Las Vegas- After getting past the metal detectors, the banquet room itself seemed a bit less packed, though no less chaotic. The $250 awards tickets gets you into a room designed only for the cameras, not the live audience. My ticket got me a seat behind a giant riser with television cameras blocking 100% of my view of the actual stage. Throughout the night, the stage was only visible to me on video screens set up around the hall.
Wandering about, I found John Stagliano at the very front and center of the room. His movie, "The Fashionistas" won 10 AVN awards in 2002 (two more were acquired the next year for the DVD issue) a record that was being challenged on this night by "Pirates" starring the AVN Award's hostess Jesse Jane. As "Pirates" tonight had more nominations than "Fashionistas" had garnered in its day, I asked Stagliano if he was worried about losing his record?
He said he wasn't all that concerned one-way-or-the-other.
"If that is the only drama I have to worry about things are good," he said. He seemed very relaxed. Even in this relatively mellow AVN year for him, Stagliano's company Evil Angel still got 91 nominations. Foremost among them were a few for "Vault of Whores," a movie directed by Stagliano's wife, Karen who performed over 200 movies as Tricia Devereaux in the late 90s before being infected with HIV while shooting a scene with an actor who had faked his test result. (Yes, never forget that adult has risks far more substantial than being shunned by the mainstream world, and even after Karen's experience she shot "Vault" without condoms.)
Karen has earned AVN awards and nominations from back in her performing days, but this was her first time being nominated for her work behind the camera. I asked her what the difference was. "Directing is a lot less personal," she said. "When you are on screen people are rating your body, how you have sex, everything about you."
As the show was about to begin, I headed back to my seat. On the way Larry Flynt's entourage swept past me, but his security didn't allow me close enough to speak to him.
