Page 76 - AVN January 2013

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A VN CELEBRATES III DECADES
“I always felt bad for the comedians,” Byron said. “The show was so long and by the
time they came out, about half the room was coked up and the other half was talking busi-
ness. No one was paying any attention to the comedians, and those guys just bombed.
It wasn’t until 1990, he added, “when Bill Hicks performed, that things really turned
around and the production value of the awards show really started to go up. Hicks came
out and really took over the room. He made an entrance like he was Elvis, and he had toilet
paper wrapped around his shoulders like Elvis used to have his scarves, and he really made
people pay attention to him. From that point on, things just got bigger and bigger.”
This year, comedian April Macie will join the long list of comedians to perform at the
AVN Awards when she and performers Asa Akira and Jesse Jane host the 30th annual
event.
Winners Circle Above left, direc-
tors John Leslie and Rocco Siffredi
with stars Kelly O’Dell and Ashlyn
Gere. Above right, Vivid head Steve
Hirsch and Evil Angel founder John
Stagliano at the 1998 AVN Awards
Show.
Macie, a stand-up comedy headliner who travels all over the world, was a finalist on
NBC’s Last Comic Standing in 2006, has appeared on E! Entertainment, Fuel TV, HSN,
Sirius and XM Radio, Bob & Tom, Access Hollywood, and was labeled an “emerging talent to
watch” by the Hollywood Reporter at the Just for Laughs Comedy Festival in 2005.
Macie is a regular guest on the Howard Stern Show, where in 2008 she was voted the
“Funniest and Hottest” comedian in America. She has appeared on Showtime in the
documentary I Am Comic, and in the Showtime stand-up specials Vegas Is My Oyster and
Snoop Dogg Presents The Bad Girls of Comedy.
“I’m really excited to host the awards,” Macie said. “A lot of amazing comics have hosted
in previous years, so I’ll be able to join them and put my cool pants on for a night.”
>>
C Ch hr ri is st ti ia an n M Ma an nn n | | S St tu ud di io o E Ex xe ec cu ut ti iv ve e, , C Cl la as ss s o of f 1 19 97 79 9
W Wh ha at t a an nd d w wh he en n w wa as s y yo ou ur r f fi ir rs st t e ex xp pe er ri ie en nc ce e i in n a ad du ul lt t? ? I officially started in the business in the summer of 1979 when I was 18 years old. My job was packing magazines in my dad’s warehouse
and delivering them to our local customers in the beat-up company van. Seven months into my job, on Valentine’s Day 1980, I was delivering a van full of How To Enlarge Your Penismaga-
zines to CPLC in Central L.A. As I turned the corner, I saw the entire block swarming with news media trucks ... and the CPLC parking lot was filled with big guys wearing FBI windbreakers.
I knew enough to not stop and instead made my way to the nearest phone booth to call my dad who had been worried because he knew raids were going down all over the country ... and he
couldn't reach me in the days before cell phones. This wasn’t my first day on the job, but it remains one of my earliest and most vivid memories from my freshman year in our business.
F Fa av vo or ri it te e m me em mo or ry y o of f A AV VN N A Aw wa ar rd ds s S Sh ho ow w: : I have been to every single AVN Awards Show since they became an event that industry people attended in person. One of my favorite pictures from
the AVN Awards is of me sitting at my Video Team table flanked by rapper Lil’ Jon and Lakers owner Jerry Buss. My favorite presentation moment occurred when one of the starlets had to
stumble through announcing a win for Risque Burlesque , pronounced by her as “Risk-Cue Burles-Cue.” I’m not being mean, but it was sweet and fucking funny at the same time. The very
few times I’ve been on that stage I’ve probably stumbled and stammered because it’s an overwhelming moment if you’re not used to it. All you see from the stage is a big light shining right
in your eyes and this feeling that you’re being judged by everyone you know. I was stunned three years ago when David Aaron Clark, who had died two months earlier, won the Best Director
award for our movie Pure and John Stagliano had me accept on his behalf. In order to not cry, I tried to play it for comedy and pretend that he was calling me on my cell phone.
P Pa au ul l F Fi is sh hb be ei in n | | A AV VN N F Fo ou un nd de er r, , C Cl la as ss s o of f 1 19 98 83 3
W Wh ha at t y ye ea ar r d di id d y yo ou u s st ta ar rt t w wo or rk ki in ng g i in n a ad du ul lt t? ? AVN was conceived in 1982 and the first issue was released in February of 1983.
W Wh ha at t j jo ob bs s h ha av ve e y yo ou u d do on ne e? ? Publisher/owner of AVN; now television production.
F Fa av vo or ri it te e m me em mo or ry y o of f A AV VN N A Aw wa ar rd ds s S Sh ho ow w: : My favorite moment was the very first time we actually hired a comedian for the AVN Awards show. The year was 1990 and it was at the Tropicana
Hotel. It was the legendary Bill Hicks, maybe the best stand-up of all time. And he and Mark Stone (who was the bandleader) had worked out a bit about Elvis Presley that tore the house
down. Hicks killed, and it was at that moment that the AVN Awards Show went from a wine and cheese reception to a full-blown, well-produced, entertaining awards show. And when I saw
people loving Hicks and the routine he and Mark had worked out, I knew we had arrived.
S St te ev ve en n H Hi ir rs sc ch h | | C Co o- -C Ch ha ai ir r, , V Vi iv vi id d E En nt te er rt ta ai in nm me en nt t, , C Cl la as ss s o of f 1 19 97 79 9
W Wh ha at t w wa as s y yo ou ur r f fi ir rs st t m mo ov vi ie e? ? Vivid’s first movie was Ginger , released in December 1984.
W Wh ha at t j jo ob bs s h ha av ve e y yo ou u d do on ne e? ? [In 1979] I started out working for my father in his warehouse. I then graduated to his VHS duplication lab and ultimately to sales. I then went to work for Cal
Vista Video as national sales manager. After a couple years David James (another employee from Cal Vista) and I left to start Vivid Entertainment.
F Fa av vo or ri it te e m me em mo or ry y o of f A AV VN N A Aw wa ar rd ds s S Sh ho ow w: : I think the first award show we were at, Blame It On Ginger won Best Video Release and I knew we had arrived.
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