Best Pro-Am Series:
Breakin Em In, Red Light District
Best Foreign Feature:
The Scottish Loveknot, Private North America
Best Foreign All-Sex Release:
Euroglam: Nikki Blonde, Ninn Worx/Pure Play
Best Foreign All-Sex Series:
Euroglam, Ninn Worx/Pure Play
Best Alternative Video:
Interviewing Jenna, Peach DVD
Best New Starlet:
Best Male Newcomer:
Female Performer of the Year:
Male Performer of the Year:
Female Foreign Performer of the Year:
Male Foreign Performer of the Year:
Transsexual Performer of the Year:
Best Director, Film:
Paul Thomas, Heart of Darkness, Vivid
Best Director, Video:
Michael Raven, Beautiful, Wicked
Best Director, Non-Feature:
Laurent Sky, Fetish: The Dream Scape, Ninn Worx/Pure Play
Best Director, Foreign Release:
Gazzman, The Scottish Loveknot, Private
Best DVD Extras:
Space Nuts, Wicked Pictures
Best All-Sex DVD:
Flesh Hunter 4, Jules Jordan/Evil Angel
Best DVD Menus:
Space Nuts, Wicked Pictures
Best Actress, Film:
Savanna Samson, Looking In, Vivid
Best Actress, Video:
Julia Ann, Beautiful, Wicked
Best Actor, Film:
Randy Spears, Heart of Darkness, Vivid
Best Actor, Video:
Evan Stone, Space Nuts, Wicked
Best Supporting Actress, Film:
Dru Berrymore, Heart of Darkness, Vivid
Best Supporting Actress, Video:
Brook Ballentyne, Rawhide, Adam & Eve
Best Supporting Actor, Film:
Steven St. Croix, Looking In, Vivid
Best Supporting Actor, Video:
Randy Spears, Space Nuts, Wicked
Best Non-Sex Performance:
Allen Rene, Opera, Elegant Angel
Best Tease Performance:
Michelle Wild, Crack Her Jack, John Leslie/Evil Angel
Best Solo Sex Scene:
Brooke Ballentyne, Screaming Orgasms 11, New Sensations
Best All-Girl Sex Scene, Film:
Snakeskin, Dru Berrymore & Teanna Kai, Erotic Angel
Best All-Girl Sex Scene, Video:
The Violation of Jessica Darlin, Jessica Darlin, Brandi Lyons, Lana Moore, Hollie Stevens, Flick Shagwell, Ashley Blue & Crystal Ray, JM Productions
Best Anal Sex Scene, Video:
Multiple P.O.V., Gisselle, Katsumi & Michael Stefano, Red Light District
Best Oral Sex Scene, Video:
Heavy Handfuls 3, Nevaeh Ashton, Felicia Fox, Bejnamin Brat, Jake Malone, ChrisMountain, Tony Sexton & Tyler Wood, Elegant Angel
Best Oral Sex Scene, Film:
Heart of Darkness, Sunrise Adams & Randy Spears, Vivid
Best Couples Sex Scene, Film:
Compulsion, Ashley Long & Kurt Lockwood, Elegant Angel
Best Couples Sex Scene, Video:
Back 2 Evil, Belladonna & Nacho Vidal, Nacho Vidal/Evil Angel
Best Group Sex Scene, Film:
Looking In, Dru Berrymore, AnneMarie, Taylor St. Claire, Savanna Samson, Dale DaBone, Mickey G. & Steven St. Croix, Vivid
Best Three-Way Sex Scene, Video:
Weapons of Ass Destruction 2, Jessica Darlin, Jules Jordan & Brian Pumper, Jules Jordan/Evil Angel
Best Group Sex Scene, Video:
Back 2 Evil, Ashley Long, Julie Night, Nacho Vidal & Manuel Ferrera, Nacho Vidal/Evil Angel
Best Sex Scene in a Foreign-Shot Production:
Katsumi's Affair, Katsumi & Steve Holmes, Video Marc Dorcel/Wicked
Most Outrageous Sex Scene:
Perverted Stories The Movie, Julie Night, Maggie Star & Mr. Pete in "Love in an Abbatoir," JM Productions
Best Screenplay, Film:
Compulsion, Axel Braun, Elegant Angel
Best Screenplay, Video:
Beautiful, George Kaplan & Michael Raven, Wicked
Best Art Direction, Film:
Hard Edge, Andrew Blake, Studio A Entertainment
Best Art Direction, Video:
Fetish: The Dream Scape, Ninn Worx/Pure Play
Best Cinematography:
Hard Edge, Andrew Blake, Studio A Entertainment
Best Videography:
Rawhide, Nicholas Steele, Adam & Eve
Best Editing, Film:
Hard Edge, Andrew Blake, Studio A Entertainment
Best Editing, Video:
New Wave Hookers 7, Alexander Craig & Antonio Passolini, VCA Pictures
Best Special Effects:
Space Nuts, Dick Roundtree, Chokko Calisto & MV Effects, Wicked Pictures
Best Music:
Opera, Doug Scott & Allen Rene, Elegant Angel
Best Specialty Big Bust Release:
Heavy Handfuls 2, Elegant Angel
Best Specialty BD & SM Release:
Debbie Does Fem-Dom 3, Redboard Video
Best Specialty Spanking Release:
Spanked Toilet Whores, Redboard Video
Best Foot Fetish Release:
Barefoot Confidential 25, Kick Ass Pictures
Best Specialty Release, Other Genre:
Chunky on the Fourth of July, SkinTight Pictures/Legend
Best Transsexual Release:
She-Male Domination Nation, Nacho Vidal/Evil Angel
Best DVD Packaging:
Rawhide, Adam & Eve
Best VHS Packaging:
Euroglam: Wanda Curtis, Ninn Worx/Pure Play
Best VHS Box Cover Concept:
Angel X, Wicked Pictures
Best Overall Marketing Campaign, Company Image:
Best Overall Marketing Campaign, Individual Project:
Mary Carey Campaign, Kick Ass Pictures
BestMarketingWebsite:
BestRetailWebsite:
Best Renting Title of the Year:
The Fashionistas, Evil Angel productions
Best Selling Title of the Year:
Hustlaz: Diary of a Pimp, Hustler Video
Hall of Fame:
Kim Christy
Jim Malibu
Barry Wood
