AVN Media
Network announced today that Paul Fishbein will receive the prestigious
Visionary Award at the 2016 AVN Awards. Fishbein was one of the original
founders of AVN back in 1983 and headed the organization for nearly 30 years
before selling the company. The award will be presented at the 2016 AVN Awards
at The Joint in the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas on Saturday,
January 23, 2016.
"The
choice of Paul Fishbein as this year's Visionary was an easy one,"
commented Tony Rios, CEO of AVN Media Network. "Paul is someone who
understood very early on the importance of the adult film industry, and that it
was going to be a moving force in consumer marketplace in those early days of
home video. He has continued to deal with adult entertainment in a serious way
and as creator of AVN and all that followed, he has always remained the gold
standard. He's not getting this award because he’s family - he’s getting this
because he truly deserves it."
AVN’s
Visionary Award recipients all have certain attributes in common - ethics,
civic responsibility, an eye for quality and innovation, and a compassionate
understanding of adult entertainment and its place in mainstream society.
Fishbein, certainly embodies all these attributes and values.
"I
am truly humbled and a bit embarrassed about receiving this award," says
Fishbein. "We created AVN and eventually this award as well because we
felt there was a need for it. I’m not sure I'm a visionary, but I am a
supporter of the adult industry and if I helped get the business some respect
over the years, then I’m pleased about that."
After
graduating from Temple University, Fishbein, along with two friends and $900,
created the Adult Video News in 1983. An 8-page newsletter that reviewed the
latest X-rated releases that were becoming popular on the burgeoning VHS format
- AVN was unlike any guide out there. It was Fishbein who realized early on the
importance of giving consumers a publication that covered and critiqued the
adult movie trade with seriousness and professionalism, something that had
eluded it up until this point. With AVN, he would give the business of adult a
true business publication, not only reviewing the latest releases but as it
grew, it would cover sales, insider gossip and the behind the scenes movers and
shakers and the deals they made.
With his
first AVN Awards ceremony in 1984, Fishbein again showed his forward-thinking
about the business of adult filmmaking and gave the industry an awards show
that not only honored excellence in the field, but gave the talented people
involved a night to unapologetically celebrate their work and themselves. Under
his direction, the event crossed into the mainstream with its airing on
Showtime. The annual event is still one of the hottest tickets in Las Vegas.
Since
selling AVN Media Network, he launched Plausible Films, a full-service
production company based in southern California. The company produced one of
Showtime's top-rated documentaries "X-Rated: The Greatest Adult Movies of
All Time" and is heading into its second season of the unscripted series
"Sex with Sunny Megatron.” A second documentary is currently being shot
for Showtime entitled "X-Rated 2: The Greatest Adult Stars of All
Time." Fishbein is also working as Executive Producer on a scripted
television series called "Submission" which was written and directed
by Jacky St. James and is currently in post-production. Fishbein has been a
staunch free-speech defender, always ready to speak up for the industry and the
rights of filmmakers and performers when unfairly under attack.
The 2016
AVN Awards Show will be hosted this year by comedian Kate Quigley and adult
superstars Joanna Angel and Anikka Albrite. The gala will be
held Saturday, January 23, 2016 at The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel &
Casino Las Vegas. Known as "the Oscars of porn," the annual AVN
Awards Show is the premier gala of adult video and recognizes titles,
individuals, and companies for contributions to and excellence in the industry.
Official AVN Awards site: http://avnawards.avn.com/
Hotel
rooms are available from The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas here:
Tickets are available here: https://avnawards.eventbrite.com
SOURCE: Sue
Procko/The Procko Group, Inc.