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February 27, 2007

Adams Report February 26 - March 4, 2007

I'm glad there are serious journalists covering the GayVN Awards! I was too busy having fun! J.C. Adams wrote a great summary of the event, much of which I missed because I got stuck in the balcony and couldn't hear. Read what he had to say after the jump.

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The Adams Report by J.C. Adams
February 26 - March 4, 2007

What happens when Lucas Entertainment wins a record-setting 14 trophies at the 9th Annual GAYVN Awards? The skies above San Francisco turn grey, frigid winds blow and water falls from black clouds in sheets. Oh, I'm just kidding. It wasn't Michael Lucas' fault the weather during GAYVN weekend was so crappy. This week in "The Adams Report by JC Adams" we're taking a look at the highs and lows of the big show. Bend over and remember to breathe...

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The Adams Report by J.C. Adams
February 26 - March 4, 2007

What happens when Lucas Entertainment wins a record-setting 14 trophies at the 9th Annual GAYVN Awards? The skies above San Francisco turn grey, frigid winds blow and water falls from black clouds in sheets. Oh, I'm just kidding. It wasn't Michael Lucas' fault the weather during GAYVN weekend was so crappy. This week in "The Adams Report by JC Adams" we're taking a look at the highs and lows of the big show. Bend over and remember to breathe...

Although it was a triumphant night for many performers and studios, with plenty of wild jabs and outrageous fashion, one of the highlights of the evening turned out to be a barn-burner of an acceptance speech by Hall of Fame recipient Steve Toushin of Bijou Video. He singled out industry pioneers for recognition and honored everyone in this business as activists and front-line soldiers in the cultural wars. Needless to say, and I am understating grandly, Mr. Toushin's early activism and boosterism encouraged gay adult entertainment to flourish and thrive.

Before we spill the beans on the winners and losers, let's just say it: Kathy Griffin kicked ass. She brought down the house not once, not twice, but 17 times (roughly). Ms. Griffin was introduced by directrix Chi Chi LaRue, who swept onstage in a flowing, flame-colored gown and purred into the microphone, "You didn't think I was gonna miss getting up on this stage did you...?"

What a rush of adrenaline it must have been for Kathy Griffin to take in the raucous applause and full-throated roaring of 1400-strong audience members. "Hello porn-loving gays!" she yelped (then made a point to tip her hat to the "fag-hags who love them.") She thanked the crowd for their support and misted up as she expressed appreciation for a chance to perform with "my gays" given that her father died just seven days earlier. "If it wasn't for my gays, I'd be home crying by myself," she said as the crowd jumped to its feet yet again. (And after the opening segment introducing the Best Picture nominees, she quipped, "Guys, MY asshole hurts from watching that clip.")

Lucas Entertainment's MICHAEL LUCAS' LA DOLCE VITA swept every single category in which they appeared (including one tie) for a total of fourteen hunks of Lucite; no other company has done it (the previous leader was BUCKLEROOS 1-2 for Buckshot with 11 trophies and, before then, WHITE TRASH for MSR Videos picked up a measly nine).

Hot House Video took home four awards (two apiece for JUSTICE and BLACK-N-BLUE) while All Worlds Video, Falcon Studios and Lukas Kazan Productions managed to snag two apiece amid the Lucas Entertainment coronation. In fact, when Steven Scarborough accepted the Best All-Sex trophy he quipped, "I'm really glad Michael Lucas wasn't nominated in this category. Can you live without this one, Michael?"

Lucas Entertainment also made GAYVN history in other ways: they are the first gay adult company to snag back-to-back wins in 12 years and only the fourth studio with multiple Best Picture wins (five, four and two wins apiece have gone Falcon Studios, All Worlds Video and Catalina Video, respectively).

Tony DiMarco earned a rarified spot in the GAYVN pantheon as the winners were announced Saturday, February 24th at the Castro Theater: He became the only behind-the-scenes talent to take home four trophies. Mr. DiMarco earned Best Videography, Screenplay, Editing and Direction (shared with Michael Lucas).

But Mr. Lucas didn't go home empty handed: He also won Best Actor and shared Best Threesome with Derrick Hanson and Jason Ridge. Hetero starlet Savanna Samson picked up Best Nonsex Performance in a tie with industry vet Paul Barresi for Falcon's THE VELVET MAFIA 1-2, his first award in a three-decade career.

