HOLLYWOOD—The X-Rated Critics Organization had its annual awards show at The Argyle, a club a block away from the landmark corner of Hollywood and Vine. The ceremony was hosted by performers Ana Foxxx and Katie Morgan, with Trophy Girls Ella Knox and Ivy Wolfe.
The XRCO Awards are more informal than other awards shows, with a party atmosphere and frequent no-shows among the out-of-town winners. The informality factor was increased this year by the award presentation taking place on an improvised platform stage in the middle of the club under regular club lighting.
"I love this club. It's very intimate," director Will Ryder said. "I always love the XRCOs because it's the funnest night of the year."
Before the show, Las Vegas-based performer Ryan Conner admitted it was the second XRCO she had attended. "I was here my first year, 1999 or 2000. It's in the middle of the year, so I forget. I even won once and didn't know until somebody told me later."
Kira Noir, sitting at the Spiegler Girls table, said that one of her friends was nominated for Best New Stud, and "There's a lot of new people here I have not met yet and I hope to put my tongue on."
Angela White, last year's XRCO co-host, said, "There's a lot of opportunity here, and I want to grab it with both tits—uh, hands. I'm excited to have a night off. My shooting schedule is insane. I shoot a lot on the weekends, and I love it. 7:00 on a Sunday morning, there is nobody on the road. The world is mine. It's my time."
New Hall of Fame member Mick Blue said, "My game plan is to keep the speech very, very short, because if they talk too long it's too boring. People are here to have a good time. They don’t want to hear long speeches."
The first award went to Axel Braun, who observed that he first attended XRCO in 1990. "That's before a lot of you were born." Will Ryder, accepting Best Comedy for Bad Babes, Inc., was joined by Katie Morgan and James Bartholet on stage. "If you like comedy, it's a very funny comedy, and we're honored to win. This crowd looks like it needs another drink. The orgy is in the basement after the show," he added, creating a running gag that kept rolling throughout the presentation. "It's always good to win," Ryder told AVN after leaving the stage. "It never gets old." Charlotte Stokely, winning Best Lesbian Performer, exulted, "I'm so fucking excited right now!"
Angela 3 won for Best Gonzo Movie, and Angela White said, "I can't thank everybody involved enough. I'm very, very appreciative and very honored. Thank you." After leaving the stage, White told AVN, "It's really nerve-wracking getting on a small stage. It's so intimate. I still don't have a proper trophy cabinet for the ones that I have. I need to work on that." Bree Mills, winning Best Director (Features), thanked "the people who take the time to watch every frame of our movies, review it, treat it with respect. I'm an actor's director and I'm up here because of the quality of the performances of the beautiful people I've worked with over the last year. Thank you." Axel Braun, repeating for Best Director (Parody), noted that "the first time I won this award here, Fucko the Clown presented it. Maybe we should bring back Fucko the Clown."
Female Performer of the Year honors went to Angela White. "Thank you XRCO and thank you [agent] Mark Spiegler. I couldn’t do it without all the amazing picture companies and directors I've worked with throughout the year, and all the other amazing talent. Thank all of you." Markus Dupree took Male Performer of the Year, thanking Mark Spiegler, Greg Lansky, John Stagiano "and Kayden Kross—is she here?—I want to thank you so much for teaching me how to act."
Vicki Chase won Orgasmic Oralist, and said, "What did I win? Thank you, critics, for appreciating what I do ... [Looks at award] Oralist. I love sucking dicks. Every single fucking critic that loves what I do, I'm fucking you so good, always and forever. It's my pleasure to bring you pleasure. Thank you." Orgasmic Analist winner Abella Danger offered, "Thank you XRCO. This is so sweet. I really love things in my butt, a lot. Thank you, Spiegler, for making me put things in my butt. Who should I thank? Who fucked me in the butt for this? Thank you, so much."
There was a tie for Best New Starlet, with Lena Paul and Whitney Wright sharing the honors. "I just want to say thanks to all the directors who took a chance on me when I was independent, and continue to shoot me," Wright said. "And thanks to Mark Spiegler, who teaches me valuable lessons, like being in the shower is not an excuse to not answer your phone." Paul thanked her agent and her husband "for putting up with me having sex with other guys. ... And thank you XRCO."
Evan Stone made the Hall of Fame presentations following the awards, with Mick Blue, Micky Lynn and Kyle Stone present to be honored. Blue kept it short, as promised: "I want to thank everybody in this industry that has given me my life over the past 18 years, all the amazing people I was able to meet, and also my lovely wife Anikka Albrite."
Evan Stone and Kyle Stone threw shade on each other, with Evan joking, "He really didn't deserve to make it, but he's here anyway," and Kyle reposting, "Evan can talk all the shit he wants, but I will always be the original Stone." He thanked XRCO and "each and every female that I've had the honor and pleasure of working with. I planned to thank each of them individually—but 132 pages of names is way too much to go through." He then presented "Pre-Viagra Days," a Shakespearean-style poetic paean to his male colleagues. "It's awesome. Any time you get recognized for your work it's always a pleasure," Stone told AVN after the ceremony. "I didn’t know it for a long time, but I was one of a group called the Four Horsemen. Matt Zane gave us that nickname, I wasn't aware of it. Me, [Steve] Hatcher, [Dave] Hardman and [Rick] Masters. They'd say, 'Get the Four Horsemen.' I thought, I'll take that as a big compliment. I did the poem as a shout-out to the guys."
"Micky and her husband drove all the way from Florida in a camper to be here," XRCO Chairman Dirty Bob told AVN. "It was 27 years ago that I started in the business," Lynn said from the stage, "and it is a lot different. To the girls who want to get into the business: Know what you're doing and respect it. I do it because I love it. I love sex." In the post-show photo op, Lynn told AVN, "After all this time, I still love the industry. I took some time off, but I'm coming back." She has four scenes booked to perform in the next week. "I'm proud of what I've done. I stick up for this business. I missed it. I missed everybody. It’s kind of like a family. It's different now: I'm promoting my website, I'm doing webcam, I do my own clips. That's my plan."
The 2018 XRCO Awards Show was sponsored at various levels by Angela White, DVDErotic, Axel Braun, Gamma Film Group, Lauren Phillips, Vixen, Adam & Eve, ATMLA, EE Entertainment, IAFD and Pipeline Multimedia.
Pictured: Katie Morgan, Ana Foxxx.
