15th AVN Awards
The 15th AVN Awards ceremony, organized by Adult Video News, 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.
Zazel won the most awards with seven, however, Bad Wives, which received six statuettes, won for best film. Buda won for best shot-on-video feature. Nic Cramer won Best Director—Film for Operation Sex Siege.
Winners and nominees
The winners were announced during the awards ceremony on January 10, 1998. Besides winning best film, Bad Wives also won Best Actress for Dyanna Lauren, Best Actor for Steven St. Croix and Best Screenplay for Dean Nash. Zazel was named best all-sex film and Naked Highway was the best gay video. Johnni Black won Best New Starlet, while Performers of the Year were: Stephanie Swift, female; Tom Byron, male; and Jim Buck, gay.Major awards
Winners are listed first, highlighted in boldface, and indicated with a double dagger.Additional award winners
These awards were announced, but not presented, in a winners-only segments read by Robert Schimmel and Misty Rain during the event. Recipients' awards were distributed off-stage:Best All-Girl Series: DivaBest Anal Sex Scene—Film: Steven St. Croix, Dyanna Lauren; Bad WivesBest Anal Sex Scene—Video: Careena Collins, Mark Davis, Sean Michaels; Butt Banged Naughty NursesBest Anal-Themed Feature: Gluteus to the MaximusBest Boxcover Concept: Ancient Secrets of the Kama Sutra, Vivid VideoBest Continuing Video Series: Fresh MeatBest Director—Foreign: Pierre Woodman, The Fugitive 1 & 2Best Ethnic-Themed Video: Midori's FlavaBest Featurette Tape: Heart & SoulBest Foreign Featurette Tape: Private Stories 22Best Gangbang Tape: Gangbang Girl 19Best Gonzo Series: Tom Byron's Cumback PussyMost Outrageous Sex Scene: Mila, Kiss, "Anal Food Express", My Girlfriend's GirlfriendsBest Overall Marketing Campaign—Company Image: VCA PicturesBest Overall Marketing Campaign—Gay Video: Family Values, Men of OdysseyBest Overall Marketing Campaign—Individual Title or Series: Zazel, Cal Vista Films/MetroBest Packaging—Film: Paris Chic, Studio A EntertainmentBest Packaging—Video: Makin' Whoopee, Cal Vista Video/MetroBest Sex Scene—Foreign: Double Ship Orgy, Private Stories 16Best Solo Sex Scene: Vicca, DivaBest Tease Performance: Silvia Saint, Fresh Meat 4The previous night, January 9, 1998, during AVN's pre-awards cocktail reception, hosts adult film actress Nici Sterling and comedian Dave Tyree handed out these awards, mostly for behind-the-scenes excellence:Best Actor—Gay Video: Jim Buck, Naked HighwayBest Advertisement: The World's Luckiest Man, Hustler/VividBest Alternative Adult Feature Film: CrashBest Alternative Adult Film Featurette or Specialty Tape: Jenny McCarthy: The Playboy YearsBest Alternative Adult Video: 10th Anniversary Colorado River Wet T&A, Vols. 1 & 2Best Amateur Series: Catalina L'AmourBest Amateur Tape: Southern Belles 8Best Art Direction—Film: ZazelBest Art Direction—Gay Video: Doin' Time 2069, Part 2Best Art Direction—Video: New Wave Hookers 5Best Bisexual Video: Night of the Living Bi DollsBest Boxcover Concept—Gay Video: Matador, All Worlds VideoBest CD-ROM Graphics/Art Direction: UltraVixenBest CD-ROM Photo Disc: Super Models 1Best Cinematography: Philip Mond, ZazelBest Compilation Tape: The Voyeur's Favorite Blow Jobs & AnalsBest Director—Bisexual Video: Josh Eliot, Night of the living Bi DollsBest Editing—Film: James Avalon, ZazelBest Editing—Gay Video: Wash West, Dr. Jerkoff & Mr. HardBest Editing—Video: John Leslie, Drop Sex: Wipe the FloorBest Explicit Series: Filthy FuckersBest Gay Alternative Release: Summer, The First TimeBest Gay Solo Video: Titan Men—Alone in the BackwoodsBest Gay Specialty Release: Fallen AngelBest Interactive CD-ROM : DadahouseBest Interactive CD-ROM : Virtual Sex with AsiaBest Music: Toshi Gold, Skin 11: UnboundBest Music—Gay Video: Tom Alex and Sharon Kane, A Love StoryBest Newcomer—Gay Video: Jim BuckBest Non-Sex Performance—Film or Video: Jamie Gillis, New Wave Hookers 5Best Non-Sex Performance—Gay, Bi or Trans Video: Sharon Kane, Family ValuesBest Original CD-ROM Concept: Fischer's Erotic EncyclopediaBest Packaging—Gay Video: Tailspin, Studio 2000Best Packaging—Specialty: Spiked Heel Diaries 8, Bizarre VideoBest Pro-Am Series: Filthy First TimersBest Pro-Am Tape: More Dirty Debutantes 71Best Screenplay—Film: Dean Nash, Bad WivesBest Screenplay—Gay Video: Wash West, Naked HighwayBest Screenplay—Video: Jonathan Morgan, CrazedBest Sex Scene—Gay Video: Jeff Stryker, Derek Cameron; Jeff Stryker's UndergroundBest Special Effects: New Wave Hookers 5Best Specialty Tape—Big Bust: Mandy Mountjoy Does HardcoreBest Specialty Tape—Bondage: Kym Wilde's On the Edge 40Best Specialty Tape—Other Genre: Hardcore Male/Female Oil WrestlingBest Specialty Tape—Spanking: Disciplined by the CaneBest Supporting Performer—Gay Video: Bo Summers, Family ValuesBest Trailer: New Wave Hookers 5Best Trans Video: I Dream of QueenieBest Videography: Justin Sterling, Barry Harley; Diva, The SeriesBest Videography—Gay Video: Wash West, ''Naked Highway''
