On the 20th anniversary of his official start in the Adult industry (his first credit is in VCA’s Fantasy Nights, 1990), award-winning director Axel Braun has landed an impressive 20 nominations for the upcoming AVN awards.
While his highly successful Hustler parodies This Ain’t Happy Days XXX and This Ain’t Star Trek XXX make up the bulk of the noms, Axel is also being recognized for his interactive titles Lupe Fuentes Interactive Girlfriend Sexperience (Vivid/Teravision), and You’re Nailin’ Palin (Hustler), as well as for the specialty titles Me Squirt You Long Time (Sin City), She-Male Brides (VCA) and the MILF Trainer series (Hustler).
“Axel is the most creatively consistent director we’ve had the pleasure of working with”, says Drew Rosenfeld, Hustler’s Creative Director. “In the five years of our relationship with him, he has written, produced, and directed some of our best-selling titles, and we are incredibly thankful and honored to have him on our team”.
Evan Seinfeld, CEO of Teravision, adds: “Axel is by far the best director, the best cameraman, and the best editor I’ve ever met. This guy is at the top of the game in everything he does: gonzo, features, parodies, interactive…you name it. Everything he’s done for us over the years has been a huge success, and this landslide of nominations is totally deserved”.
“Sin City’s relationship with Axel goes back a long time” notes Jared Sturman, GM of Sin City, “his father, Lasse Braun, is a porn pioneer who did a lot of business with my grandfather and my dad, so he’s like family here. Through his monumental body of work, he has shown how versatile, competent, and inventive he is, and Me Squirt You Long Time is a perfect example of his seemingly effortless ability to deliver top-notch porn”.
Despite the over 400 movies under his belt, and the few dozen awards on his mantle, Axel is still genuinely excited: “I couldn’t have thought of a better way to celebrate 20 years in the industry”, says a clearly ecstatic Braun, adding: “I’m obviously extremely happy and, honestly, quite humbled by all this recognition…over the past year I have probably worked harder than ever before, but I have also been given tremendous opportunities from all the companies I did business with, and that is something I’m truly grateful for”.
With a slew of high-profile projects in the works, Braun seems to show no indication of slowing down in the near future. His first two parodies to be distributed by adult powerhouse Vivid Entertainment, Batman XXX and The Godfather XXX are already in full production, and he’s working on the music for his highly ambitious porn-musical Grease XXX. “I’m looking forward to putting out my best work yet in 2010”, he says. And judging from the caliber of his past work, we are looking forward to it as well!