Surprise: Hot Mess Wins Clever Title Honor at AVN Awards Show

Upstart DVD group Hot Mess had the AVN Awards audience laughing out loud in Vegas, when the award for Most Clever Title was announced. "And the winner is: 12 Inches A Slave, from Hot Mess!" exclaimed the announcer. It was just another in a long list of surprises from the year-old company. Started by one of the creative forces at Vivid for the past 30 years, Hot Mess began as a lark and became something much bigger, much sooner. "As Vivid became more of a TV company and moved toward the 'granny' titles that work well in broadcast, we thought we'd do a small brand that got back to what started it all; hot girls, great packaging and fun titles," said Mr. X, his "porn de plume." The Hot Mess chief explained that so far they've shot in the US, Prague, Russia and even Spain. Said Mr. X, "Our main objective is simple: five hot scenes, smokin' girls, and packaging that jumps off the shelf." And Hot Mess seems to have accomplished something approaching that; distributors are noticing its titles, as are consumers. The line is distributed by Howard Levine at Exile, a long time associate of Mr. X, having worked with him at Vivid for over 20 years. "We had a major success with The Opening Of Olena because Olena looked about 18-and-a-minute," explained Levine, adding, "and from then on, the line quickly became one of my hottest-selling lines, second only to Forbidden Fruit." After The Opening... series, the fun titles started. Hot Mess did The Devil In Miss Jefferson, a Black parody of the classic porner; Hairy Mormons of Salt Lake City (with apologies to Mitt); St. Howard's School for Unwed Mothers (a Levine favorite); and then hit porn-gold with 12 Inches a Slave. Said Levine, "The response to 12 Inches was immediate and overwhelming. I called Mr. X immediately and said 'We have a winner.'" And 12 Inches a Slave continues to be Hot Mess' best selling title, according to Levine. "People always wonder why Hot Mess does so well," said Levine, "And I think to myself, great scenes, great packaging and 30 years of practice... it's that easy."