Honorary AVN Awards
Special Achievement Awards
- Al Goldstein, "for his lifelong defense of the First Amendment"
- Christy Canyon, "for her lifetime achievement in the adult video industry"
- Dave Friedman, "one of the founding fathers of the adult film and video industries"
AVN Breakthrough Award
Presented to Steve Orenstein of Wicked Pictures; the other nominees were Robert Black and Tom ByronHall of Fame
inductees for 1998, announced during AVN's pre-awards cocktail reception, were:Lois Ayres, Rene Bond, Jerry Butler, Careena Collins, Jon Dough, Jerry Douglas, Roy Karch, Keisha, Dorothy LeMay, Chelsea Manchester, Constance Money, Paul Norman, Jace Rocker, Derek Stanton, Jane Waters, Bambi Woods
Adult Internet Awards
The 1998 Adult Internet Awards winners were announced at another time later in the year and were not part of the show:Best Overall Site: Fuck Force 5 Best Overall Gay Site: Chisel MediaBest Live Video Feed: Python Communications Inc.Best Live Video Service Bureau: BabeNet Ltd.Best Pictorial Site: Kara's Adult PlaygroundBest Performer or Personal Site: Danni's Hard DriveBest Use of Plug-ins: Fuck Force 5 Best Animation: Fuck Force 5 Best Customer Service Department: BabeNetBest Clickthrough Program: Smart BucksMost User-Friendly Site: ManzoneBest Graphics: Adult Online NetworkBest Retail Site: Adult DVD XtremeBest Marketing Campaign: PurehardcoreBest Links Site: Persian Kitty's Adult LinksBest E-Zine: VavoomBest Video-on-Demand Interface: Slut TVBest Chat Interface: Python Premium PackPEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARDS:Best Free Site: Web VoyeurBest Free Pictorial Site: Collectors GalleryBest Free Performer or Personal Site: Asia Carrera's Buttkicking Homepage
Multiple nominations and awards
Zazel won the most awards with seven; Bad Wives was next with six statuettes.New Wave Hookers 5 scored five.Presenters and performers
The following individuals presented awards or performed musical numbers or comedy. Presenters of the gay awards were not recorded. The show's trophy girls were Candy Roxxx and Katie Gold.Performers
| Name | Role | Performed |
| Performer | Musical performance: "Sing, Sing, Sing" | |
| Performer | Standup comedy segment | |
and the Dirty Dancers | Performers | Musical number: "History Comes Quickly" |
| Performer | Musical number: "Psycho Magnet" | |
| Performer | Musical performance | |
| Performers | Musical number: "Calling All Girls" |
Ceremony information
While accepting her Lifetime Achievement Award, Christy Canyon announced her official retirement.Among the people participating in production of the ceremony, Mark Stone also served as musical director; an opening video entitled "History" was produced by Steve Austin and Serenity was responsible for choreography.
The ceremonies were published on VHS tapes by both VCA Pictures and Playboy Entertainment Group. The Playboy tape includes softcore scenes from the winning movies, while the VCA tape features hardcore scenes of the winners. The awards show was also rebroadcast over the Internet by High Society magazine via cun-tv.com on May 16, 1998.
The 1998 AVN Awards later achieved an unexpected shot of mainstream coverage when David Foster Wallace attended the ceremony as part of his overall exploration of pornography's place in American society as the 20th century was nearing its end. Wallace wrote about the event and some matters connected to in an article entitled "Neither Adult Nor Entertainment" published under a pseudonym in the September 1998 issue of Premiere magazine. The article was later collected in Wallace's 2005 nonfiction collection Consider the Lobster under the title "Big Red Son."
Critical reviews
Some attendees were critical of the show's length. In a posting to the Rec.Arts.Movies.Erotica Usenet newsgroup, Tim Evanson noted, "The length of the show was again a concern, and the number of gay industry insidersattending the awards dipped slightly this year."