In 1994, the original X-Factor became an independent publication, after being relegated to the "back pages" of a sister publication for five years. That year, reviewer Onan the Vulgarian decided to inaugurate his own awards, based on the films reviewed over the course of the calendar year.
As Onan wrote then, and as he has written every year since, "It’s that time of year when everyone with something to say goes and puts it in a list. Here’s my list. No fanfare, no shindig, no porn stars, no statuettes. No lifetime achievement awards, no drag queens, no envelopes, no acceptance speeches. Just the year’s best in all-male porno. Guaranteed to keep you hard."
Because he watches every film that crosses his desk, Onan does not need others to tell him what's good. Other publications and organizations have their own awards, chosen according to various criteria. But unlike those other porn awards, the Hard Choice Awards are determined by a single person who has actually seen every film submitted for review.
Onan says, "The Hard Choice Awards are 'equal opportunity.' Whether domestic or foreign, major studio or little guy, if a film deserves merit, it will get noticed. When I watch a film, I listen to the dialog, I listen to the music, I pay attention to the lighting, the continuity, the editing, the camerawork. I try to figure out what the director is trying to achieve and I assess how well (s)he achieved it.
"I'm not locked-in to categories, so if I see something that floors me, I may create an award category for it on the spot — even if I never use that category again."
Although they may not get the attention of other porn awards, the Hard Choice Awards are the second-oldest continuously running gay porn awards.
The Pouf Questionnaire is a porn homage to Vanity Fair's long-running Proust Questionnaire, in which various industry personalities answer the same 20 questions. It gives them a new way to present themselves to their fans. ("Pouf," by the way, is British slang for homosexual.)
If you are an adult industry personality and would like to answer The Pouf Questionnaire please write
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.
