Veteran Director Jim Powers Lands Four NightMoves Nods for 2026

William Brown · 2026-07-28

### A NightMoves Power Play Jim Powers, a name that's been synonymous with adult entertainment for decades, just added serious hardware to his trophy case. The multi-award-winning director has scored four nominations for the 2026 NightMoves Awards. His work for Zero Tolerance and Gender X Films continues to push boundaries. ### What He's Up For The biggest nod is Best Non-Feature Director. That's a career-defining category. But he didn't stop there. His series "MILF Overload" earned a Best MILF Release nomination for "MILF Overload #2." He directed, concepted, and wrote the scripts for that one. Plus, two trans releases got the nod: "Trans Salon" and "Transsexual Hitchhikers #5" for Gender X Films. All three DVDs feature all-star casts. ### The Weekend Ahead The 34th Annual NightMoves Awards weekend kicks off with the Caravan of Stars on Friday, October 9th, and Saturday, October 10th. It all wraps up with the gala awards show on Sunday, October 11th, at The Stockyard in Holiday, Florida. Expect a wild, fun-filled weekend. ### How You Can Help Fan voting is open now until September 1st. It's one vote per IP address. To throw your support behind Jim, head over to the official voting site. Every vote counts. "The NightMoves Awards have been around as long as I have," says Jim Powers. "Thanks for the recognition. It means a lot. If you're in the industry or a diehard fan who enjoys my work, vote for me." ### A Full List of Nominees You can check out the complete nominee list at the NightMoves official site. It opened at midnight on July 15th. For interviews, contact Erika Icon of The Rub PR at erika@therubpr.com. ### Who Is Jim Powers? Jim Powers is one of the most prolific directors in adult entertainment. He once told Forbes he wants to be the Warren Buffett of porn. Growing up in the Valley in the 1970s, he was influenced by comic books, horror movies, fan magazines, and skateboarding. In the 1980s, all he wanted was to be a punk rocker and skateboarder. After graduating from Cal State Northridge, he became a stockbroker, a DVD distributor, and a part-time pornographer. ### The Origin Story In 1992, while gambling at Bally's in Las Vegas, he wandered into the AVN Awards. He figured he could make a better movie than most people there for $5,000. He and a friend each put up $2,500 to make "The Hills Have Thighs." Kevin Beachum of Midnight Pictures encouraged him to shoot amateurs on the beach. He had never even picked up a camera. While shooting in Malibu, his set was shut down. He faced felony charges for pandering and conspiracy. He kept shooting at private houses and swinger parties to cover his legal bills. ### Building a Legacy In 1993, a chance meeting with Jeff Mike of JM Productions changed everything. They joined forces, pushing limits while staying out of prison. Jim helped launch their bukkake line and invented American Bukkake. Downtown Larry Melrose from the Howard Stern Show was a regular on his sets. He started his own company, Powersville, and directed for legendary studios like Heatwave, Mayhem, Sin City, Notorious, Immoral Productions, and Smash Pictures. Today, he directs for Gender X, Devil's Film, BiPhoria, Dogfart, Adult Time, Transfixed, and Fantasy Massage. He averages over 300 scenes per year. ### Awards and Recognition With 50 performer credits and thousands of scenes as a director, Jim has won AVN Awards for Director of the Year (Body of Work) and Best Director – Non-Feature. He was inducted into the AVN Hall of Fame in 2005. His feature film "Transpirella" won Best Trans Movie from the XMAs and Best AltPorn Feature Video from the AltStar Awards in 2026. He's also scored countless AVN Award nominations throughout his career.