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Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles 9 O/ w& p" b5 a! i' i1 A6 L$ v, p+ A; p5 @" c
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. / s. K$ R3 R" d j: n$ f& P 8 ~+ y6 c: ] w# Z' MLight drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.% E$ {. z) p% v* A5 `% f+ h) v
' K& F: _9 Q! D% n) N' bI had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things.1 b O+ _: V/ [- N4 N8 W
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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. 9 H" f' U3 |% m+ q. _7 ~' S) C \8 P { G! |# [$ C2 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. p! D+ j% w3 ?) U; N + S& U9 q8 C7 OPerformers 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., F y4 e' a8 m8 f D: r6 Y
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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. " A9 g' q: o3 T9 v 2 s5 `6 D+ H COnly 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed.4 T- p' N1 I/ {7 p2 @
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Fantasy 9 j% s# T/ y/ ~4 l% A# ] $ m2 V4 [' l+ k8 H3 _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.0 J. b) C+ G: s: c/ h- ? K
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The problem, increasingly, is revenue.. [5 }3 @. [) D+ z! w0 ^
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Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch. & w9 G4 [6 H k' f' {: X2 _) U, w) l0 d, `( c# B9 F0 J4 U
DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free.9 H- o2 M4 y9 q9 r2 t% `
8 M9 `; {# N* V1 J6 r- w( B( t- N, DAnd the economic downturn does not help. # j; b+ C e: d4 Z5 {2 }5 K. o8 s! q ], S
"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. : `* j4 B! u, b( S f : P2 V3 N1 c8 X) ^4 S( b7 CThe economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. , V( j- D) |# W4 W % N( [' f* b; n) GFor years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms.+ K# D+ E. I- ?! i: Q
( O x3 z8 ]4 @4 T0 C, aHealth scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set./ c ]0 J" ~/ [0 A& L0 U% l
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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.% [+ ]( W8 @1 d& V2 L G
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Gonorrhoea + E6 G M# h6 `, v* ~( e+ E+ m' F9 J4 A
Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. 0 M% c6 s; h1 S) V$ i ( Z0 x9 o( `( ^" J$ p, [1 x# VA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years. , k$ a, x. B% r0 v( C: Q# l! A( s7 I; N$ I+ v+ E
She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure.' b) N1 d4 L9 `. j( N9 E' S
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"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" * U1 _' R* }8 x# X 8 ^, C; W0 j5 H0 m- {' jHer 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.% c1 F" M9 k/ j& U- f# a
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Each day would be 15 hours long. ' e& ~" h/ R, i. k% o" ?8 k2 k/ q! |8 Y* u
"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. 9 d8 s; _( k1 y/ S" ?, n% C$ j& C1 U' d( \" }; N/ K4 I
"You get used to it," she smiled. 6 E( O' @- O6 D. V) g- T! N9 e9 z% N9 J7 p
"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?"" ^. `) \9 ]+ [9 v9 W
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"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."' w1 e+ k# f2 t5 ^! w& m
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There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided.; m J) J; z" J6 m
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Expensive lawsuits8 x* K# {9 R- i- O# I; @0 a
9 Q+ H+ s# W0 z' M* l; hIn fact there was something very Californian about the entire business.. G% P; l5 ~% @3 _- {2 g
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A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it. 4 C1 i# K* N7 O) X( a3 V / {+ w- b2 f# q3 I6 EIt 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.& ?4 H* N+ O- Y- T" b
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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. " }( h* x5 Q0 r! G% ~2 A! [8 M" A6 [) }; e* q
"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?"( h+ k+ D* A) ^! Q/ Q: G7 k
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I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment. ( u* L2 N; M' W1 j/ X( s2 S/ T& d
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?+ z) |! K# X1 e1 v3 q3 h
5 Y( Z0 M8 `! K+ w% `The authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection. ; D6 R6 Z. U3 g1 x0 o: h9 S 8 k* N$ D+ b3 R8 i9 FIt 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. 0 u: z1 S) Y9 ~% n+ ^3 O& \* n8 \! O! v
A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them. + |2 a, w- l: i/ e" m/ {+ @2 ?1 d4 _5 T: y! ]' V8 y, `% G8 W+ F; Y
The producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants. / o5 m" l1 L1 \3 M) W* m( g$ r0 M2 B$ E$ g4 D
That view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene., [4 @9 B- x3 b: ~9 o6 X0 H0 _& B
$ S! B! x! h( M& T8 BI decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain./ g7 N2 i+ V* G
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Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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