Ceremony
The 25th Anniversary Adult Video News awards made its broadcast premiere on Showtime on March 14. The two-hour presentation, billed as The AVN Adult Movie Awards, was taped on January 12 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Paradise, Nevada. For the first time the show was shot on High-Definition and was also broadcast in that format. [5]
AVN announced nominations for its annual awards on November 26, 2007. Nominees in the 114 categories were selected by the AVN staff, and winners were selected by AVN writers and other adult film reviewers. [6]
Leaders in nominations were Upload, a science-fiction thriller video from SexZ Pictures, with 22 nominations, and Layout, a film from Vivid Entertainment, with 18. This is the last year for separate film and video categories at the AVN awards. [6]
Performer/director Belladonna received nine nominations, for Best Director (Non-Feature), Director of the Year and seven sex scenes. Performer/director Stormy Daniels received seven nominations, for acting, directing, screenplay, Director of the Year, Female Performer of the Year, Crossover Star of the Year, and Couples Sex Scene with veteran performer Randy Spears.
Spears himself received five nominations, including Best Actor (Video), Best Supporting Actor (Film) and Male Performer of the Year; performer Steven St. Croix received five, four for acting and one sex scene; performer/director Brad Armstrong received four, for acting, screenplay, and two for direction.
Wicked Pictures and its affiliated companies led the nominations count with 91, followed by Evil Angel Productions and its affiliates with 88, Vivid Entertainment and its affiliates with 84, Pure Play Media and its affiliates with 48, Digital Playground and its affiliates with 41, JM Productions and its affiliates with 39, Elegant Angel Productions with 33, Adam & Eve Pictures and its affiliates with 32 and Hustler Video and its affiliates with 31.
This year's additions to the AVN Hall of Fame are performers Brittany Andrews, Jay Ashley, Angel Kelly, Dyanna Lauren, Raylene, Ruby, Alexandra Silk, Angela Summers and Tasha Voux, performer/director Skye Blue, cameraman Jake Jacobs and director Michael Raven.
Changes in categories
The 25th annual AVN Awards was the last at which productions shot on film are divided into separate categories from those shot on video. This change comes due to the very few number of companies producing films. [7]
AVN president Paul Fishbein stated, "If people make films, they'll be eligible in every category, and if there are enough of them, then we'll have a separate Best Film category."
The AVN Award categories that have until this year been divided up into film and video are: Best Actor, Best Actress, Best All-Girl Sex Scene, Best Anal Sex Scene, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography/Videography, Best Couples Sex Scene, Best Director, Best Editing, Best Group Sex Scene, Best Oral Sex Scene, Best Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress.
John Stagliano, also known as Buttman, is an American entrepreneur, former pornographic film actor, producer and director who founded and owns the Evil Angel pornographic film studio.
Oriana Small, known professionally as Ashley Blue, is an American pornographic actress. She is a member of the AVN Hall of Fame, has hosted her own Vivid Radio show and written for Hustler magazine. In 2011, she published a memoir of her career in the adult entertainment industry, titled Girlvert: A Porno Memoir.
Jenna Haze is an American director, model, and former pornographic actress.
The XRCO Awards are given by the American X-Rated Critics Organization annually to people working in adult entertainment and it is the only adult industry awards show reserved exclusively for industry members.
Toni Ribas is a Spanish pornographic actor and director. In 2010, he was inducted into the AVN Hall of Fame.
Marc Wallice is a former American pornographic actor. He performed in over 1,700 pornographic films and has directed as well. Wallice was inducted into both the AVN and XRCO Halls of Fame.
Devinn Lane is a former adult model, pornographic actress, writer, director and producer. She is sometimes credited as Devin Lane or Devon Lane.
The Fashionistas is a 2002 pornographic film directed by John Stagliano and produced by Evil Angel Productions. Shot on 35 mm film, it was a high-budget production, with a length of over four and a half hours. The film was a commercial success, selling over 100,000 copies just in its first month of release. In 2003, it set the record for most AVN Award nominations for a single title — 22.
Red Light District Video (RLD) is an American pornographic film studio headquartered in Chatsworth, California.
Elegant Angel Productions is a pornographic film studio located in Canoga Park, California and owned by Patrick Collins. The company is considered one of the early pioneers of gonzo pornography, and its films have won numerous awards.
Evil Angel is an American production company and distributor of pornographic films, founded and owned by John Stagliano.
