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Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles / h# I) L) |3 U l3 W- n4 m7 {0 P1 N5 P
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. # _% [8 P- W- S6 i& Y$ l$ D2 z1 z* }# d4 L8 z# \
Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.$ R6 X w% v+ P% n
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I had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things. ' S: D, o* P7 _. I6 W# p t) |% z 7 Q9 V) d1 q4 f! AWhat I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect. ( W$ j9 B0 ]5 E: L. U2 L# p$ m$ C: w: s$ J W; j
The porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga." D) Q- h- J5 H" A
0 V2 d; g* u- SPerformers 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. 3 _) |$ b7 S9 p3 O* o 2 ^$ e" ^! v9 ~- A; T' zThis 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.( y5 r& [; c. ~5 Y) H a3 }
) k7 X" v- D' S: HOnly 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed. 7 T7 Z- B1 o2 ~% o3 e 9 f: ?. t2 O2 Y! l: ]9 ?7 YFantasy % ]% h" T0 y/ u. z4 S 1 }6 O( m9 E" Q: A3 y( `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. ) q6 r; Q! x0 V, B& H9 t7 U1 o0 i% b4 C6 p1 N2 u2 t: V
The problem, increasingly, is revenue. ; }5 o! t1 t+ K: z9 r/ O3 L2 S h8 Y 7 I4 x8 {& _) _: h% T3 vLike the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch.7 t) n7 V! [( N7 ^% `+ c
* b" g, v9 z& H2 I8 oDVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free., A8 N# r- I. I
1 I# B3 _6 c3 m8 W. `+ J6 x% BAnd the economic downturn does not help. 1 u- c7 ]! o' g( a 0 L6 R& w2 Q& @"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully.! W! n4 c! q" W3 n1 X$ s( D
& L+ t, y2 j6 E `- T* fThe economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. 7 E B% x+ e9 A; \+ @/ ]) N1 c6 S( e5 J
For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms. ( s: n* |' T' X/ P# C+ u6 H $ k/ g- h5 C" l4 x/ y! uHealth scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set.1 N. O+ G& D3 o/ j* R5 t
1 E6 e2 T' L8 g. j& i% NBut the industry says wearing condoms on-screen is a turn-off. The public do not want it, it will kill the fantasy, they say. , J2 U, \. U# A# \, j# w( R' G8 O! E5 [ _2 ?
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Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers.. A5 u! f3 }4 j$ E1 X7 V' W! U ?+ U
* w# S" @/ v$ \: V' H0 R/ u# v+ nA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years.' b5 d, v0 J! r% g+ A4 ]3 m! D
|5 `: @8 k2 K8 M" P' ? kShe turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. % n: Y6 p% N4 U! }5 w$ v& O* u; I! w# K$ e! j6 A
"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?"2 @7 i/ l# F6 F$ f% K
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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. 5 ~# W/ C; I* i* q) N3 ^9 D& K1 v2 F' h& k6 ^% i
Each day would be 15 hours long." l& d/ ?7 q, w
# q4 P/ z' I& N) \0 A* d"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested.& k# Y! k3 p; D) }: q
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"You get used to it," she smiled.: K5 ~2 g/ T$ M5 `1 c4 D/ B
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"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" + S' _0 W' s& R6 Z7 K* _1 b # [' {* f1 h2 Z& N; I2 Z' 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."( }& C0 Y( _8 _) h# l, }8 M( K
9 _9 i; Q) ?/ m) j# n' @% L: h5 sThere was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided.* K+ J' a, Y7 f
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Expensive lawsuits 2 \, u7 Z- Q( ~9 I7 q' r , j5 z9 V/ |' q/ O4 rIn fact there was something very Californian about the entire business.; a4 O9 N' \ ?. q, R6 w' N" M2 n
0 N- g& r. ?$ c( Q$ UA combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it. 2 Z6 g# V& K- d, B$ N. A * l6 F, \7 L6 G# @' oIt 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. $ b' c5 r" y8 c. Q" ~+ t J" x" Q2 {7 `2 i3 E
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. ) \" p; [: H+ A7 H2 } " s" D. q0 K- g8 I1 k"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?". Q, v& P; t$ P: T7 b4 a! h
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I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment.9 a; g" H; _3 L- P! j4 w
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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?( e0 g# O; G+ p! n( s Z3 N
1 v. G2 d K! m: {" YThe authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection.' E) N! `; q; T3 M$ \
* n& U Y; G& OIt 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.. @ X6 o( L& Z+ E
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A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them. ; p/ R0 i: g k; d* e' R0 A# w( P1 {8 j0 z' Z% e
The producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants.+ k) w/ t9 e9 K8 v
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That view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene.5 C5 T! I; }: } ?3 `* Y2 a
4 x" u7 y8 i* d% v6 u! X$ \I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. W8 s- f) @8 }4 k3 x- j6 N( l: q, z' ]6 ? k9 v9 O8 r . _8 E* D% i+ M$ V2 f. ^& y6 \0 C5 y6 i ! n0 j' ^/ O7 A4 I6 J$ _Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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