During a brief ceremony at the Lamplighter Restaurant this morning, the vaunted National Institutes of Pornographic And Pornotextual Arts changed the name of its annual awards from the Also-Rannies to its current title, the Excellence in Adult and/or Erotic Entertainment Honors. A simple nine-foot statue was wheeled across the parking lot.
“That looks like my Uncle Oscar!” someone exclaimed. “He is nine feet tall and also made of gold! You see, he was an alchemist and suffered from gigantism.”
From that simple outburst (quickly repressed by police and clergy), a tradition was born.
Read the list of “The Oscars of Porn” after the gap.
“I believe in America,” Beloved Porn Journalist Gram Ponante said at the quiet ceremony. “I believe that everyone should have his or her own adult awards show. And we are quickly reaching a point where the ratio of Americans to adult awards shows is 1:1.”
Attendees wept and prayed as the awards were announced over strong cocktails and light salads. The spontaneous nature of the event kept any winner from attending, so in that way the ceremony was much like established awards shows such as the Adultcon Awards, the Temptation Awards, the FOXE awards, and the XRCOs.
Quintessence Award
Dirty Harry
“This award is presented to the person or persons who best represent the public’s perception of adult entertainment. Dirty Harry often plays an incestuous scumbag who pimps out his daughter or seeks out women to beat him up. Harry truly is Dirty, and a scene in which he does not end up shrieking at someone or sobbing in his despair is uncharacteristic. God Bless You, Dirty Harry.”
Self-Lubricating Arriviste
Sindee Jennings
“As R.E.M. said, ‘Everybody squirts sometime’, but Sindee Jennings squirts all the time. She squirts for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and if she lived in London, she’d squirt for tea. She might even squirt tea. And unlike other squirters who have taught themselves how, Jennings’ squirting is wild and untamed, as if ordained by God. It does not feel forced, and its consistency coats, soothes, and relieves. She is also from Texas, where my people live.”
Sniffer Made Good
Dave Navarro
“Navarro circled closer and closer to porn until people started saying ‘Red Hot Chili Who?’ ‘Jane’s What?’ While industry insiders might say that he has not paid his dues, remember that industry insiders rarely pay their cable bills. We look forward to a day when Navarro reaches 25,000 posts on porn chatboards like every other loser.”
Best Intentional Porn Comedy
Spunk’d
“Porn should be funny, and often is. Sometimes it seems people bend over backwards to siphon all the fun out of it. But this ensemble comedy starring Nick Manning and a dozen or so others achieves the lofty purpose of making a porn movie funny on purpose.”
Best Unintentional Porn Comedy
Debbie Loves Dallas
“A textbook case of reach exceeding grasp. Both the movie and its director (and we made sure to verify this beforehand) had no intention of being so abysmally, unintentionally hilarious.”
Best Celebrity Sex Tape
Amy Fisher Caught on Tape
“A certified MILF who clings to her ‘Long Island Lolita’ roots, Amy Fisher, if I were a porn fortune cookie, would be ‘Welcome at any gathering’. Without a doubt the best sex tape this year, because all the others were made to be watched by only a few people at most. This one was made for public consumption, even if half of the parties involved say it wasn’t.”
Concerted Effort
Jenny Hendrix
“As Pink Floyd said, ‘I’ve got the obligatory Hendrix sperm.’ Hendrix works wicked hard. She has three phones working overtime. She hasn’t taken a break since July. She makes drinks for people on set. She works well with others. She’s thrifty, clean, and reverent. I would definitely recommend her for employment, a home loan, or cabinet position (preferably Reverse Cowgirl Secretary).”
Male Performer Who Knows What Time It Is
Nick Manning
“For men who watch porn, watching other men is difficult, even impossible. And since no one will pony up for a greenscreen anytime this decade (despite porn being on the cutting edge of technology and all), the most we can hope for is that the male talent is entertaining. Nick Manning (close runner-up: Steven St. Croix) shows the perfect combination of acting and performing chops as well as a solid sense of where the male porn performer is in the firmament. He only steals scenes when there are no women in them. He doesn’t overtalk, he shares the spotlight. And when allowed to do his thing, he displays the most sardonic character possible who still gets to ‘wreck!’ women onscreen. No one has a problem with Jack Nicholson playing the same character in every movie, so Manning should get an award, too.”
The Kami Andrews Wish You Were Here Award
Lorelei Lee
“Who knows if she will be back, but Lorelei Lee is gone now, and we miss her.”
Tony Conigliaro Award
Nicki Hunter
“This award, like its baseball counterpart, goes to the person who overcame adversity in style. Nicki Hunter was diagnosed with lymphoma one year ago and has returned to the adult business with equal parts vengeance and class. Congratulations also to the various fans and coworkers who got put personal gain aside to help out their friend.”
Best Porn Set
(tie)
Cousin Stevie’s Pussy Party (all)
Barely Legal 75
“Usually I only spend a few hours in rooms full of naked women. Something changes when I’m there all day, as if I remember that there is an intrinsic value in spending the day with a room full of naked women. I feel like Caligula without the parts falling off. And Cousin Stevie and Erica Mclean run a very smooth, casual operation.”
Best Logline
Cuckold – Chatsworth Pictures
“Sometimes the only thing wrong with your wife is you.”
Best Inevitable Title
She Is Half My Age – Brandon Iron
“Porn has always been about older men and younger women. It seems more like Sociology class to watch people the same age having sex (that’s why I stayed in college so long). This movie puts a name on the giddy joy one feels when discovering that $900 and an agent’s fee can buy you Faye Valentine.”
Biggest Comeback (Where “biggest” is the shortest intervening time between announcemment of retirement and retraction of retirement)
(tie)
Luke Ford
Kurt Lockwood
Belladonna
“Luke Ford announced he was leaving the porn industry yet continues to show up at porn events, Kurt Lockwood announced his retirement, paternity, and a move to Spain in September and returned to work in October, and Belladonna announced her retirement from performing and three weeks later announced her retirement from her retirement. Needless to say, some comebacks are more welcome than others.”
Most Satisfying Movie
Naughty Flipside
“When you get right down to it, the most effective porn format ever is the gonzo, in which setups are kept to a minimum and sex scenes get underway quickly. The scripted feature may showcase other talents of the cast and crew, but those are always exercises in diminishing returns, no matter how well-intended. Naughty Flipside Volume One presents the perfect combination of quick, fantastical setups followed by the lighthearted inevitabilities of Dana DeArmond, Sasha Grey, Adrianna Nicole, and Pinky Lee.”
Ambition without Embarrassment Award
Upload
“Upload is a great movie. More than that, it is a movie that has high ideals. (Almost) nothing is worse than a movie that shows more of its creators’ limitations than its creators’ intentions, and this movie’s intentions weren’t grounded by budget, talent, or cast; every element shot for the sky. Also, there was sex in it.”
National Institutes of Pornographic and Pornotextual Arts Director of the Year Award
Jim Powers
“Jim Powers is an effective porn director because he never forgets why the audience is there, so he keeps extraneous things like plot and guys’ faces to a minimum. Despite this, he works so well within the limitations of the form that each movie is memorable and lightly-to-moderately sprayed with his own cultural references and cynical sense of humor. Watching a Jim Powers movie is the essence of a guilty pleasure, because you really do feel intellectually and spiritually ashamed afterwards. He’s a genius.”
Quote of the Year
Alex Sanders to Julie Night, Upload
“Get it wet or I’ll stick it in you dry.”
Previously: Gram Ponante announces Also-Rannies
This is the best Best Of list I have ever seen.