Michelle Sinclair, known professionally as Belladonna, is an American former pornographic and erotic actress, director, producer, and model. Since announcing her retirement from pornography in 2012, she has acted in several mainstream films, including Inherent Vice and The Ladies of the House.
The 26th AVN Awards ceremony, presented by Adult Video News (AVN), honored the best pornographic movies of 2008 and took place on January 10, 2009, at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Paradise, Nevada. During the ceremony, Adult Video News presented AVN Awards in 127 categories released between Oct. 1, 2007 and Sept. 30, 2008. The ceremony, televised in the United States by Showtime, was produced by Gary Miller. Comedian Thea Vidale hosted the show for the second time, joined on stage by actresses Belladonna and Jenna Haze.
The 24th AVN Awards ceremony, presented by Adult Video News (AVN), honored the best pornographic films of 2006 and took place January 13, 2007 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Paradise, Nevada. During the ceremony, Adult Video News presented AVN Awards in 119 categories released during the eligibility period, Oct. 1, 2005 to Sept. 30, 2006. The ceremony, televised in the United States by Playboy TV, was produced and directed by Gary Miller. Adult film star Jessica Drake hosted for the first time, with comedian Jim Norton, who also co-hosted in 2004.
The 21st AVN Awards ceremony, presented by Adult Video News (AVN), took place January 10, 2004 at the Venetian Hotel Grand Ballroom, at Paradise, Nevada, U.S.A. During the ceremony, AVN presented AVN Awards in 94 categories honoring the best pornographic films released between Oct. 1, 2002 and Sept. 30, 2003. The ceremony, televised in the United States by Playboy TV, was produced and directed by Gary Miller. Comedian Jim Norton hosted the show for the first time with adult film star Jenna Jameson in her third stint as co-host.
The 20th AVN Awards ceremony, presented by Adult Video News (AVN), took place January 11, 2003 at the Venetian Hotel Grand Ballroom, at Paradise, Nevada, U.S.A. During the ceremony, AVN presented AVN Awards in nearly 90 categories honoring the best pornographic films released between Oct. 1, 2001 and Sept. 30, 2002. The ceremony was produced by Gary Miller and directed by Mark Stone. Comedian Doug Stanhope co-hosted the show for the first time with adult film star Chloe.
The 19th AVN Awards ceremony, presented by Adult Video News (AVN), took place January 11, 2002 at the Venetian Hotel Grand Ballroom, at Paradise, Nevada, U.S.A. During the ceremony, AVN presented AVN Awards in more than 80 categories honoring the best pornographic films released between Oct. 1, 2000 and Sept. 30, 2001. The ceremony was produced by Gary Miller and directed by Mark Stone. Comedian Bobby Slayton hosted the show for the third time; his co-host was adult film star Teri Weigel.
The 17th AVN Awards ceremony, presented by Adult Video News (AVN), took place January 8, 2000 at the Venetian Hotel Grand Ballroom, at Paradise, Nevada, U.S.A. During the ceremony, AVN presented AVN Awards in 77 categories honoring the best pornographic films released between Oct. 1, 1998 and Sept. 30, 1999. The ceremony was produced by Gary Miller and directed by Mark Stone. Adult film star Juli Ashton hosted the show.
The 15th AVN Awards ceremony, organized by Adult Video News (AVN), took place January 10, 1998 at Caesars Palace, in Paradise, Nevada, U.S. During the show, AVN presented AVN Awards in 54 categories honoring the best pornographic films released between Oct. 1, 1996 and Sept. 30, 1997. The ceremony was produced by Gary Miller and directed by Mark Stone. Comedian Robert Schimmel hosted, with adult film actresses Racquel Darrian and Misty Rain as co-hosts. At a pre-awards cocktail reception held the previous evening, 50 more AVN Awards, mostly for behind-the-scenes achievements, were given out by hosts Nici Sterling and Dave Tyree, however, this event was neither televised nor distributed on VHS tapes as was the main evening's ceremony. Both events included awards categories for gay movies; the final year the show included both gay and heterosexual awards. The gay awards were subsequently spun off into a separate show, the GayVN Awards.
The 11th AVN Awards ceremony, organized by Adult Video News (AVN), honored pornographic films released in 1993 and took place on January 8, 1994, at Bally's Hotel and Casino in Paradise, Nevada beginning at 7:45 p.m. PST / 10:45 p.m. EST. During the ceremony, AVN presented AVN Awards in 78 categories. The ceremony was produced by Gary Miller. Actor Randy West hosted the show for the third time; his co-hosts were actresses Summer Knight and Janine Lindemulder.
