Wow, another year is about to come to a close. Another year in Porn Valley, another ten thousand titles, another couple hundred girls coming and going and coming back for more. 2006 was another year of great change in the adult industry. It seems like only yesterday when we were discussing the advantages of DVD over VHS. Now we're looking at changing DVD sales patterns, downloadable porn and burn to own options from the big players. It's a never changing world, but a few things remain constant. Hot chicks keep flocking to porn, we keep watching and some companies keep getting it right. And of course, I'll keep ending the year with wish lists that never come true, but are way too much fun to write.
As the end of the year draws near, AVN has announced their nominations for the top movies and performers of 2006. As usual it was a monumental task as the staff took thousands of adult movies and whittled it down to a svelte thousand or so nominees is over 100 categories. The raw numbers are staggering and some companies can't count their nominations on all the fingers and toes in their offices. Evil Angel alone received an astounding 119 nominations. Digital Playground received 45 nominations and has to add two more awards to the "Pirates" wing of their building. (It was named Best Renting and Best Selling movie of the year.) There are some major changes to nominations list this year including a few new additions and one key subtraction. After years of DVD dominance, AVN has finally dropped the Best DVD Award. This is one of their best moves of the year. They have also added a category for the underappreciated women in porn. We also have awards now for Best Contract Star as well as Best Female Performer. It may be tougher to browse through the list of nominees, but I'm sure the guys who make those Lucite statutes are thrilled with all of the new categories.
Porn fans got to see a lot of Melissa Lauren in 2006, but we're going to have to do with less from her in 07. She is retiring from boy/girl scenes to focus on her directing and photography. "My photography is very important to me; it lets me express my creativity." Melissa noted "Directing for me lets express another side of myself, the sexual intensity, I have." Her career in front of the camera is not over however. Melissa will continue to do solo and girl/girl as well as still photos and feature dancing. Fans will still get to see plenty of the naughty babes and she will do her best to instill the same sort of hard-core energy into the women she directs. Good luck finding anyone as hot for cock as you are Melissa.
Many of you have probably seen Ivan's work, though you might not know him by name. The man behind two of the best adult comedies in the past several years, "Texas' Asshole Massacre" and my personal fave, "Dawn of the Head" is now a free agent. After a few years at Extreme he is on his own and looking to bring his unique skills and vision to another production company. There aren't too many directors with his talent and even fewer who aren't pretentious douche-bags, so someone should snag him up pretty quickly. If not, then I encourage all of you to check out his stuff. It's funny, it's cool and unlike those unnamed hip directors, Ivan actually knows how to shoot good sex.
Voting is more than half over in the annual Rog Reviews Fan Fave awards. For the better part of two weeks, fans from all over the world have been casting their ballots to reduce the fields of 100 to their current top ten status. (With the final four in each category squaring off in mid December.) Early rounds gave us a huge surprise when last years two-time winner, Taryn Thomas (Best Female Performer and Best Newbie) was knocked out in the first round. With last year's winner on the shelf, that opens the gate for any one of the ten women still left vying for the award. At the time of this writing, Jenna Haze, Belladonna and Teagan Pressley seem to have the most momentum. Two time defending champ Erik Everhard has the inside track to take home a third straight award as Best Male Performer. With so many hot newbies in the running, Naomi, Sasha Grey, Amy Reid and Sasha Noxt could all walk home with the trophy. This year, Best DVD has been added to the awards and so far the fan voting has mirrored the critic's selection. A number of heavily nominated movies including Jenna Haze Darkside, Fashionistas Safado and Corruption have made it into the top ten. By next month, the winners will have been decided and we can see how closely the fan faves match the AVN picks.
Last month we talked about the celebrity sex tape involving Dustin Diamond. The former star of "Saved by the Bell" made his X-Rated debut in "Screeched" and it made a moderate splash. He's certainly not Pamela Anderson or Paris Hilton, but he's not Tom Sizemore or Chyna either. All of these celeb movies have a built in audience, but oddly enough, most of us would rather see hot female celebrities fuck than C level guys boinking hookers.errrr, random girls. On the heels of the Screen DVD, we got news that two of pop music's hottest honeys may have smut loops of their own floating around. Following the announcement of her divorce, Britney Spears has gone on a bit of a rampage, partying with her friend Paris, flashing her goodies and trying to squelch the idea that she and Fed-Ex may have been rolling tape on a four hour honeymoon bone-a-thon. We may not know yet whether such a tape exists, but I know we're all hoping. Britney's tape rumor was followed by a report that Jessica Simpson may have recorded a liaison with her then-husband Nick Lachay. The tape was reportedly stolen and being offered back to the couple in exchange for a serious chunk of change. Wishful thinking aside, someone really needs to explain to me how that kind of thing works.
So as we enter the final month of 2006 and I look back on a year that saw the rise of some powerful new companies, some hot new babes and the continued evolution of the industry we all love I have compiled a very simple holiday wish this year. No wishes for blowjobs from specific porn girls or the long-waited releases of certain celebrity sex tapes. We've done those lists for years. This year I wish only that everyone reading this will have a healthy and happy holiday season. That the end of 2006 turns the page on any troubling scenarios in your lives and that 07 is a year that turns those issues around. I wish for a better understanding between those elected to office and those who choose to watch adult material. At the same time I wish for better understanding between those who watch porn and those who find it inappropriate. What we do in the privacy of our own homes is our own business. Everyone needs to learn to respect that. If we can do that, then we can go a long ways towards really getting along. On that note allow me to wish you all a very Merry Christmas, a joyous holiday season and the very best of everything in the coming New Year.
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