14th AVN Awards

The 14th AVN Awards ceremony, organized by Adult Video News (AVN), took place January 11, 1997 at Riviera Hotel & Casino, Winchester, Nevada, beginning at 7:45 p.m. PST / 10:45 p.m. EST. During the show, AVN presented AVN Awards (the industry's equivalent of the Academy Awards)  in 41 categories honoring the best pornographic films released between Oct. 1, 1995 and Sept. 30, 1996. The ceremony was produced by Gary Miller and directed by Mark Stone. Comedian Bobby Slayton returned as host, with actresses Nici Sterling and Kylie Ireland as co-hosts. At a pre-awards event held the previous evening, 60 more AVN Awards, mostly for technical achievements, were given out by hostess Dyanna Lauren and comedy ventriloquist Otto of Otto & George, however, the pre-awards event was neither televised nor distributed on VHS tapes as was the main evening's ceremony.

Shock won the most awards with 11, however, Bobby Sox, an "off-beat period piece comedy" that received six statuettes, won for best film. Flesh and Blood was next with five awards including best gay feature.

Winners and nominees
The winners were announced during the awards ceremony on January 11, 1997. Missy was the first actress to win both Starlet of the Year and the AVN Female Performer of the Year Award in the same year. Kurt Young, however, was second to win the major gay awards in the same year, taking Gay Video Performer of the Year and Best Newcomer.

Major awards


Winners are listed first, highlighted in boldface, and indicated with a double dagger (‡).

Additional award winners
These awards were also announced at the awards show, most in a winners-only segment read by Kylie Ireland during the event:


 * Best All-Girl Feature: The Violation of Missy
 * Best All-Sex Film: Unleashed
 * Best Anal Sex Scene—Film: Lovette and the Six Skeletons (John Decker, Michael J. Cox, Nick East, three others), Gregory Dark's Sex Freaks
 * Best Anal Sex Scene—Video: Rocco Siffredi, Laura Turner, Danielle Louise Kelson; Buttman's Bend Over Babes 4
 * Best Continuing Video Series: The Voyeur
 * Best Director—Gay Video: Jerry Douglas, Flesh and Blood
 * Best European Release (the Hot Video Award): Torero (Italy)
 * Best Gangbang Tape: Gangbang Girl 17


 * Best Gay Video: Flesh and Blood
 * Best Group Sex Scene—Film: Christy Canyon, Tony Tedeschi, Vince Vouyer, Steven St. Croix; The Show
 * Best Group Sex Scene—Video: (tie) Hakan, Missy, Taren and Alex Sanders, Squirting Anal Orgy scene in American Tushy!; Ruby, Christi Lake, Rocco Siffredi, John Stagliano, Buttman's Bend Over Babes 4
 * Best Tease Performance: Janine Lindemulder, Extreme Close-Up
 * Gay Video Performer of the Year: Kurt Young
 * Most Outrageous Sex Scene: Shayla LaVeaux, T. T. Boy and Vince Vouyer, gargoyle scene in Shock

The previous night, January 10, 1997, during AVN's pre-awards cocktail reception, hostess adult film actress hostess Dyanna Lauren and comedy ventriloquist Otto of Otto & George handed out these awards, mostly for technical excellence:


 * Best Advertisement: Changing the Face of Adult, Vivid
 * Best Alternative Adult Feature Film: Scoring
 * Best Alternative Adult Film Featurette or Specialty Tape: The Best of Anna Nicole Smith
 * Best Alternative Adult Video: Buttman at Nudes ‘a Poppin 3
 * Best Amateur Series: Filthy First Timers
 * Best Amateur Tape: Southern Belles 4
 * Best Anal Tape: American Tushy!
 * Best Art Direction—Film: Unleashed
 * Best Art Direction—Video: Shock
 * Best Bisexual Video: Switchhitters VIII
 * Best Box Cover Concept: Russian Model Magazine
 * Best Box Cover Concept—Gay Video: Night Walk
 * Best CD-ROM Graphics/Art Direction: Latex
 * Best CD-ROM Photo Disk: Eric Kroll: Fetish
 * Best Cinematography: Andrew Blake, Unleashed
 * Best Compilation Tape: Sodomania: Smokin' Sextions
 * Best Director—Bisexual Video: Gino Colbert, Switchhitters VIII
 * Best Editing—Fllm: Barry Rose, Bobby Sox
 * Best Editing—Gay Video: Michael Ninn, Night Walk
 * Best Editing—Video: Michael Ninn, Shock
 * Best Ethnic-Themed Video: Inner City Black Cheerleader Search 6
 * Best Explicit Series: Amazing Hard
 * Best Featurette Tape: Sodomania 16
 * Best Foreign Release: The Pyramid 1–3
 * Best Foreign Featurette Tape: Prague by Night
 * Best Gay Alternative Video Release: Nighthawken
 * Best Gay Solo Video: Brad Posey's Hot Sessions 3
 * Best Gay Specialty Release: Orgy Boys 1 & 2
 * Best Interactive CD-ROM (Game): 2069: Oriental Sex Odyssey
 * Best Interactive CD-ROM (Non-Game): FantaScenes


