As you undoubtedly know, it’s Award Season in Hollywood: The Golden Globes, the Oscars, and, of course, the AVN Awards. Make it Snow will be giving you the best preview for the Oscars and I have made it my mission to provide you the best AVN Award preview on any website that doesn’t require parental control. (YET!)

You may notice that, like the Oscars, the nominating committee tends to congregate around certain films and types of films and thus you’ll see multiple nominations for the same film. Adult movies, they’re JUST LIKE US!

Due to the sheer number of nominees, I will be breaking this up into three posts. Yesterday, we tackled the Acting categories. Today, we will tackle the Technical categories and tomorrow we will tackle the Movies.

I will list for you each category, highlight in BOLD my pick, and provide commentary at the bottom. For brevity’s sake, I’ll stick to the major categories.

Without further ado, TO THE NOMINEES!

Best Art Direction

• Anne: A Taboo Parody, Pure Taboo
• Carnal, Wicked Pictures
• Cartel Sex, Kelly Madison/Juicy
• Deadpool XXX: An Axel Braun Parody, Wicked Comix
• Fallen II: Angels & Demons, Wicked Pictures
• Fantasy Factory: Wastelands, Girlsway/Girlfriends
• Fly Girls: Final Payload, Digital Playground/Pulse
• Girls With Guns, Digital Playground/Pulse
• Hand Solo: A DP XXX Parody, Digital Playground/Pulse
• Joanna Angel Gangbang: As Above, So Below, BurningAngel/Exile
• Queen of Thrones: A Brazzers XXX Parody, Brazzers/Pulse
• Squirtwoman: Wasteland, Elegant Angel Productions
• Star Wars: The Last Temptation – A Digital Playground XXX Parody, Digital Playground/Pulse
• Talk Derby to Me, Sweetheart/Mile High Media
• Trashy Love Story, Trenchcoatx/Jules Jordan

Art Direction is one of the categories left over from the old days when porn was shot on film. The soft focus lighting and set design were used to make the film look sexier. It’s difficult to do that nowadays with video. The category now is much more focused on set design. Thus, I’m giving it to Queen of Thrones.

Best Cinematography

• After Dark, Vixen/Jules Jordan; Winston Henry
• Angela Loves Women 4, AGW/Girlfriends; Alex Ladd & Sal Genoa
• Beautiful Strangers, Adam & Eve Pictures; Jeff Allan & Jay Allan
• Chester’s Way, Kelly Madison/Juicy; Fumigalli
• The Cursed XXX, Adam & Eve Pictures; Rene Francois
• Fallen II: Angels & Demons, Wicked Pictures; Alex Ladd, Barrett Blade & David Lord
• Highway Home, Digital Playground/Pulse; Barrett Blade & Jake Jacobs
• The Innocence of Youth 10, Digital Sin; Paul Woodcrest
• Love in the Digital Age, New Sensations; Eddie Powell
• Misha in Exile, Evil Angel Films; Lucky Red
• The Possession of Mrs. Hyde, Wicked Pictures; Hank Hoffman & Axel Braun
• Squirtwoman: Wasteland, Elegant Angel Productions; Derek Dozer
• A Trailer Park Taboo, Pure Taboo/Pulse; Matt Holder
• Undercover, Marc Dorcel/Wicked; Herve Bodilis
• The Voyeur 2, Sweet Sinner/Mile High; Hank Hoffman, Jacky St. James & Samantha Mountain

Similarly, it’s more difficult to achieve the “soft focus/erotic” look on video. This category really should be renamed the “best who can make video look like film” award. The Europeans are better at this than we are. That gives the nod to Herve Bodilis for Undercover.

Best Director – Feature

• Abigail, Tushy/Jules Jordan; Kayden Kross
• Anne: A Taboo Parody, Pure Taboo; Bree Mills & Craven Moorehead
• The Cursed XXX, Adam & Eve Pictures; Will Ryder
• Fallen II: Angels & Demons, Wicked Pictures; Brad Armstrong
• Fantasy Factory: Wastelands, Girlsway/Girlfriends; Stills by Alan
• Insomnia, Wicked Pictures; Hank Hoffman
• Invictus, Sssh.com; Angie Rowntree
• Love in the Digital Age, New Sensations; Jacky St. James
• Making Ends Meet, Wicked Pictures; Mike Quasar
• Never Forgotten, Wicked Passions; Stormy Daniels
• The Possession of Mrs. Hyde, Wicked Pictures; Axel Braun
• The Seduction of Heidi, Adam & Eve Pictures; Kay Brandt
• Squirtwoman: Wasteland, Elegant Angel Productions; Dreadneck
• Talk Derby to Me, Sweetheart/Mile High; Ricky Greenwood
• A Trailer Park Taboo, Pure Taboo/Pulse; Joanna Angel

