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Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles # ^2 ]: j0 `, w# a/ y9 S; S
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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.( F4 z) i, B! _9 U* M7 G, F7 e
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Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.. \$ Z7 h. W1 E( {% y% E o& v
% @" R: o# z, E1 O, J# o* y) [( _I had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things.0 z2 c: d' n6 m7 f. {
* S8 P2 c$ H4 e5 L# s, `5 j: LWhat I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect. ; H2 h* v3 N; y, F- d6 W) [& x4 q0 \ # \$ `% b9 @- mThe porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga. $ V! J1 ^# W" h' q0 U1 a0 N( r1 p/ Q- j/ g& |3 A$ i; a
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. 7 o" x3 }6 H2 o1 S( J 8 s/ I# R9 ]0 \% @+ FThis 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. + {6 F' Y4 o$ E1 F- c+ [; p7 z6 w9 g4 a) w
Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed.' T T4 w3 A' l4 ?5 [2 s
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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. . o2 L( N* f+ J; U* B- ~1 y0 w% p8 H. x% H4 A4 Y* F# v2 g6 I
The problem, increasingly, is revenue. ' n: L% `$ Y+ y% J$ [* H7 C U. r) {. [! |- y7 i4 Z S: v3 }- U5 `: L
Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch. 0 S* }. \& h1 j l / _. K& A, G1 y" ?/ C8 ZDVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free. 7 c3 p0 M) d( }* p6 K9 R ) T8 I ?0 ]* ], Y. IAnd the economic downturn does not help. ' z' S/ c$ T; Y: k* j7 g( s# c' l9 V) |( L" B. w$ k2 I1 g
"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully.: P& e0 ^0 o, g: S
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The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. / F6 Z7 c. e- w. }9 s1 { p% D: W% e* n/ n N$ eFor years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms. ) f, a$ a5 I. g0 D4 q+ d C9 E! g) z' v+ k# V
Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set. ( g3 v* _# A* f l% j . ^/ T( J; I/ `; X. L' |4 [But the industry says wearing condoms on-screen is a turn-off. The public do not want it, it will kill the fantasy, they say., S3 {. y5 {2 {
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Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. / H$ d( N" T. @, K) V ' A! A# C5 O6 z, |7 r$ n& PA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years./ ^# x2 w9 \6 x7 ? f# }1 P- M3 O
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She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. 2 S. e! N# x# U7 S5 k + A# f( o0 S# U2 n"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?"9 k& y3 Q. O4 g2 z
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Her 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. : `- G* j! h) M1 B5 M4 Z& g0 ?- s: L7 _) K
Each day would be 15 hours long.; P1 r9 k) O0 {) d
6 F7 R5 K# r( C8 a8 B"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. , ?) e y4 I x3 Q3 S 1 P9 W1 s9 P# A& O6 X" y"You get used to it," she smiled.( G" P1 O& A, f2 |) m$ h
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"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" & r( V. T0 z2 p' `. H1 x n( g0 Q9 }9 N/ W3 E
"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.") l, Y5 |+ ]8 v7 J
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There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. 2 c7 S @/ S9 M( x' B( y+ ^% A0 G: T) }
Expensive lawsuits 6 z" @$ L7 ]# d1 c$ p* |; L) G% N! e
In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. ' R. w* I% ^2 |2 f: ?# W9 `. k7 q' c# y) h5 D. O( M
A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it.0 m2 l, {/ u% T
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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. ( S3 U/ q W2 R) |6 Q / L. c$ d" M0 CNow, 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. / h: F& v: V3 g6 R, O, f + C4 d7 A6 W6 i. W: @! Y2 p"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?"; `& ]2 g! y$ O; ^! |8 w
/ j! J$ A8 @) y: w) l7 aI struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment.2 j! U! a& D7 h% }
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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? ! r4 \1 f& J; T# E; L % P# J! e5 e, n/ F" ]3 hThe authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection. - ?8 a! Y, k) @4 ]8 ]: _ ; S2 C+ O/ Z) y- ^( K+ ]It 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./ k& l+ s# s! H, v% B' F7 F" Q
# x# h. A m* ?7 \2 rA number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them. 6 j) L8 f+ k1 }+ H, e" Z) X9 H+ p* x) F! s1 p- o! d9 b
The producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants. & S/ J. ]# q0 V; {1 M4 U3 J2 d1 |0 X2 b: f( w: `
That view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene. , G* O" g. x+ ?+ k$ r( B9 }$ |* z% ?' v# t
I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. 8 E/ {% G9 g# M* D* p7 D' L) X) g! H" W7 p- F) S0 [+ r d5 ^- A8 A6 ~ - E6 b7 ~( F4 R# S) E+ `/ }* {1 @, A* y2 x9 S+ N" Y
Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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