MICHAEL LUCAS’ LA DOLCE VITA also picked up kudos for supporting actor Spencer Quest as well as Best Art Direction, Best Marketing Campaign (that was a gimme), Best Packaging, Best Music for Nekked and Best DVD Extras/Special Edition.

Hot House Video had a pretty good night, too. Their JUSTICE starring Shane Rollins picked up Best Oral Scene for Mr. Rollins and Ty Hudson, plus a Best Solo Performance kudo for Kent North, while BLACK-N-BLUE earned Best Leather Video and Best All-Sex Video.

Mr. Lucas and Mr. DiMarco were the only individuals to take home multiple trophies. Despite a leading six nominations, Francois Sagat picked up only one, but it was choice: Performer of the Year. Matt Cole's breakthrough year earned him Best Newcomer citations.

HIGHLIGHTS
Among the highlights were animated crimefighters/porn stars Stonewall and Riot presenting Best Foreign Release. (They appeared on a videotaped bit.) After THE SCHOOL FOR LOVERS was announced as the winner, Ms. Griffin reappeared and said of the pen-and-ink duo, "I fucked those guys in Toon Town."

As Kathy Griffin first took the stage, Michael Lucas jumped up from his front-row seat to hand her a bouquet of flowers. Later, when Gino Colbert had introduced this year's Hall of Fame recipients, it was announced that Ms. Griffin had been voted an honorary member of the Hall of Fame as well. "The trophy is blank!" she laughed. "They told me to just take it. I gotta say, that's kind of D-list." (Later she was presented with an actual sword by NakedSword.com and named the first female NakedSwordswoman of the Year. I hear there was a push to name her Best Actor, but wiser heads prevailed.)

At one point Ms. Griffin cajoled Falcon Exclusive Erik Rhodes (two or three sheets to the wind) to the front of the stage, flirted with him and goaded him into stripping off his shirt and flexing for the crowd, then giving her a kiss. Later, presented Tyler Riggz was heckled by the crowd into taking off his shirt and subsequently became tangled up in his cufflinks and sleeves, his hands accidentally shackled behind his back. "Guys, I'm really stuck here!" he laughed nervously. Suddenly Ms. Griffin popped back onstage and rushed to Mr. Riggz, fell to her knees and quickly helped him out of his predicament.

LOWLIGHTS
Inevitably there were a few low points. The show started half an hour late due to a seating snafu at the front of the theatre that was prolonged by attendees who didn't seem to want to take their seats (or could not find them). Midway through the show, a woman collapsed and was escorted up the aisle by paramedics and taken for treatment.

A fair crowd quickly abandoned the show after about an hour and commenced to drinking heavily in the Castro lobby. At one point their shouts and shrieks grew so loud it briefly drowned out the folks onstage.

And in an embarrassing breach of decorum, just as the Best Picture winner was announced, a full quarter of the audience jumped to their feet and thronged for the exits. As Tony DiMarco and Michael Lucas were expressing their gratitude, most of the audience had already turned their backs and were funneling for the exits. The show wasn't over yet and the theatre was already emptying as Ms. Griffin was presented with her NakedSword.com accolade. I get that people were getting antsy and just wanted to get to that afterparty, but how about a bit of common courtesy next time?

SEE AND BE SEEN
A teeny, tiny list of the industryites with whom I pressed the flesh: Jason Sechrest of JasonCurious.com, who never seems to stop moving; Chris Green; Derek Hartley of "Derek and Romaine" (and a nominee for his nonsex perf in BIG RIG); Doug Jeffries and fellow Channel 1 Releasing staffer Jefferson; rising pup Tory Mason and his Fabscout representation; camera mistress Mr. Pam; cutie Christian Owen and his new boyfriend Adam Killian in matching outfits (shirtless with ties, jackets and fedoras). The ever-handsome Mr. Killian and I go back together to 1995 (!) when we were part of the organizing committee for the Gay Erotic Video Awards.

My escort for part of the evening was GAYVN Hall of Fame director Jerry Douglas. We'd spent part of the morning, together with Studio 2000 honcho David McKay, recording an interview for the DVD re-release of DREAM TEAM, which won Best Picture back in 1999. It's been out of print for years. I was on the crew of that movie! This San Francisco trip was truly a parade of memories. Crew members on DREAM TEAM included Derek Kent (as "Ross Cannon") and Rock Hard, both of whom were in attendance this year and expressed delight that this terrific film would be returning to the shelves. (Look for it this summer.)