I really like female directors and I specially like female directors that are making the transition from acting in front of the camera to running things behind the camera. Kayden Kross has done a great job and deserves the win for Abigail, which deserves to win in other categories.

Best Director – Non Feature

• Alexis Monroe Knockout, Elegant Angel Productions; Sid Knox
• Angela by Darkko, AGW/Darkko/Evil Angel; Jonni Darkko
• Ariana Marie: A Little Bit Harder, Evil Angel Films; Chris Streams
• Carnal, Wicked Pictures; Brad Armstrong
• Chanel Santini’s TS Fantasies, TransSensual/Mile High; Dana Vespoli
• The Corruption of Kissa Sins, Jules Jordan Video; Jules Jordan
• Dark Perversions 6, Kelly Madison/Juicy; Andy Zane & Ivory Tanaka
• Future Darkly, Pure Taboo/Pulse; Bree Mills
• Games We Play, Trenchcoatx/Jules Jordan; Kayden Kross
• I Am Angela, Evil Angel Films; Evil Chris
• Love Stories 6, Erotica X/O.L. Entertainment; James Avalon & Robby D.
• Prinzzess: A Decade of Desire, Girlfriends Films; B. Skow
• Schoolgirl Bound 5, Digital Sin; Eddie Powell & Paul Woodcrest
• Split Screen, Kelly Madison/Juicy; Kelly & Ryan Madison
• True Black Romance, ArchAngel/Girlfriends; MimeFreak

Jules Jordan has been a part of many nominated films this year. I think this is his category to lose.

Best Director – Web Channel/Site

• Barrett Blade, BadDaddyPOV.com
• Brett Brando, Brazzers.com
• Ike Diezel, Dad Crush/TeamSkeet.com
• Jakodema, #LetsDoeIt
• Eric John, ErotiqueTVLive.com
• Glenn King, MeanBitches.com
• Anna Lee, HoloGirlsVR.com
• Miles Long, BangBros.com
• Lee Roy Myers, WoodRocket.com
• Jacob Rivera, Bang Bus/BangBros.com
• Dee Severe, Severe Sex/Kink.com
• Billy Visual, FantasyMassage.com
• Billy Watson, Dogfart.com
• Missa X, AllHerLuv.com/MissaX.com
• Jay Zito, Mofos.com

If you haven’t been to Woodrocket.com, I highly suggest you do. They have high-quality content besides porn. They used to host their own video clips, but they’ve now worked up a deal with Pornhub where a click in WoodRocket for a porn clip redirects to Pornhub. However, the rest of the content is great and deserves an award.

Best Editing

• Abigail, Tushy/Jules Jordan; Bob LeFlambeur
• After Dark, Vixen/Jules Jordan; Gabrielle Anex
• Ciris, Kelly Madison/Juicy; Andy Zane
• Deadpool XXX: An Axel Braun Parody, Wicked Comix; Axel Braun & Claudia Ross
• Fallen II: Angels & Demons, Wicked Pictures; Geddy Lee Roth
• I Am Angela, Evil Angel Films; Evil Ricky
• Insomnia, Wicked Pictures; Hank Hoffman
• Love in the Digital Age, New Sensations; Eddie Powell
• Making Ends Meet, Wicked Pictures; Mike Quasar
• Never Forgotten, Wicked Passions; Dick Chibbles
• Pleasureville: A Digital Playground XXX Parody, Digital Playground/Pulse; Papa McMuffin
• Squirtwoman: Wasteland, Elegant Angel Productions; Craig Daze
• Talk Derby to Me, Sweetheart/Mile High; Ricky Greenwood & Lex Calibur
• A Trailer Park Taboo, Pure Taboo/Pulse; Woody All-In
• Xander’s World Tour, Brazzers/Pulse; Kirk Bastard

This is probably the most difficult job in porn. I’m being serious here. The editor watches hours and hours of footage and has to put it together in a way that’s coherent that doesn’t look like there was a break every five minutes because the actress got a cramp or the actor lost wood or farted mid-thrust. Any man that can string together a squirting video gets my vote.

