AVN Awards


The AVN Awards are film awards sponsored and presented by the American trade magazine AVN annually to honor achievements in the global adult entertainment industry. The awards are often called the "Oscars of porn."
The award ceremony occurs in early January during the AVN Adult Entertainment Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada. AVN sponsored the first AVN Awards ceremony in February 1984. Since 2008, the show has aired in a form edited for time on Showtime, which is usually broadcast in a 90-minute time slot.
The awards are divided into over 100 categories, some of which are analogous to industry awards offered in other film and video genres, and others that are specific to pornographic/erotic film and video.
Awards for gay adult video were a part of the AVN Awards from the 1987 ceremony through the 1998 ceremony. The increasing number of categories made the show unwieldy. For the 1999 ceremony AVN Magazine began hosting the GayVN Awards, an annual adult movie award event for gay adult video.

Design and categories

Award design

The design of the AVN Award changed several times before and is in its present form since 2013 when it was redesigned as part of the 30th anniversary of the awards show. The redesigning was led by Michael Krasun, and supervised by AVN CEO Theo Sapoutzis. Krasun was a veteran with 25-plus years experience in designing, fabricating and building of restaurants, nightclubs, airport facilities and theme fixtures around the world. The makers aimed to create an artifact that represented "sexual expression, integrity and exotic flair", and after months of work arrived at a figurine that showcased "two people in a very erotic embrace, yet without any explicit details of the bodies on display". The impressive resultant figurine was conferred as the official AVN award going forward. All the trophies are hand-poured and custom mixed containing 40 percent resin and 60 percent ground marble, making them very sturdy. An epoxy coating with mix of bronze powders is applied as final finish. A solid black stone base with award winners details is engraved on front side. The artifact, from inception to fabrication, was accomplished entirely in the US.

Award categories

Originally, the awards show was part of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, but it grew and garnered more attention over time, allowing it to be established as a separate event in the 1990s. The event started out as the "Adult Software exhibition" of the show, which attracted as many as 100,000 visitors in addition to those attending CES. When the show became a separate event, it initially moved to Caesars Palace, but it has since moved to other Las Vegas venues.
The New York Times noted that the "precise criteria for winning an AVN are not, well, explicit". A writer from Los Angeles magazine wrote in 2006 that awards often go to consistent advertisers in AVN magazine. In his article, the writer stated: "Imagine the editors of Variety choosing the Academy Award nominations—then handing out Oscars to the winners—and you have a pretty good idea of how much manipulation can go on behind the scenes during the run-up to the AVNs. Actresses trying to secure a nomination stop in to schmooze at the magazine's Chatsworth offices. client once presented dolls of herself to editors and writers. Another baked cookies". Violet Blue, the sex writer, described the Awards as "big backslapping event where the same companies and same names win year after year... To think of the 'porn Oscars' as a true representation of porn's very best is like having sex with a Jenna Jameson love doll and telling your friends you had sex with the porn star".
In 2013, actress Tanya Tate offered some insights into the industry in an interview with the Huffington Post about the 30th AVN Awards at which she was nominated for an award. She stated: "If you are more popular with the fans, companies are more likely to book you for their production", "Being nominated for awards help build your recognition with your fan base. People that win male and female performer of the year are generally solid consistent talent that are open to many 'levels', and some of these performers already have higher basic rates than others".
Sports columnist Bill Simmons commented that the Awards were "the most secretly captivating telecasts on TV" alongside the National Spelling Bee and Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. Las Vegas Weekly described the production of the telecast as "tedious" with many stops and starts, breaks, and re-dos - "Clever editing... is a porn hallmark". Michael Grecco, who filmed the 2009 Awards for his documentary Naked Ambition: An R Rated Look at an X Rated Industry, commented, "This is like covering the Mardi Gras parade. This is where people really express themselves with their full facade."

Listed winners

Listed below are the winners of the AVN Award in various major categories over the following years:
  • - film
  • - video

    1984–1989

1990–1994

19901991199219931994
Best Newcomer Gay VideoRyan YeagerJason RossDanny SommersB.J. SlaterZak Spears
Best Bi-Sexual VideoBi and Beyond IIIThe Last Good BiInnocence FoundDown Bi LawValley of the Bi Dolls
Best Gay VideoUndercoverMore of a ManJumperKiss-OffAbduction 2 & 3
Best Actor Gay VideoTim Lowe FratrimonyJoey Stefano More of a Man, All Worlds VideoRyan Yeager JumperMichael Brawn Kiss-OffJohnny Rey Romeo and Julian
Best Supporting Actor Gay VideoRyan Yeager StrandedJason Ross One Night StandsWes Daniels Songs in the Key of SexZak Spears Total Corruption
Best Director Bi-Sexual VideoPaul Norman Bi and Beyond IIIPaul Norman Bi and Beyond IVPaul Norman Innocence FoundJosh Eliot Down Bi LawJosh Eliot Valley of the Bi Dolls
Best Director Gay VideoJohn Travis UndercoverTaylor Hudson The RiseJean-Daniel Cadinot The Traveling JourneymanChi Chi LaRue Songs in the Key of SexSam Abdul Romeo and Julian
Best Screenplay Gay VideoJerry Douglas More of a ManJim Steel Prince CharmingStan Mitchell Songs in the Key of SexJerry Douglas Honorable Discharge
Best Sex Scene – Gay VideoHeat in the Night Lon Flexxe and Bill MarloweThe Rise Ryan Yeager and Scott BondFetish Ryan Yeager and Jason RossScorcher Erik Houston and Chris StoneRomeo and Julian Johnny Rey and Grant Larson
Best Non-Sexual Performance Bi, Gay, or Trans VideoChi Chi LaRue More of a ManSharon Kane Majestic KnightKenneth Weyerhaeuser Kiss-OffGino Colbert Honorable Discharge
Best Gay Alternative VideoChi Chi LaRue's Hardbody Video Magazine
Best Gay Solo VideoStraight to BedMen Who Work It AloneThe Beat CopPumping Fever
Best Gay Specialty ReleaseMale Genital Massage
Best Videography Gay VideoJohn Trennell Idol EyesMark Thomas FetishEllary Stag DisconnectedTodd Montgomery Abduction 2 & 3
Best Alternative Adult Feature FilmBeach Babes from Beyond