 * Best Music: Dino and Earl Ninn, Shock
 * Best Music—Gay Video: Sharon Kane, Idol in the Sky
 * Best Newcomer—Gay Video: Kurt Young
 * Best Non-Sex Performance, Film or Video: Scotty Schwartz, Silver Screen Confidential
 * Best Non-Sexual Role—Bi, Gay or Trans Video: Jeanna Fine, Flesh and Blood
 * Best Original CD-ROM Concept: NetErotique
 * Best Overall Marketing Campaign for an Individual Title or Series: Conquest, Wicked Pictures
 * Best Overall Marketing Campaign for Company Image: Vivid Girl campaign, Vivid Video
 * Best Packaging—Film: Chasey Saves the World
 * Best Packaging—Gay Video: Idol in the Sky
 * Best Packaging—Specialty: Wheel of Obsession
 * Best Packaging—Video: XXX
 * Best Performer—Gay Video: Kurt Young, Flesh and Blood
 * Best Pro-Am Series: Cumm Brothers
 * Best Pro-Am Tape: Up and Cummers 33
 * Best Screenplay—Film: Raven Touchstone, Bobby Sox
 * Best Screenplay—Gay Video: Jerry Douglas, Flesh and Blood
 * Best Screenplay—Video: Jace Rocker, Silver Screen Confidential
 * Best Sex Scene—Gay Video: Derek Cameron, Kurt Young, Tradewinds
 * Best Special Effects: Shock
 * Best Specialty Tape—Big Bust: The Duke of Knockers 2
 * Best Specialty Tape—Bondage: Kym Wilde's on the Edge 33
 * Best Specialty Tape—Other Genre: High Heeled and Horny 4
 * Best Specialty Tape—Spanking: Hot Young Asses
 * Best Supporting Performer—Gay Video: Dino Phillips, Happily Ever After
 * Best Trailer: Conquest
 * Best Trans Video: Red Riding She-Male
 * Best Videography: Barry Harley, Shock
 * Best Videography—Gay Video: Bruce Cam, Desert Train

Special Achievement Awards

 * Mark Stone and Gary Miller on their 10th anniversary producing the AVN Awards Show
 * Berth Milton Jr. and Robert Tremont for their success with Private Video

AVN Breakthrough Award
Presented to Steve Perry for Ben Dover series

Hall of Fame
AVN Hall of Fame inductees for 1997, announced during AVN's pre-awards event, were: Bunny Bleu, R. Bolla, Michael Carpenter, Desiree Cousteau, Duck Dumont, Jeanna Fine, Gail Force, Ken Gibb (posthumously), Victoria Paris, Jeannie Pepper, John Stagliano, Joey Stefano (posthumously), John Travis, Dick Witte

Multiple nominations and awards
Shock won the most awards with 11; Bobby Sox was next with six, followed by gay video Flesh and Blood with five. Buttman's Bend Over Babes 4, Conquest, The Show, Silver Screen Confidential and Unleashed had three apiece. American Tushy! Idol in the Sky, Night Walk and Switchhitters VIII had two each.

Presenters and performers
The following individuals, in order of appearance, presented awards or performed musical numbers or comedy. The show's trophy girls were Midori and Stephanie Swift.

Ceremony information
Comedian Bobby Slayton made a return engagement as host of the show. This year the show was centered around an international theme, “the world of adult,” with added emphasis on European presenters and awards. This was the first year the awards ceremony was split over two nights, with a pre-awards event held January 10, 1997, where awards for technical achievements were distributed, while the main awards were presented January 11, 1997.

Several other people were also involved with the production of the ceremony. Serenity was responsible for choreography and Mark Stone was musical director with original songs by Mark J. Miller.

The top selling and renting tape of the year was Shock, although it was tied in the best-selling category with World's Biggest Gang Bang 2. There were several new awards categories this year including Best Advertisement and the AVN Breakthrough Award to acknowledge "those who were carving new niches and forging new territories in the adult business."

The ceremonies were published on VHS tape by VCA Pictures.

Critical response
The show received a negative reception from Hustler magazine, which said, “Long-winded speeches from several award winners threatened to bore everyone to death.” It went on to add that since AVN is a trade publication paid for by ads "from the same adult video companies it bestows awards upon, the critical value of such honors is subject to debate." Swank Video World magazine was a bit more positive, calling the show "the most glamorous night in the adult industry."