Best Makeup

• Anne: A Taboo Parody, Pure Taboo; Lisa Sloane
• Carnal, Wicked Pictures; Jenna Valentine, Rosa, Lydia & Suzzie
• The Cursed XXX, Adam & Eve Pictures; Cammy Ellis
• Deadpool XXX: An Axel Braun Parody, Wicked Comix; Dusty Lynn & Cammy Ellis
• Dragon Boob Z, Wood Rocket/Pornhub Premium; Cassandra Cain, T13, Jeff Chang & Miranda Dudley
• Fantasy Factory: Wastelands, Girlsway/Girlfriends; Lisa Sloane
• Hand Solo: A DP XXX Parody, Digital Playground/Pulse; Maddie Robins
• I Know Who You Fucked Last Halloween, BurningAngel/Exile; Twin Peeks
• Jurassic Wood: Swollen Dingdong, Wood Rocket/Pornhub Premium; Alejandra Gutierrez, 1313 FX, Jeff Chang & Marshal Art
• Never Forgotten, Wicked Passions; Azzie
• NeverMore, Digital Playground/Pulse; Maddie Robins
• Pleasureville: A Digital Playground XXX Parody, Digital Playground/Pulse; Steph
• Squirtwoman: Wasteland, Elegant Angel Productions; Sofiya
• Trashy Love Story, Trenchcoatx/Jules Jordan; Glenn Alfonso & Nicki Hunter
• Whorecraft 2: Wrath of the Dick King – A Porn Parody, Lethal Hardcore/Pulse; Shayla Fox

In this category, the more fantastical and outrageous the movie, the better. You wanna see weird-ass creatures fucking? You got it!

Best Marketing Campaign – Company Image

• Adam & Eve
• Brazzers
• Digital Playground
• Elegant Angel Productions
• Evil Angel
• Girlfriends Films
• Girlsway
• Grooby
• Jules Jordan Video
• Mile High Media/O.L. Entertainment
• New Sensations/Digital Sin
• Pure Taboo
• Vixen Media Group
• Wicked Pictures
• Wood Rocket

I have a soft (or hard) spot for Wood Rocket, but I think that Girlfriends Films has done a tremendous job on cornering the market for lesbian movies. You hear Girlfriends Films, you automatically think of all-girl movies.

Best Marketing Campaign – Individual Project

• Abigail, Tushy/Jules Jordan
• An MV Documentary: #WeAreMany, ManyVids
• Angela by Darkko, AGW/Darkko/Evil Angel
• Anne: A Taboo Parody, Pure Taboo
• Bonnie Rotten: The Cumback, Brazzers.com
• The Cursed XXX, Adam & Eve Pictures
• Fallen II: Angels & Demons, Wicked Pictures
• Hamiltoe, Wood Rocket/Pornhub Premium
• I Am Angela, Evil Angel Films
• Lisa Ann: Back 4 More, The Real Lisa Ann/Evil Angel
• Metal Massage, BurningAngel/Exile
• The Possession of Mrs. Hyde, Wicked Pictures
• Prinzzess: A Decade of Desire, Girlfriends Films
• Talk Derby to Me, Sweetheart/Mile High
• The Weight of Infidelity, PureTaboo.com

Lisa Ann knows how to market herself and is thus enjoying a career renaissance. She gets the nod here.

Best Screenplay

• Abigail, Tushy/Jules Jordan; Kayden Kross
• Anne: A Taboo Parody, Pure Taboo/Pulse; Bree Mills
• Cartel Sex, Kelly Madison/Juicy; Ivory Tanaka
• The Coven Wives, Sweetheart/Mile High; Dana Vespoli
• The Cursed XXX, Adam & Eve Pictures; Will Ryder
• Cursed, Wicked Pictures; Jonathan Morgan & Kitten Boheme
• Fallen II: Angels & Demons, Wicked Pictures; Brad Armstrong
• Insomnia, Wicked Pictures; Hank Hoffman
• Love in the Digital Age, New Sensations Romance; Jacky St. James
• Making Ends Meet, Wicked Pictures; Mike Quasar
• Never Forgotten, Wicked Passions; Stormy Daniels
• The Possession of Mrs. Hyde, Wicked Pictures; Lasse Braun, Axel Braun & Rikki Braun
• The Seduction of Heidi, Adam & Eve Pictures; Kay Brandt
• Talk Derby to Me, Sweetheart/Mile High; Ricky Greenwood
• A Trailer Park Taboo, Pure Taboo/Pulse; Joanna Angel

