When Showtime debuted its broadcast of the 2008 Adult Video News Awards on March 14, the cabler made history with something often pursued but rarely achieved: an awards show that wasn’t dull.
Could the Oscars learn something from the AVNs?

Of course, the Oscars are live and Showtime had more than a month to edit. And there’s other inequities: Movie stars try to disguise all evidence of plastic surgery; porn stars put theirs on display. The Oscars must contend with five best-song perfs while AVN celebrates award categories like Best Group Sex Scene.

However, the Showtime program also captured elements that mainstream award shows would love to embrace but too often don’t.

Discernible personalities: AVN’s red-carpet hosts were rock star-porn director Dave Navarro and Wicked Pictures contract starlet Kirsten Price. They may be less recognizable than Ryan Seacrest, but they seem like a lot more fun to hang around with.

The element of surprise: It was an honest-to-(er)-goodness shock when Jenna Jameson prefaced her presentation of the Crossover Star of the Year Award with the announcement that she had retired from porn.

Short speeches: AVN president Paul Fishbein says the show imposes no time limits on its winners. He doesn’t have to; most porn stars don’t thank their agents.

Willingness to edit: This year, the AVNs had about 110 categories (”almost as many the Grammys,” says Fishbein, who plans a shorter roster next year). Of those, only 20 were presented at the ceremony; other winners were read as a list.
But beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The Oscarcast is often criticized for its dull choreography, and porn vets take a similarly dim view of the bump-and-grind dance party that traditionally ends the AVNs, especially when the segment needed to be honed for airing on Showtime.

“When it finally ended, they said, ‘One more time!’ because it was TV,” says Wicked VP Joy King. “I was like, ‘You’ve got to be kidding.’ ”

All information from www.VARIETY.com

Popular performer Brooke Haven has announced that she will only perform scenes with other women now.

Haven recently stopped performing on-camera anal sex.
The starlet said of her decision, “I love my job and want to keep loving it, so the alteration to my performing availability was necessary. I love girls and I know I bring an intensity to my girl/girl scenes. I’m still going to be here, in scenes, featured dancing, and appearances. I plan to have a solid future ahead of me in this industry. ”

All information from www.AVN.com

Monique Alexander is the new sex columnist for the AdultFriendFinder.com on-line magazine. Her second monthly column is now on the site and it answers a slew of questions, ranging from her favorite sexual positions to how the newly sober should go about forming relationships. On that score, she tells her one-year sober correspondent: “Congratulations on your sobriety! You’ve taken a major step to change your life. In fact, it’s so big and so important that starting a relationship with a woman is minor by comparison. Relationships are all about having confidence. The more confident you are, the more sex appeal you have. When you find someone you like, don’t be over eager. Be cool and even play hard to get. Once she has that vibe, she’ll be curious and want to learn more about you, one step at a time.”

Another questioner asks her how she got into the adult entertainment industry. She relates the story and then says, “Though I love sex, I knew that making boy/girl movies would change my life forever and so I wanted to be sure I was ready for it. It took me three years to make that decision and I’m not sure I would have done it, had I not been invited to be a Vivid Girl. Vivid is at the top of the industry. The company is also very strict about testing to make sure that everyone on a set is healthy and that is important to me. I know I’m not going to do this forever, but right now I’m having sex for a living and loving it.”

Animal rights organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) will attempt to generate interest in leather alternatives by unveiling a Bettie Page-inspired ad featuring adult icon Jenna Jameson wearing a black wig and a “pleather” bikini.

The new PETA ad is called “Pleather Yourself: Discover the Pleasure of Pleather,” and Jameson will unveil the campaign, which was shot by top celebrity photographer Gavin Bond, as part of Los Angeles Fashion Week.

Jameson said of the campaign, “It is OK to be an animal in bed, but not at the expense of real animals. Pleather yourself every day, every night, every chance you get! Anybody who knows me knows that I’ve kind of lived half my life in pleather. And if I can show off the hot look of pleather and convert a few leather lovers, then mission accomplished. The outfit that I’m wearing in the ad is so sexy that I suggest if people want to have a better time in the bedroom - then please explore the pleather side.”

For more information, and to win the bikini in the ad check out www.PETA.org

All information is from www.AVN.com