Spice Studios is set to distribute the two-disc version of the 2006 AVN Awards Show on July 26. The statuettes were originally handed out on January 7 in the spacious Grand Ballroom at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas. The DVD captures the sights and excitement of the evening at the 23rd annual ceremony.
The set will include a full, unedited version of the awards show, including all the awards, plus hardcore clips of each of the winners. The second disc features a behind-the-scenes look at the show, the Playboy TV red carpet show, a photo gallery and extra footage from the event.
“We’re very excited about the opportunity to release the AVN Awards Show on DVD this year,” said David Stidham, VP of sales and operation at Spice Studios. “We’re one of the sponsors of the Awards Show, and we also air it on our television stations, and so it’s great to continue the symbiotic relationship with AVN all the way through to delivering the show on DVD.”
The AVN Awards, held annually in conjunction with the AVN Adult Entertainment Expo at the Venetian Hotel, are a sprawling display of the past year’s shining contributions to adult entertainment.
The 2006 Awards were produced by AVN veteran Gary Miller, and smoothly helmed by co-hosts Jesse Jane and comedian Greg Fitzsimmons. “The DVD will not only give viewers a chance to see the awards show in its entirety,” said Miller, “but will also give them a behind-the-scenes look at the show. This is a great collector’s item that hardcore fans will love.”
A slick montage from Best Video and Film nominees certainly got the show off to a visually-stimulating start, and then the onslaught of on-stage eye candy kept the audience captivated.
Dozens of beautiful presenters: Jenna Jameson, Sunny Leone, Tory Lane, Belladonna, Valentina Vaughn, jessica drake and Alana Evans, to mention just a few, handed out a bevy of AVN Awards for everything from Best Video Feature to Best All-Girl Sex Scene, all the while with musical accompaniment by Mark Stone and the AVN Orchestra.
The evening’s proceedings included several special presentations and appearances. AVN President Paul Fishbein introduced a new category, the AVN Hall of Fame – Founders Branch, in which Larry Flynt, Norman Arno and Noel Bloom were inducted, and Rob Black accepted the Reuben Sturman Memorial Award for his long-standing First Amendment battle.
This year, for the first time, the names of five of the nominees were pre-recorded and introduced with video clips. Additionally, Mark Stone captured some comic video clips, shown at intervals throughout the evening (the most memorable of them being “Bareback Mountain.”).
Rapper DJ Quik and rock band Hedley performed for the sold-out crowd of 4,000 spectators.
The biggest overall winner at the Awards was Evil Angel, nabbing a grand total of 14 statuettes, while Vivid (with 12), Digital Playground/Adam & Eve and their big-budget title Pirates (with 11), Red Light District (with 10), Wicked Pictures (with 7) and Pure Play Media (with 6) all went home with their hands full of AVN accolades.
“The AVN Awards is a really great show,” concluded Stidham, “and we’re hopeful that we can continue the relationship with AVN next year.”
