I found out yesterday that I AM still an AVN voter. I ws wondering if I had been dropped from the ranks because of my "controversial" status now, since I run this website. Luckily I guess I am still in good graces with AVN, ( no thanks to many of my commenters, lol, thanks guys!), because I talked to Paul Fishbein & Dan Miller on e-mail and they made sure I could log in and vote. No matter what YOUR thoughts on the awards are, I am HONORED to be a voter. I do take the job seriously and work very hard throughout the year to be fair with my movie reviews, and especially at this time of the year, when I have to review movies and decide who I think should win the awards. Rumors have run rampant for years that the awards are based on advertising dollars spent. Since I am not in the room when the final decisions are made, I don’t know for sure if that is true. But based on my experience, my vote DOES count, and I have nothing To do with AVN’s advertisers. Do I think that who advertises in AVN has better chances of winning awards? Maybe. But there are above board reasons for this. Which comes first, the chicken or the egg, as they say?
I try to see the big picture here. AVN’s advertisers support AVN. AVN has more contact with those that advertise, then those that don’t. AVN has more contact with those that submit their movies to be reviewed. AVN has relationships with the people/companies that have supported them for years, as AVN has supported the companies. It’s a symbiotic relationship and the Awards are going to be influenced by that. If staff at AVN makes friends with those that advertise, that drop off movies for review, that stop by to visit, or do an interview, those are the people more apt to be nominated. It’s human nature. It’s not some secret payoff.
I can give you a personal first hand example. You all know I love parody movies. I also love Jeff Mullen (X-Play) & Hustler, who happen to make some of the BEST Parody movies. X-Play & Hustler both advertise on this site. I will be voting for X-play & Huster to win several of the awards. Am I voting for them because they advertise on my site? Or am I voting for them because they made the best movies? Or am I voting for them because I like them personally? I am voting for them because they made the best movies. But of course my feelings for them personally, and the fact that they support LIB do count into that. How could it not? ? But, which came first?
Actually my love of those people and companies and their movies came before they were advertisers. And it is perhaps BECAUSE of my love of them and their movies that they decided to become advertisers. So I can understand AVN’s position when they are caught between a rock & a hard place when giving out awards.
I think AVN does the best they can, and the voting is legitimate. Does Paul Fishbein make the final decisions? Yes. He should. They’re his damn AWARDS!
I have quite a bit more to say on this subject…. I’ll let you know as I go through my process to pick winners…