January has been AVN Awards month for more than two decades, but after years of gingerly encroaching on the older adult trade publication’s annual prom by staging a competing event in February, now XBiz actually holds its awards a week before AVN.
Looking at their bloated and often-overlapping list of nominations, it would be as tempting to declare that XBiz and AVN are finally the same company, desperate to appease every advertiser, as it would be to say that porn clings to parodies so hard because the porn business itself is a parody.
But that’s just fun to say, and is only a trace amount true. The nominations for the AVN and XBiz Awards show that, while there is an inevitable overlap due to the size of the business their sponsors cater to, we can still see the distinct personality of both organizations, and that is something to be celebrated. Bitch away as we will at these companies, they helped to create and continue to nurture and reflect the adult community.
So what do we learn?
AVN Still Loves Porn Movies
My tallies are up for interpretation, but I counted 107 categories for porn movies, porn stars, porn studios, porn scenes, and porn directors on AVN’s list versus 74 for XBiz. You can guarantee that everyone who stands to make money in the adult industry has combed both of these lists for something to 1.) pay a good publicist his rate for emailing this news to everyone else in the porn industry, or 2.) paying a poor publicist his rate for emailing this news to everyone else in the porn industry, or 3.) simply emailing this news to everyone else in the porn industry himself.
XBiz Is Still Less Fucking Ridiculous
Beyond its 74 movie and personality-related awards, XBiz has 74 more nominations for marital aids, affiliate programs, and e-commerce concerns. This has always been the forte and defining characteristic of XBiz, which began on the web and expanded into AVN’s print territory, whereas AVN started as a simple Xeroxed newsletter to video store customers and, despite dozens of web redesigns, database migrations, a change in ownership, and nearly 15 years of being online, has never seemed to get the web thing right.
While any reasonable person would just gape at the dueling nominations, XBiz seems less like it is flying by the seat of its pants, and definitely has a better sense of ROI than its Porn Valley competitor (XBiz sits on the corner of Wilshire and Highland Boulevards in Los Angeles proper, whereas AVN is located right across the seat from the Chatsworth Municipal Courthouse).
While AVN might have a Best Classic Release category that simply rewards a company for still having either the masters or unsold stock lying around (well, maybe some audio commentary, too), XBiz has more thoughtful distinctions, like who might make the best lube, or whether a pleasure product is powered or unpowered.
But lest you think AVN is too earnest, a few years ago they instituted the “Clever Title of the Year” award, which I think acknowledges how fun-loving, indecorous, and silly porn can be. My favorite of this year’s nominations is “The Spit And the Speculum.”
They Are Less in Lockstep Than You’d Think
AVN has a 3D release category, XBiz does not. AVN also has a Supporting Actor category, which XBiz doesn’t, though they both recognize Non-Sex roles, because someone’s got to dig the ditches.
But of the 15 (XBiz) and 20 (AVN) Best New Starlet nominees, the two companies agree on 12 of them. Yes, 80 percent of XBiz’ list is also on AVN’s, but there are people left out. Why are Siri and Bonnie Rotten not on the XBiz list of Best New Starlets? I disagree, but I also find it encouraging; it can only be healthy when people have reasons.
For a porn director’s Body of Work award (this is given annually in porn because a director might helm 50 movies a year, unlike that slacker Terrence Mann, who might roll out of bed for an Irving Thalberg Award at the Oscars), AVN and XBiz both nominated 15 people, but agreed on just eight.
What XBiz calls Best Feature is what AVN used to call it, too, until it felt the need to split the category into Drama and Comedy. Then both companies have categories for comedy parodies and dramatic ones, even if XBiz nominates “The Avengers XXX” in the Drama Parody category but “Star Wars XXX” in the Comedy Parody list. Both are equally silly.
When in Doubt, It’s a Specialty
Even if you think European Non-Feature Release of the Year is way too specific, both companies have a catch-all pile for things they can’t even bring themselves to give their own categories. This is called the Specialty Release, and some nominees include Kelly Shibari’s “Overloaded” (a BBW blowbang), Kelly Madison’s “Pornfidelity Goes Preggo,” and Rodney Moore’s “Seattle Hairy Girls.”
This category exists simply because there were not enough companies releasing Hairy, Pregnant, or Zaftig Blowbang movies.
And it doesn’t take much imagination to remember that, 20 years ago, every single movie would have been a Hairy Girl release.
The Significance of the Crossover Star
The crossover star is the performer who somehow pokes a hole in the mainstream world and receives some recognition there. Perennial favorites are Ron Jeremy and Joanna Angel. This year Lorelei Lee is nominated for working with James Franco and James Deen is recognized for working with Lindsey Lohan. Jesse Jane and Stormy Daniels were past nominees, and Lisa Ann rode Sarah Palin as far as she could.
I don’t contest that mainstream recognition (even if the performer always has “porn star” next to his/her name) is an accomplishment (non-porn people just call it “recognition,” though), but I think it says something about the way porn thinks of itself to honor people who managed to make it out.
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I will travel to Beverly Hills and Las Vegas this month for both sets of awards (and, if you know Los Angeles, Beverly Hills is the bigger pain in the ass) and am excited for the first time in years. There is an air of electric despair blanketing the industry, and it’s compelling. I will see many of the same people, but both events will be more different than they are similar, and that diversity is comforting.
Previously on Porn Valley Observed: [PR] Ghost of Tera Patrick returns with dire warnings for adult industry; On the Set: Behind the Scenes of “The Other Hollywood” at XBiz360; Everybody’s Gokkun: Kelly Shibari’s Libertarian bukkake; “Cherry”: Lorelei Lee writes about porn for a bigger screen; Jesse Jane: “I don’t feel anyone is my competition”
See also: AVN nominations, XBiz nominations
Congratulations to all winners