LOS ANGELES—Voting in the 30th Annual NightMoves Awards extravaganza has begun, and Wicked Pictures announces that it has emerged as the year’s most celebrated studio with 14 major nominations. The studio’s nods includes a trio of mentions in its top production category, Best Feature Film, for Axel Braun's Black Widow XXX: An Axel Braun Parody, Seth Gamble's Deranged, and James Avalon's Duplicity.
“It’s always a tremendous honor to be nominated,” said Braun, who has been producing every Wicked movie since the company was acquired by Gamma in 2020. “This year is very special for me, as head of production my goal was to raise the quality level of our output with great directors and more high-profile projects, and I couldn’t be happier with the results.”
Black Widow XXX proved the most celebrated feature among the nominees, receiving a quintet of top acknowledgments, including Best Feature Film, Best Feature Director, Best Actor (Seth Gamble), and two for Best Actress (Lacy Lennon and Elena Koshka).
Despite the five noms Braun earned for the parody, however, his proudest achievement is a different one. “Having Black Widow XXX get more accolades with Lacy Lennon and Elena Koshka both nommed for Best Actress along with Kenzie Taylor for her outstanding lead role in Deranged, and James Avalon proving once again what a phenomenal director he is with his first Wicked Noir feature Duplicity was fantastic, but seeing Seth Gamble up for Best Director was definitely the most exciting moment for me,” explained the AVN Hall of Famer, who gave Gamble his first shot at directing and now finds himself nominated against his protégé in the Best Feature Director category.
“Deranged was Seth’s feature directing debut, and right off the bat he showed everybody how incredibly talented he is," Braun added. "I am beyond thrilled and immensely proud of him, and for him to get recognized with his very first movie, it means he really made an impression on the critics as well as the fans. I’d be the first to congratulate him if he won ... even if he’d be beating me!”
The nominations earned by three-time-consecutive AVN Best Actor and Gamma contract performer Gamble spoke to the eclectic nature of his talent as both an actor and director. His dark psychosexual thriller Deranged received Best Feature Director, Best Actress (Taylor), Best Actor (Codey Steele), and Best Feature Film—all in addition to his own Best Actor nomination for his hilarious return as Deadpool in Black Widow XXX.
“I am beyond honored and humbled to receive a Best Director and Best Feature Film nomination for the first season of Deranged at the 30th Annual NightMoves Awards,” Gamble enthused. “Everybody in my cast and crew gave 110 percent on this project. Kenzie Taylor delivered a mind-blowing performance as Charlie and she really brought this movie to life, as did the rest of my amazing cast. I also want to thank my good friend Axel Braun for continuing to support my vision and allowing me to flex my creativity. It’s easy to see why he’s become the most awarded director ever—this would have been impossible without him and I’m grateful we have the opportunity to work together in this capacity.”
Celebrated director, screenwriter and cinematographer James Avalon's Wicked Noir debut Duplicity received a quartet of top nominations: Best Feature Film, Best Feature Director, and two Best Actor nods (for Charles Dera and Steve Holmes, respectively). "I'm very grateful to NightMoves for these nominations, as Duplicity is a movie I have wanted to make for over a decade,” said Avalon. “I've been writing film noir outlines since 2008, but the feature studios I submitted them to, without exception, all passed. At one point, I decided to run them by Axel Braun, as I'm a great admirer of his film The Possession of Mrs. Hyde. He resonated with the material immediately and helped me put together a great-looking film with the perfect cast."
“James crafted a movie unlike anything I’ve ever seen,” offered Braun. “The visuals, the camerawork, the music, the tone. Absolutely masterful. A tremendous cast, headlined by a superb Charles Dera who delivered a performance so rich, intense and nuanced that it will blow people away.”
Reflecting on the movie's two Best Actor nominations, Avalon said, "Without putting too fine a point on it, Charles Dera is the soul of the movie. He really is one of our most underrated actors. He has flawless instincts. And Steve Holmes was superb at playing a sleazy yet classy older gent. This was the first major feature role for Freya Parker, and she transformed herself into the ideal femme fatale, beautiful and evil. Evelyn Claire was wonderful as well—she really had the look of a classic noir 'dame’ in the Gene Tierney tradition. I'm really grateful to Axel for believing in this project every step of the way.”
Finally, Wicked Pictures earned a Best Production Company nomination for its overall output.
“Being part of Wicked has always been a privilege for me. It’s a glorious brand that belongs at the top, and my job is to make sure we keep raising the bar on every level," Braun said. "I see Wicked as an exclusive club, and membership is granted only to a selected few who have not only talent but also drive, passion, honesty, integrity and the utmost respect for talent and crew. When you direct for Wicked, the only goal needs to be making the best movie you’ve ever made, and you have to be willing to do everything it takes to achieve it. You have to hold yourself to a higher standard, both as a director and as a human being, and you have to show me that you care. I am proud to say that everybody currently on the directors roster shares my sentiment and meets those requirements, and that’s something that gives me a huge sense of accomplishment.”
The 30th Annual NightMoves Awards Show winners will be announced this October in Tampa, Florida. As event organizers announced on the magazine’s website, “On Sunday October 9th the 30th Annual Awards Show will return to the place it all started back in 1992. The club was named Stingers back then but today it is called Whiskey North. It is a great venue with two levels of seating, inside and outside areas, four bars and plenty of parking.”
Online voting for the 30th Annual NightMoves Awards Show can be accessed here.
To learn more, please visit www.wicked.com.
The full list of Wicked Pictures' nominations for the 30th Annual NightMoves Awards follows:
BEST FEATURE FILM
Black Widow XXX
Deranged
Duplicity
BEST PRODUCTION COMPANY
Wicked Picture
BEST FEATURE DIRECTOR
Axel Braun
Seth Gamble
James Avalon
BEST ACTOR
Charles Dera, Duplicity
Codey Steele, Deranged
Seth Gamble, Black Widow XXX
Steve Holmes, Duplicity
BEST ACTRESS
Elena Koshka, Black Widow XXX
Kenzie Taylor, Deranged
Lacy Lennon, Black Widow XXX
