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Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles : S7 R8 P, b+ W6 E5 j6 I z, i0 a- i5 x# y
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. 7 ^6 K6 L4 F3 D4 h) @7 n; f& T' N# J1 x* o- ^ k( A+ p
Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles. + o; i7 L* R: h* a6 t4 E 1 _/ H0 E: t: E3 R1 ~* sI had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things.3 T0 l8 Z+ q% A, W! t
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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. # V1 l! x" @' c" W * K4 s/ X* J* H# @4 D EThe porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga. 1 l! C. z/ F+ x3 n, G6 D6 @ ; g& F+ [/ b* R0 z! d: MPerformers 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. % ^( T* n8 M2 P. C) L * d+ {# N$ ^( Y0 v1 i9 ^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.: l6 j' M! D* M) S% @; T9 ]% O8 i
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Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed. # f3 a" _5 B; o, Y7 |, l 9 {. K4 m1 w1 tFantasy 6 T1 q- B$ Y# X 2 G5 [# N H/ Q7 WThe 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.+ C, u( L2 ]$ s, W& G% }( {+ y
; ~3 R! [: S. \! Y8 G4 y8 t4 TThe problem, increasingly, is revenue.. `& y2 F" U: p8 ]: d
* |7 ~% C' }- \4 gLike the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch.1 S7 X7 w% V$ Z! q
( Y C! N7 j1 H$ J" n0 O( eDVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free.; z- y" S- g( w2 ?
' g- X6 w# x X; u% f& j$ P) V! ^. nAnd the economic downturn does not help.& @, e7 ^) W) C" M7 l. H
4 r" @# B2 V6 P' d0 e2 y"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully." h% \/ l7 q3 e2 W+ K( c
. _5 ?" o6 @5 d& k3 A+ j5 UThe economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. & X4 S* k M- i7 H& i1 h# V! Y8 r, C% d! c* C0 T% K. l! S
For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms.8 V' s8 u7 G6 \9 w& a2 U. p4 P0 j
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Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set.- H3 b: E1 v$ |) ]5 }/ C' u
3 Y9 s+ X- i3 t6 @4 n: C, m( @% tBut the industry says wearing condoms on-screen is a turn-off. The public do not want it, it will kill the fantasy, they say.) l Z- A1 ~/ e! t/ v+ W: v& _6 j6 l
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Gonorrhoea w0 H( Z7 F0 G. S$ c$ F, y! @& M2 P) O+ {- q
Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. ( m$ d, ]+ F- S" j4 `) A( O4 N0 `* ^2 v. Y3 @5 e
A college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years.% S9 m! V, T9 h5 E8 P
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She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure.5 X" N. I9 v4 U4 S; W0 Q+ i
7 }- \# p0 ?6 Z0 U/ T"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?"6 c7 Y7 ~% G0 x& \' T2 z
# a, p( n5 Q$ A @, L" }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.# W# N* c1 w- @9 [0 f) S: \
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Each day would be 15 hours long. 8 K$ u' k6 y6 [2 V( F 5 r/ W" C ^& }5 b( X"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. 4 ^4 |0 V* \+ Z/ \5 V# X1 L7 i" u' D0 z0 {; }
"You get used to it," she smiled.9 `, R6 p: ^# [. x' [$ {
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"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" : I- C* q. B7 ?. J. F7 w2 S0 L9 x" ]* P9 V
"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." 5 o/ R+ f% w( }7 g# [0 Z 7 P4 s3 l9 l `7 A" y% }- Y2 @There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. I( T3 G3 [6 n2 Q0 E* Q: e
& ], h4 |' f- H; x7 VExpensive lawsuits , j" E# ?# A& m z U' [( \! {; z/ X/ t: B$ B! ^! P5 D+ U% M4 n' r
In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business.1 ` a D) t4 V# [, z. }/ E$ r6 A7 u
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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. + K/ D) p2 i! {* E' ]" @ 5 S4 O: u9 y- j& t. q7 Z" p( MIt 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.! ]3 }7 I( h% @' R% _% ~' 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.+ l2 o8 T/ z, j: k! o
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"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?", ^5 q9 }1 b3 y% g4 n g# ^
) ?& l) H, L RI struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment. ! j' p5 w( p U3 j7 c; \) g% s: _" m( o' V4 _9 k+ H! Y% N0 E
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?: E5 L2 V+ t% u5 o" o' ]
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The authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection. $ H% m2 \7 K7 z/ K: o2 b. f8 {* t
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.+ E' j' o0 G: {4 f; g
/ k4 D1 x0 N! @1 \ u* QA number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them. - h0 J3 S- m$ v, Q' M2 s, ?5 d; t$ b `( [& ?, V
The producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants. # M7 m5 o& h! a8 @* y5 `: e: `/ i7 X# y0 E: V4 O
That view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene.' [ p6 x3 V! W3 L
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I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. 5 s4 s# k# x, w# k . l8 D$ c) y2 |' o " m2 |9 \- m: i5 n 3 P$ o5 H) ~& D. b' B 6 d5 n C V1 S2 W! [Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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