Source: The Azurix Group USA
By: Company Press Release
(LOS ANGELES, CA) — With an all new marketing campaign that dubbed its stylish signing area ”The House of Wicked,” Wicked Pictures maintained a formidable presence at the 2009 Adult Entertainment Expo in Las Vegas.
Whether they were gracing the awards show stage, wheeling and dealing in the business-to-business marketplace, moderating panels in the seminar meeting rooms or grabbing headlines in the mainstream media, Wicked Pictures’ superstar contract performers, award-winning directors, and key executives were playing to win.
The wicked week in Sin City concluded with the 26th Annual AVN Awards Show, which saw the company’s exclusive contract talent winning several major trophies.
For the Wicked crew, the excitement began Wednesday evening, January 7th, with jessica drake, Kaylani Lei, Kirsten Price, Alektra Blue, and Mikayla Mendez hosting the first of several nightclub soirees. After a private party at the Red Rock’s bowling alley, the ladies rolled over to the Luxor’s posh LAX nightclub for the first of several open-to-the-public ”Week of Wickedness” events. DJ Am and Travis Barker kept the club pumping while the likes of Dr. Dre posed for pictures with the Wicked ladies.
Mere hours later, a formal ribbon-cutting ceremony presided over by Stormy Daniels launched the convention in style. After a brisk opening day spent greeting their fans on the Sands Expo convention floor, Thursday evening saw jessica, Kaylani, Kirsten, Alektra, and Mikayla holding court at the Luxor for an intimate meet-and-greet at the Company American Bistro before heading out for another night of high voltage revelry at LAX.
The momentum spilled over into Friday morning, when Wicked VP of Special Projects Joy King moderated a well-received seminar that explored the changing roles of women in the industry, both as business executives and consumers. The successful seminar, titled Girls, Girls, Girls: The Growing Power of Women in Adult Entertainment, led to King receiving coverage in everything from Adultfyi.Com to Variety.
Press coverage was just as varied at Wicked’s booth, where TMZ.Com, Wire Image, the Associated press, HBO Latin America, and G4 chronicled the excitement as mainstream celebrities like *Nsync band member Joey Fatone and Grammy nominated rapper Flo Rider stopped by to chat with the Wicked Girls.
Friday evening saw the ladies hosting two more special nightclub events – jessica, Kaylani, Kirsten, Alektra, and Mikayla made the scene at the Palms’ Hardwood Suite where guests included two of the Maloof brothers. The Hardwood Suite event, like the private parties at the Red Rock and the Company American Bistro, were co-sponsored by Wicked Pictures, Vouyer Media, Zero Tolerance, New Sensations, and Diabolic.
For her part, multiple 2009 AVN award nominee Stormy Daniels promoted her upcoming release Operation Tropical Stormy with an explosive soiree at the exclusive Lavo inside the Palazzo. Celebrity guests for the evening included John Legend, Stevie Wonder, Quinton ”Rampage” Jackson, Wilmer Valderrama, and Dirt Nasty.
Saturday afternoon, January 10th saw 2009 AVN Award nominee Randy Spears fielding questions as part of the Talent Panel hosted by Genesis magazine on the Fyre TV Stage, while award winning director Michael Raven discussed the creation of the Wicked and other big budget productions at the informative Filmmaking 101 seminar.
With the company and the lines it distributes nominated for over 90 2009 AVN Awards, it should come as no surprise that the Wicked AEE excitement peaked Saturday, January 10th, at the 26th Annual AVN Awards Show in the Mandalay Bay Events Center. In addition to featuring Kirsten Price, jessica drake, and Stormy Daniels as red carpet hosts (for Playboy, Popporn.com, and G4, respectively), the show also saw Kirsten, Mikayla Mendez, and Kaylani Lei taking center-stage as presenters.
When she wasn’t hosting the red carpet, jessica was busy winning awards, including Best Double Penetration Sex Scene for Fallen (an award she shared with Brad Armstrong and Eric Masterson), and, more importantly, Best Actress for her revelatory turn as Fallen’s angelic female lead.
The glamorous Ms. drake made no secret of her joy in winning, revealing, ”This is the third time I’ve won Best Actress from AVN, and each time it happens, it means even more and more to me. Also, to win for Best DP Sex Scene for my first onscreen DP was fantastic!
”I really think Fallen is the very best movie I’ve ever done, and I want to thank everyone at AVN and all the voters for supporting me, and I’d also like to thank Steve Orenstein and everyone at Wicked. Every accomplishment I have made in this industry has been because of the support they have given me. Brad Armstrong’s talent far surpassed my wildest expectations when we made this movie, and I am honored to have been the star of his 100th movie. We did it!”
Fittingly, Writer-Director-Performer Armstrong was the company’s other big winner for the evening, with Fallen earning Best DVD Menus (a testimony to the ongoing commitments to quality of Wicked’s Vice President of DVD Production Jackie Ramos and Dimension DVD), and Best Packaging for the innovative and elegant sleeve created by Wicked’s award-winning creative design team. The filmmaker himself snared the coveted Director of the Year (Body of Work) trophy, and he had no qualms about admitting that this was the accolade he most valued.
”Fallen was my epic for the year and I’m ecstatic about the recognition it’s received (both awards and nominations) but the ‘Director of the Year’ award is the one that really means the most to me,” Armstrong later confided. ”This really reinforces the fact that I put 100% into every movie I make. I take pride in the fact that viewers/distributors/reviewers alike have come to feel confident that every time they pick up a Wicked movie they are assured of consistent quality. This is a great pat on the back, both for me and the company.
”I’m honored to accept this award, and would like to take a moment to thank the people that made it all possible- AVN and their reviewers, Steve Orenstein for being the best boss in the world, and of course my hardworking crew: videographers Francois Clousot & Michael Raven, producer Mark Nicholson, editor Eddy Door, along with the rest of my talented cast and crew. And a special thanks goes out to jessica drake for her undying commitment to her craft, and her incredible ability. It was her acting skill, and intense sexual energy that made Fallen all that it was.”
After the awards gala thundered to a successful conclusion, industry insiders found themselves with a choice of two deliciously Wicked after parties to attend. The company sponsored a spectacular bash at trendy Pure inside Caesar’s Palace that featured appearances by jessica, Kaylani, Alektra, Mikayla, Kirsten, and Brad Armstrong. Meanwhile, over at the Venetian, Stormy held her own sizzling post-awards soiree at the top-rated Tao.
From the informative seminars to the red carpet, from the convention floor to the VIP sections of Las Vegas’ most exclusive hotspots, the ladies and gentlemen of Wicked Pictures made the most of the 2009 Adult Entertainment Expo, playing to win and continuing to affirm their unswerving commitment to their fans, customers, and business partners from around the world.
To learn more, click below to visit Wicked.com.
All Writing, Additional Research, Additional Photography, and Wire Distribution Services Provided by the Azurix Group.
