It was quite a year for the adult industry on many fronts in 2015. It was also quite a year for me on a personal level. For 2016 I expect it to be a very exciting, fulfilling and good year. While there is a lot of craziness that goes on in today’s world and all around us, we still can enjoy many things others in many countries cannot because of restrictions, beliefs, laws and archaic ways of life. So let’s take a look back at 2015 and a look ahead to 2016.
First on a personal level this was an amazing year, one which I almost didn’t make. I had a “widow maker” heart attack on Dec. 3, 2014 with only a 30 minute window between life and death. However, thanks to great doctors, the support of friends and family I fully recovered and was back at work in no time to do my features and film reviews, etc. for NightMoves and AAN as well as my radio gig on the Foxxxy Forum with Angye Fox and resume my active social life. I have never felt better and went on with 2015 and all that was planned as scheduled. Then in November we had a scare with Carole and possible cancer of the thyroid. She went in for a couple of biopsies and a week before Christmas found out the good news….. cancer free and she will be just fine.
To top everything off, I finished up a book I had put four years of work into and was fortunate to find a publisher willing to take a chance on me. Three weeks ago, my book “When Swing Was King” was published and is now available on Amazon.com. It is a book about the big band/swing era, the depression and World War II that were all part of this great musical period in our history. Thank you to Tara Richter and Richter Publishing Inc. for believing in me and my dream. With that encouragement I am now working on a second book on another subject.
Needless to say, personally 2015 turned out to be a very good year and I thank all of you for being a part of it. The Art of Adult is looking forward to an even more exciting, productive 2016.
As for the adult industry in 2015, it was quite a year to say the least. There were new companies, new stars, new productions, the loss of a golden age icon and a lot more. Now we approach the second leg of the awards season with the XBIZ awards and AVN awards in January. What will we remember from 2015 and have to look forward to in 2016?
In 2015 one thing that really stood out was the continued emergence of women behind the camera as directors. It was a year that saw ladies like Stormy Daniels, Kimberley Kane, Jacky St. James, Kay Brandt, jessica drake, Mason and others bring us some of the best quality films of the year that have been recognized by the industry with many award nominations. There was Stormy Daniels full scope, all out western “Wanted” for Wicked Pictures that many say is the best that Ms. Daniels has ever done. There was Ms. St. James and her continuing drama with the “Submission of Emma Marx: Boundaries” and other deep dramas, there was Kimberly Kane’s award nominated “Family Secrets” for Vivid, an edge of your seat murder mystery. Kay Brandt returned to films and took her erotic book “Safe Landings” to the adult screen for Adam & Eve, garnering critical acclaim and award nominations. There was Mason and her continuing series of erotic couplings of real romance and passion in series like “Pure Romance” and “Sensual Moments” and there was the highly acclaimed educational series “Guide to Wicked Sex” from jessica drake that created a big positive buzz from all corners.. All of these ladies raised the bar in in 2015 and are very deserving of the nominations that have come their way to begin 2016.
2015 was also the year the parody genre kept on rolling and once again turned out some extraordinary productions. Led by the parody master, Axel Braun, along with Will Ryder, Jim Powers and a few others the variety of parody films was excellent covering everything from Hollywood movies to TV shows to news headlines. Braun led the way with several XXX parodies, “Peter Pan, Barbarella, Batman vs. Superman, The Avengers and Wonder Woman” among them. There was the hilarious parody from Josh Stone for Trans 500 of former Olympic athlete Bruce Jenner becoming Kaitlyn, in “Kaitlyn Gender”. There was the very sexy, fun parody of the hit Hollywood film Magic Mike and another story taken from the headlines in “This Ain’t the Interview”. Barrett Blade directed a masterful “Sleeping With Danger” parody of the 90’s Julia Roberts chiller while Will Ryder returned with his take on the “Manson Family XXX” and Jim Powers came along with a very funny parody of a “Night at the Erotic Museum” that was clever and captured the adult feel of the mainstream film. It was another year of great variety in parodies. From what we hear, 2016 will lend itself to even more fun, sexy parodies covering comedy, super heroes, fairytales, drama and more.
In the original screenplay arena, there were some absolutely excellent, couples friendly, original features that covered comedy to drama helmed by directors like Brad Armstrong, the aforementioned Jacky St. James and Stormy Daniels, Scott Allen and others. These were story lines and plots that kept your attention with not only mainstream style scripts, but superlative acting, a quality in porn that is too often overlooked. It all lent to making these films excellent viewing experiences. There was even a mainstream director, Paul Deeb, who became involved in an adult film, “Marriage 2.0” that garnered much positive critical acclaim from outside the adult industry for its depth and realism. With sterling originals such as Armstrong’s “Aftermath”, Daniel’s “Deception”, St. James entry into a new genre “HotWife Blindfolded”, Allen’s “Love, Lost and Longing”, plus others like the “Stockholm Syndrome”, “Love, Sex and TV News”, “Starmaker” just to name a few that have been nominated. It was quite the big year for brand new, original screenplays and films that were all geared to couples rather than the “raincoat’ crowd.
Along with all the positives, the adult world was saddened when we lost a true legend, icon and pioneer in the adult industry, Candida Royalle. New York City born and bred she studied dance, theater and art. She came into the adult industry as a performer in 1975 and did about 25 films before leaving in 1980. She was also a feature writer for men’s magazines and in 1984 formed her Femmes Productions company that would go to create some of the most erotic adult films of the 80’s and 90’s. In addition to being a writer and director, she was also a lecturer and speaker on sexology and even gave a lecture at the Smithsonian. She was respected by everyone in the industry and is a member of the AVN and XRCO Halls of Fame. In 2014, she began production on a documentary called “While You Were Gone: The Untold Story of Candida Royalle” about her life and the search for her birth mother, whom she had not seen since she was abandoned by her at 18 months old. The project was still in production when Ms. Royalle passed away on September 7, 2015 from ovarian cancer. A true legend, her contributions to not only in adult, but to life in general, will never be forgotten.
Now we come to the beginning of another new year and what lies ahead in 2016? For one, there will be plenty of new faces to emerge, some will stay and some will fade away. There will be exciting new projects coming from the major companies, directors and performers. There will be more new imprints trying to make their company name in the industry. There will also be struggles, continued fights against piracy, the internet and free porn. There will be new barriers broken and some barriers that were broken (the inter-family sexual relationships genre) either gaining in popularity or fading away. There will also continue to be a growing, older, more mature fan base as well and there will always be that air of excitement. However, like it has been for the past few years, there will be worry as well about how the industry, in these tough times and the problems it faces, will continue to grow and stay solid. From its beginnings in the early 70’s this has always been a resilient industry that can, and has, risen to the challenges and it will continue to do so in 2016.
I look forward to my 27th year in 2016 in the adult industry with NightMoves and AAN and the many surprises it has in store. I also look forward to writing more great reviews, features and specials here on AAN and maybe, just maybe, get that second book of mine published as well.
Happy New Year everyone, I sincerely hope that 2016 will be filled with happiness, good health, good living and prosperous times for one and all.
Art Koch, National Features & DVD Editor, NightMoves Magazine and AAN
