! [9 R1 g Z1 n! K1 Q* Q1 @ $ s! m; I2 s0 Z" W! y j* LCalifornian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles % N5 p) ]8 ~0 g5 C$ J3 i* T$ ^7 W
/ A. K7 `: x+ y; T8 Q. u+ q& `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. , h0 Z1 m5 I. r ' u" j0 A. J1 l: q6 ?: m) f, P0 dLight drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.- D& e: A& x1 l0 k
+ u. _8 d$ J. u" f- O. o
I had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things.. ^3 j1 L) o- [, |& w( ~" j) b
0 j* p* Q& s/ I7 i6 g% p5 u
What I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect. ! J3 N, |, `/ s1 g$ L0 F" w" p/ Q
The porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga.& c) S% L4 C0 ^; M& \; F" }
, x2 e/ T3 \% f- s' J4 P& IPerformers 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. @0 q% H% i" `. o+ C" H
$ {2 V7 Z2 W$ K/ M% a; {
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.7 G# h2 X9 {# o8 r
0 W$ |5 W+ `- g( M" z
Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed. r4 X D) J' }9 I7 \8 A, i $ h6 y8 K/ @3 YFantasy ( F) C+ d6 P) w5 S; r* X: w3 |+ U( u: i/ o* a- i
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. , l; m6 z8 `/ I3 r0 l' q 8 b" P E$ l3 tThe problem, increasingly, is revenue.4 \8 f. P+ }0 V& a3 F$ R
, I( H0 n9 B) ^% G9 S; n, F( y) q
Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch. 6 D4 K! s8 I2 R3 J; `# W# j8 n @- \/ K+ k
DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free. & Y% A+ k$ y6 @' m ' r& Q$ }! `2 X5 K1 F4 i8 yAnd the economic downturn does not help. & D& v. `, j3 J( [& U) N1 l+ T7 s ! U% W% M# U; d3 W" N* J"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. , o4 _. l" k% _5 W l8 E' m " r" T/ t( x, \" I/ y) h0 SThe economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. ' d- j- [: e7 K4 ^ 8 u5 b# U' @' E" NFor years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms.5 f) S3 L0 I* w
. y% J+ B2 O. ^6 A# I4 J n+ EHealth scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set.* v. r6 x- I7 H9 T
2 O: X) L% L" ^ K! u; j1 t
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. # S. v" q& W+ T0 \- I) j/ r- m6 |) q3 x* ^* x! n
Gonorrhoea % `' }5 I5 d+ E. J0 z/ H4 `# O3 i, m+ o8 D2 R$ H
Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. / P9 J' h* e; ]7 R/ j1 [$ i9 v " e# B$ p/ @+ w! BA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years. : n8 w2 Z; K9 D/ X! Y7 }$ w8 ~9 R$ \
She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. # ?3 ^( y; I6 y+ M ' X0 @) e6 }) ~2 \"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?"3 A& C" X. T% T
5 U) U4 G9 r5 i. T3 K5 O; D: P
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. # x& o R0 `" o! B3 `* B. d# W- @( y5 g, O0 b! x
Each day would be 15 hours long. 8 _$ ^: ~' e/ o' P3 K! R' f! `- c4 A( |! H
"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. . L1 p: L2 q$ _( V- [' I P# n: S! l& z% U- @# V' P5 X"You get used to it," she smiled.! m& f, c; {; Z# u) k
9 y9 [7 S; P7 _; a6 f* Z
"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?"- n# R& X$ v" D
4 \! s4 m1 g' C7 q"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." % Z4 y V8 g2 W \* h Q g, g, _ ?- w( y4 x% e
There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. ; r+ ?: y1 K/ o! Z# h* X, @/ i7 c- j5 y# t3 |
Expensive lawsuits8 i0 g( R* z0 L& v+ c6 ?$ N/ T- | i
# Z* N! |2 r. p& i8 H
In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business.( P" x0 L E$ T% [- X$ q8 F
4 Q8 D! n3 u7 y. D* [$ GA combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it.: ^8 G4 R$ P( y0 @! j
# F$ ]3 S# K0 M2 E) r U
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. F1 b: G/ A; u1 W9 {+ [
% m0 v# O) ?5 ]7 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. 4 _# l. B* `. Z) O7 N& g9 `" Y9 \3 I* U& }- ^9 v6 k! v
"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?" * K1 W Q& `& R+ d r8 r4 B 1 L! E/ d# K0 |3 R. D6 [I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment. D9 W9 k' E E5 a2 n
8 h" L7 u4 g; e3 x& 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?7 B) ?4 r; ~, d; A
; r/ e' Y9 G4 f; RThe authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection. 4 q, U5 N! G; n K5 H , o; x( A# v5 N( B$ x+ [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. 7 T7 l( L8 {3 K4 x3 {8 n 3 c/ `1 m, t c$ H4 c ^: ~. Q/ q7 LA number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them.7 l# D: C1 v0 \
/ L3 R2 ]2 t- M" {6 t
The producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants. $ N5 K% k) b' c# c3 f p : R' a b( {; z% q# ]* h6 zThat view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene. 5 c, e- W" G8 ^3 X; n 2 E# M( p4 p& ^( ~, tI decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. - ~! V% t& c. G8 G F! R: R8 g8 A! g2 |2 e/ e& g $ z; z8 L3 l$ F7 i: O; X+ V7 K/ E; r3 K+ x8 ] , H8 y! n, p/ A1 c
Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004