Welcome to the First Annual Temptation Awards, sponsored by HotMovies.com. The Temptation Awards recognized the outstanding talent and accomplishment in the individuals, companies, and products of the of the adult entertainment industry.

After a tumultuous start, the Temptation Awards was ultimately pulled off through the efforts of CEO and founder of Temptation News, George Whitty. Originally scheduled to take place at the Beverly Hilton, a contract issue led to a last-minute change to the Ritz Carlton in Pasadena. With a hasty press release, the venue change was arranged; however, not more than 24 hours later The Ritz-Carlton cancelled their contract with Canadian adult news outlet Temptation News.

According to the latest Temptation Awards press release, an official document from Jill R. Hilts (Director of catering and sales for the Ritz-Carlton Pasadena) gave reason for the cancellation stating, “This is an awards ceremony that celebrates the ‘porno' industry, and the Ritz-Carlton does not,” and further stated, “We cannot have ‘porno' stars in our hotel.”

Ms. Hilts continued her assault on the adult industry in her letter saying, “you intend to use the hotel facilities for a pornographic video awards ceremony. We cannot permit activities at the hotel that our employees and many of our guests will find highly offensive. Your awards ceremony falls squarely within this classification.”

Stepping up at the final hour, the Westin Bonaventure hotel in downtown LA graciously offered their hotel and services to host the event. Unfortunately, the turnout was not what it could have been because of the resulting confusion. "This is like the Titanic of awards shows," said one studio executive.

Prior to the award show, guests enjoyed cocktails while photographers eagerly stood in clusters to catch the perfect photograph of the handful of stars who made an appearance. Stars attending included Sunny Lane, Devon Lee, Angie Savage, Keri Sable, and Jenna Jameson. Sexy Jenna was nominated for a number of awards, and took home the best all-girl scene on film along with Savanna Samson in "The New Devil in Miss Jones." The ClubJenna girls were there too, including Kirsten Price and Sophia Rossi. Also in attendance were Regan Anthony, Hillary Scott, Lacie Heart, Monique Alexander, Cytheria, Hannah Harper, Barrett Blade, Tommy Gunn, Puma Swede, Sandee Westgate, Tyler Faith, and Tiffany Taylor.

After the cocktail hour, attendees were treated to a surf and turf dinner before the award presentation began. The ballroom was beautifully decorated, and the meal was said by some to be the best of any award show (this photographer was more than happy to avail himself of one of the many extra and delicious meals). After dinner, the band AM/FM played guitar-based 70's classic rock while the audience waited for the show to begin..

Originally, Jessica Drake was scheduled to host, but instead actor/comedian Andy Lauer stepped in for her. Though he tried his best to get the crowd excited, he appeared a bit out of his element. The long list of categories and nominees brought forth winners such as: Best Group Scene in a Video – Courtney Cummz, Hillary Scott, and Brandon Iron in "Baker's Dozen #6" by Platinum X Pictures. Best New Starlet went to Kirsten Price, and Best Anal Scene in a Film went to Keri Sable and Randy Spears in "Eternity" by Wicked Pictures. Not surprisingly, the best picture of the year in the video category was the big budget, special effects-laden “Pirates” by Digital Playground/Adam & Eve.

Overall, the first annual Temptation Awards was a valiant attempt to raise the level of award shows. Unfortunately, circumstances beyond control had a distinct impact on the ultimate success of the event. Whether there will be a second annual Temptation awards is yet to be seen, but I'll remain hopeful that the spirit that drove the creation of the event will not diminished.

Click here to see the entire Temptation Awards photo gallery.