0 v# g `/ h* w" L9 B |3 \California's adult movie business is under pressure - internet piracy and the economic downturn have slashed revenues, while state regulators seem set to win their long battle to make actors wear condoms. ' ]6 U7 u/ G% p4 a& H% q) {3 h2 I- D& m# x) O
Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.5 ^* O6 ]- a! o! Q/ ]2 S! L6 a
/ g" j4 D: q' m3 R2 l$ k; Y7 JI had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things.% V7 s* w3 u" \
# F& D5 G' a- A( M
What I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect.$ @) m! w* ~/ P
5 K7 W5 s* C2 O( d; H
The porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga. 7 P8 {* {4 N i( r( {1 a& v% {" }5 n- o3 Q
Performers in body-hugging Star Trek outfits, some with prosthetic noses to resemble aliens, wandered around looking slightly bored as a weary crew worried over lighting arrangements.: U' R+ w: `- a
6 w) a+ s- K5 H" c% ?This morning was devoted to dialogue, I was told, although - as Sam, the film's artistically minded writer-director, explained to me with clear regret - there was not too much of that to be had. % }2 z1 U- ^" n2 V4 J" y& r" K; l, G3 N& i& |# e- z' L
Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed.7 \: u' J/ |1 G4 @1 V: _! }
) Z7 G0 x; Z: e0 B- S1 {9 x5 bFantasy' `5 Y' m ]) y
5 J4 x/ I5 H' T6 G0 c! Z* z# [
The demands of porn may not allow Sam to be the groundbreaking film-maker he clearly aspires to be, but at least there are films to be made. ( z( w: F0 ?% J r6 p/ V, g , h' G% e2 ?6 _, tThe problem, increasingly, is revenue. * @- N$ L5 @" B; o3 [( j- p; o/ N- q9 A6 [8 w$ U
Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch.9 M2 G. e3 }+ E+ @
* v8 ?7 c5 z* C* V4 a% \DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free.% g( u$ q; q: F7 O7 d, t7 D
4 i( S5 g" G% q0 ?5 PAnd the economic downturn does not help.5 M; v* \; C j7 C( y7 g
* P3 m# w* m" c% q# Z9 O
"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. & t% r* O8 ^: _ }( ~. Y" C$ R6 w; v4 M
The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations., K: A6 ~$ N; Z4 S& R5 ]
- _: g: c2 n1 ?1 ?For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms. , O* [. [2 K8 e$ A* g. t* z b7 c$ G! M- O7 NHealth scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set.1 r( k" f2 Y; j
# X" l# K1 h' \% n9 K, YBut the industry says wearing condoms on-screen is a turn-off. The public do not want it, it will kill the fantasy, they say. 6 S* W V( f8 Q: {! r; d0 f2 u. ^- s1 M7 p
Gonorrhoea 3 e* S# z. N- [) ?# u; c+ @8 ~- h3 n; `2 h k6 t! C
Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. 8 l2 m# `: t( v# U' ? $ e1 C: c2 u* g' K* Q% v6 xA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years. ! O: p) l/ @3 X9 K0 N9 z7 A : m$ b9 _/ F$ s, L7 uShe turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. 2 v7 v5 ?+ v* f+ c8 z# @' q& \ $ S2 s) j' Q1 O- L8 Z' m5 \"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?", H( ?# \9 Z# n) d
; f- t2 ^! o( w, c! L* I( c6 s) a0 Y3 fHer packed schedule today involved a couple of lines, then a four-hour sex scene. Then a costume fitting on Tuesday and she was off to have her monthly health test after that.+ W/ V! v8 B- D
2 m# y/ f; ~; X% N1 U3 O6 f/ A
Each day would be 15 hours long. 3 U' F9 V; U- K ) v" ~# @: P1 N2 T, P0 F"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested.% |; e: Y6 g, ^ E
9 o; V; s8 H- c"You get used to it," she smiled.; }1 Z1 b) u% S5 t0 y, b# z) D- q
- V$ Z3 V; f0 e, F# F1 O! s"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?"* ^9 l9 l" R( i. F; V! w
" ?( y. t+ A/ S# s: M"Well, just chlamydia a couple of times, gonorrhoea - nothing much. Anyway, we test each month so, when you're diagnosed, you just take your medication and you're good to go. No problem." 7 N- t7 h. k# ^+ X( t7 J/ X0 S* K n0 A4 h
There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided.1 ?: m4 `' x' y3 d: ~9 F: n
" X) I' y6 L( L, j$ W( NExpensive lawsuits( X# M2 r4 ^6 S) {' g$ l
5 T0 j9 G0 h+ M
In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. {5 }4 N9 s: X& F: X2 I' T) A, O* ]) M! f' J- d+ J; p5 Q9 R# B
A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it. 4 q/ Q- `3 a3 V+ Q5 F3 j, \ c! f, w; x
It had taken a Supreme Court battle back in the 1980s to make porn legal in California in the first place, formally distinguishing it from common-or-garden prostitution. , l9 W: V* G6 a9 s * M l, |0 Y6 P$ |1 e# v% W9 qNow, many I met spoke of the right not to wear condoms as a key aspect of their constitutional right to free speech, as set out by the Founding Fathers.+ L& N7 |" W$ i/ o- C
! P8 L3 P. x' m# _"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?"! x* ]3 ], Y+ Y+ P( D0 H& p
" q% t8 R, i% c( `( c. D
I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment., Q9 H! I! s0 b6 j. z
, T7 n- B3 S \" ~" ~+ R& ~0 c! n' r
But then I also struggled to picture hordes of Star Trek fans queuing up to see Captain Jean-Luc Picard going hard-core with the crew of the Star Trek Enterprise. So what did I know? . p: O# t! H' Q! K9 G ( Z j( m6 K0 C3 F# }+ [8 f) KThe authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection.8 g3 o! J1 M( y K) p
9 z! P7 V* J: JIt seems likely that porn will eventually lose its battle against the California regulators, not least because - as well as state penalties - the industry could be about to face some very expensive lawsuits brought by former performers.( t1 f: b# N7 [2 m, k! e9 s
9 i& [& d" ^$ I3 h" L/ nA number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them. ; P3 `- `1 p* t- n5 N* ^ 6 J+ }+ ~% Y3 i7 |5 kThe producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants.! C: f2 L+ g! _# l0 {
9 F [/ V) p1 D4 t* r* p+ e$ jThat view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene. 3 R3 t* O9 u, N/ p7 a2 @# I8 r F0 a; l; K2 b$ g$ S
I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. 2 J/ H! q' \. k2 z1 Y2 D- @, o. Q& |8 r( P0 Y; U7 M$ e8 |4 ` $ L' H0 _9 y4 u& i ; U8 i4 U% H( n6 x9 }& S2 X/ L9 G# v0 r+ @3 h) d7 m2 X
Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
/ L9 G# v0 r+ @3 h) d7 m2 X