Although I wasn't staying at the posh W Hotel, awards weekend central, and a constant stream of performers, executives, escorts (and sometimes all three at once) my own accommodations had plenty of spillover. Editor/director Andrew Rosen and writer Jeffrey Escoffier were staying in rooms nearby, gossip columnist Billy Masters was right next door and producer Bob East was just across the way. Mr. East and I hadn't seen each other in quite some time and it was a treat to catch up. He had a scoop for me: Men of Odyssey is set for a relaunch! Stay tuned for specifics.

Among our boys in the audience: a low-key Kyle Aames; Rafael Alencar (back from an island shoot in Key West for his Black Scorpion label); Rod Barry; Tommy Blade; scorching hot Benjamin Bradley with his blondie lookalike (and equally gorgeous) boyfriend; a chic Caleb Carter; Alex Chandler; Damien Crosse (even hotter in person); Vinnie D'Angelo; superhero-handsome Titan newbie Dean Flynn; Jeremy Hall; Brian Hansen (bubbling over with the happy news that boyfriend Brad Patton is currently filming a "Dancing with the Stars"-type reality show in Amsterdam); Owen Hawk; Roman Heart (who go-go danced atop Chi Chi LaRue's DJ console at the afterparty); Chad Hunt; a skinny, mohawked Marcus Iron; CJ Knight; Michael Knight; and Trevor Knight, who was rightfully disappointed that he'd been nominated four times and lost each one. Dammit, when are the GAYVNs gonna give this guy some love? Still, as I told him, four nods are quite rare and a praiseworthy achievement.

Also seen: Barrett Long, who was more gregarious than I've seen him in awhile. You have a great smile, Mr. Long! Plus: Marc LaSalle; Antonio Madiera; Kent North; Collin O'Neal; Damon Phoenix; Jason Ridge; Andy Roddick (oft shirtless); Shane Rollins (part of uber-agent David Forest's entourage); Pete Ross; Cole Ryan; Francois Sagat (who sweetly pronounced his love for Hot House Exclusive Franceso D'Macho from the GAYVN stage); newbie Jesse Santana plus boyfriend; new Falcon pup Ashton Star (whose nerdy-chic look was a complete makeover from his sun-kissed blond image onscreen); Marc Sterling; tanned and beautiful Eddie Stone (whose entourage included "Project Runway" castoff Robert Best); Christian Taylor (the compact blondie who doesn't appear to have aged a day since his 1999 debut in THE AMERICAN WAY); Matthias von Fistenberg; tall and hunkalicious Diesel Washington; and Skye Woods. Oh, and Hall of Famer Peter Berlin. Holy shit! Peter-fucking-Berlin!

THAT'S NOT ALL, FOLKS
We're at the end of a column and we've haven't even touched the COLT 40th Anniversary bash or the dueling receptions thrown by VOD behemoths MaleFlixxx.com and Nakedsword.com! Plus, the official pre- and after-GAYVN afterparties were raucous affairs that seemed to draw hundreds more than actually attended the awards show itself. Stay tuned to our website throughout the week for more gossip and scoop!

Porn Star Birthdays for February 26 through March 4: Clint Cooper, Rick Matthews, Daniel Montes, Bryce Pierce, Marc Pierrot (Feb. 26); Carlos Aguirre, Anthony Ferrat, Matt Majors, Jackson Phillips, Austin Reeves, Rio, Nick Stevenson, Rob Walker, Chris Windsor, Tony Zerega (Feb. 27); Casper, Kyle Douglas, Dakota Phillips, Scott Samson, Emilio Santos, Christopher Stone, Matthias Vannelli (Feb. 28); Chris Cox, Remus Orza (Feb. 29: Leap Day); Bryan Abban, Unique Lee, Zack Davenport (March 1); Matthieu Costa, Mats Riem, Wes Rogers, Bryon Roberts (March 2); Gus, Mitchell James, Eric Michaels, Michael Vincenzo (March 3); Antonio Vargas (March 4).

J.C. Adams has covered the gay adult entertainment industry since 1995, and has served as the editor of "Inside Porn Magazine," "Unzipped Monthly" and the Adam Gay Video Directory. In addition to the "Adams Report" weekly gossip and news column, his work has appeared in "Adult Video News," "Gay Chicago," "Genre," "HX" and many other print and online publications. You can reach him at JCAdamsXXX@aol.com

500 Turtles Productions © 2002 - 2006, 2007

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Posted by lavenderlounge at 10:59 AM

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