The AVNs love to give awards to movies with actual plotlines with the more intricate the better. Because at heart they want people to see adult films as movies with sex in them, not as merely jackoff material. Wicked is best at these types of films (as seen in the multiple nominations in this category) and should win for Mrs. Hyde.

Best Soundtrack

• Angela by Darkko, AGW/Darkko/Evil Angel
• Car Jackerz, Desire/Girlfriends Films
• Control Freak, Trenchcoatx/Jules Jordan
• Deadpool XXX: An Axel Braun Parody, Wicked Comix
• Future Darkly, Pure Taboo/Pulse
• Hamiltoe, Wood Rocket/Pornhub Premium
• Leigh Raven Prove Something, Evil Angel Films
• Love in the Digital Age, New Sensations Romance
• Metal Massage, BurningAngel/Exile
• Misha in Exile, Evil Angel Films
• Never Forgotten, Wicked Passions
• Split Screen, Kelly Madison/Juicy
• Talk Derby to Me, Sweetheart/Mile High
• Undercover, Marc Dorcel/Wicked
• Xander’s World Tour, Brazzers/Pulse

I was originally going to give it to Deadpool for the 80s music, but I came to my senses. Ain’t no way Hamiltoe loses this one.

Best Special Effects

• Ciris, Kelly Madison/Juicy
• Deadpool XXX: An Axel Braun Parody, Wicked Comix
• The Deal, AllHerLuv
• Everything Butt the Kitchen Sink, Kink.com/Jules Jordan
• Fantasy Factory: Wastelands, Girlsway/Girlfriends
• Fly Girls: Final Payload, Digital Playground/Pulse
• Future Darkly, Pure Taboo/Pulse
• Girls With Guns, Digital Playground/Pulse
• Hand Solo: A DP XXX Parody, Digital Playground/Pulse
• NeverMore, Digital Playground/Pulse
• Queen of Thrones: A Brazzers XXX Parody, Brazzers/Pulse
• Sexy Heroines, Anastasia Pierce/Pulse
• Star Wars: The Last Temptation – A Digital Playground XXX Parody, Digital Playground/Pulse
• Two of a Kind, Sweet Sinner/Mile High
• Whorecraft: Legion of Whores – A Porn Parody, Lethal Hardcore/Pulse

This is a battle between the two Star Wars parodies. I’m calling it a tie based on this meme alone:

Best Virtual Reality Product/Site

• BaDoinkVR.com
• CzechVR.com
• DDFNetworkVR.com
• FantasyGirlVR.com/StuffedVR.com
• GroobyVR.com
• HoloGirlsVR.com
• NaughtyAmericaVR.com
• RealityLovers.com
• Terpon.com
• VirtualTaboo.com
• VRBangers.com
• VRHush.com
• WankzVR.com
• WhorecraftVR.com
• YanksVR.com

When it comes to porn, when in doubt, always go Czech.

Foreign Director of the Year

• Roma Amor
• Liselle Bailey
• Herve Bodilis
• Dick Bush
• Danny D.
• Alis Locanta
• Rebecca Lord
• Pascal Lucas
• Erika Lust
• Proxy Paige
• Xavi Rocka
• Tristan Seagal
• Rocco Siffredi
• Franck Vicomte
• Nacho Vidal

This is a tough choice. I am automatically eliminating Roma Amor because you need to be more inventive than making your name a palindrome. I have a bias towards female directors, so I’ll give the award to Erika Lust, but this is a true toss-up.

Director of the Year

• Joanna Angel
• James Avalon
• Axel Braun
• Jules Jordan
• Kayden Kross
• Mason
• Bree Mills
• MimeFreak
• Pat Myne
• Eddie Powell
• Mike Quasar
• Jacky St. James
• Stills by Alan
• Dana Vespoli
• Andy Zane

(13/69)