6 _' c L0 z" }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 U: Q! w! j4 S; w5 Z* E& W
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Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.) o" V3 X: V" X
- L3 O7 Z {3 ]9 n! TI had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things.; `0 {6 E3 }* i, y- d
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What I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect.0 e' Q) v5 T9 v F1 F/ K6 _
6 `, {4 E/ C. V% d+ ^1 J. p; wThe porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga. % d I/ J; v3 e) e" }* `; Q6 V2 \- u- O
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.5 E* v5 A) ?( ~, H
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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. 3 ]2 ~1 o. ^0 `7 o3 ?. P : X# U3 w' C0 q! k& |+ e7 oOnly 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed.: H- S( Z: ]0 e4 |5 |# V9 v& e
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' |) \# R$ v) J0 Y- U2 zThe 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. 9 Q$ b9 o% H/ Y# F - q n& Z- V& p8 NThe problem, increasingly, is revenue. 0 Y; r, \; ~, V, I) @6 S+ J# j7 E0 C+ H, a# n
Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch.8 y8 {. o2 y0 d A0 F. [; v+ a+ a
' ^$ G' R. g+ h, b" J4 wDVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free. & Z$ H) s7 N, I0 j( F# L) r. s. Z
And the economic downturn does not help. * Y& Y. X; s2 C8 W+ r0 v+ S ) C& F3 U' N0 O* G; k' {4 l"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully.: G P6 q; |) F5 W9 Y: Y
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The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. c) u& D3 ?# @& j: ~5 | j4 B
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For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms.; X. t- ~, N K. ]3 W" u' R4 e. n8 U
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Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set.& t2 H& K; H2 u' Q; ~3 r2 x
6 T. Y+ l% X/ {( U# QBut the industry says wearing condoms on-screen is a turn-off. The public do not want it, it will kill the fantasy, they say.' F0 R. r j1 D6 s- u
8 A: k% O% f8 F8 JGonorrhoea 3 [& ^8 `/ I5 K) S% c6 W9 ~# D5 O7 O3 n B, g
Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. ; S0 S6 V, e" ]; G- `1 ^: f 2 k& Y3 K* r3 h4 k/ PA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years.& @2 D; C+ G' h% v, M3 J: H9 a0 T4 f2 X
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She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. 9 u3 g4 {9 S2 L8 v/ B1 i- y * j) X' _6 Q- a) ]"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?"9 _3 l+ m; D0 M- I
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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. j q A, w, ]3 s9 ]" i
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Each day would be 15 hours long. 6 T4 e) Q0 x: A, h 7 X& Q2 f" G0 X& X1 Y m1 `"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. ) P7 b9 ~9 p- ^7 K# z" _, M+ _' S# q ! l4 c1 J9 x/ l/ S7 A# S5 _"You get used to it," she smiled.0 o4 m+ _9 _" [3 o* W# Z' G& ~
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"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" % ?% O- w9 q" @! k 2 K+ n3 _/ M0 R+ E0 n: J: r+ o9 z"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."8 @, W4 e7 U" c1 d+ W1 Y( s
5 b. a# b! Z! `: M. H; d% V C' j4 C. DThere was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided.2 S3 b/ M5 v9 y- {3 _' X
: p) s {$ ?' g7 l( vExpensive lawsuits8 c5 w% K P7 Y B: Z& v( g
x7 L1 V& E' yIn fact there was something very Californian about the entire business." z5 |3 I7 S: S% I1 `$ G3 ?7 o1 V) z
" @: _& H( ?# S. T* W. c* ~& {; }A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it. " l, {0 u- e3 x& n' ?, C1 r& i3 h1 d4 X/ t
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. . |8 F3 |8 ~4 r* g- R, \+ H" |8 O& w1 o+ N
Now, 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. + |/ X/ |* Z# T $ y7 j' I6 V9 _& c0 E"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?" 4 a/ F6 H* N/ y' Y- a* J ( u8 B5 ]: X: ], F w. A1 NI struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment.& n! h) A1 F" u& v" @
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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? * D/ ]6 l5 B' {4 k% x+ n- j, O# w! {6 D, V+ X% ~1 q
The authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection. 4 T0 a. V# q& r0 q# N2 q3 \ " ]; ?" E _& SIt 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.- H( ?7 Y/ u# I# x
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A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them.( X% ?8 o) Y* M
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The producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants.' @0 @& p4 e+ u1 K: D4 ]
( z' v$ w: J" s3 t& |: fThat view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene.8 e9 k' H. e7 N5 K/ O6 K$ }. l1 b
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I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain.# e* }/ o+ x3 r% Y0 y
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3 d% Z7 E- F! C3 |- A2 l9 b 7 E* ^" i3 ~( u) X, A) BCalls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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