4 @( i0 m# i$ j d- B/ zCalifornia'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. " p9 f/ _: Q0 R7 `+ `5 o+ |; N2 F5 t5 V% P( b+ o5 y: S( g
Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.5 ]/ `- q+ r& p0 @
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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. 4 Q* K2 {0 K3 Q+ W7 ]; H3 I* e( g9 F8 ]
What I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect.1 f/ | E' u4 T9 c! R0 C8 {
: g2 s/ y* y2 J7 S8 BThe porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga. 0 h2 L. b/ O" f* y* j3 i% s: ^6 w
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.0 D, H3 n, f: f( ]
1 z5 I% m6 l: Q y# c1 ]3 t* g3 dThis 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.9 B5 n% H- X& I& M, c: S( o1 Z. P: l
: F8 O& h4 v/ S4 G+ | d! AOnly 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed. 5 e( I7 ^' j! V) W # G; r8 \& W$ o& C% PFantasy5 d: e9 u3 n* e0 Q
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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. ) D6 |$ r' }: I9 k 4 {# z2 e/ v: e8 q) ]! oThe problem, increasingly, is revenue. $ ?3 J" ~, a9 q+ P% Z& {# R* r) q# Y+ b# I- |: O v
Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch.+ G" p) B% U4 [/ V% E# e
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DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free. 9 j/ A* f9 i) a& |' t & O! s! W1 M) U* hAnd the economic downturn does not help.5 q: g1 l. f& ?# ]% _
; ~4 @- h/ I% d4 o& C1 K1 m$ c, v"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. * p: d' O( u3 y2 A# v5 q5 A! I' o& S5 j- X# [, v: b
The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations.5 `# E6 r6 P( h0 R
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For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms. 7 L+ f9 x+ m# b4 I: I! N " K5 Z6 g2 f. { |; I) l% x R, N5 |4 HHealth scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set.* d5 I0 \6 J: v; U
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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. $ d* m0 b9 t8 c6 w& n; G) c( s" c" Y% B$ } S
Gonorrhoea # j" q6 b" x/ j" c: `9 |0 k; c' `7 Y7 D
Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. - T; u# E' @% [ * n1 a% {. Y6 m& T' R5 J: B! HA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years. / p, s7 t8 c9 F3 U5 B( }+ I' W4 O( {
She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. : z7 S, X" K& }. C5 d" s3 ?8 [7 i2 {8 F+ `2 p% e- c
"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" 8 B5 T) d2 }( D( `% J# ~ P3 C v ) e2 W7 E) K0 [8 d: @! k8 h- ]. `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.- `& c. u! r. z- C- q# X
* A/ P7 L# A7 S! JEach day would be 15 hours long. # L+ j% e+ C( h* `9 g. j 0 a+ X: U) J4 m% J6 I" V"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. * {+ l' P. H- ?0 I q # B, r9 u# c4 C"You get used to it," she smiled. d1 K# q# B8 W: c: N6 I7 P
+ p/ C; y$ _7 \# c) z/ T"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" Z3 e. X6 ]& O; S; Y& c, q $ f$ g8 V; ]6 b"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."4 |; f( x: o$ j ~% {
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There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided., e5 {9 A2 V& G$ ^0 }! s9 q# l
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Expensive lawsuits* l3 \% [+ c3 ^ P1 `; |0 h
& s9 J: V& w$ [. l1 k1 ]! HIn fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. ' C* _' i h5 z2 R( T2 k0 q9 ~8 y8 g/ b+ M) }3 {
A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it." j( S# Q# X5 Y( _( j( A
3 n6 s7 |4 L. V9 v, s( i4 A: HIt 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 J5 Z& Y" B, s) K- |6 X& Y+ V" d" I2 Y' o1 j' ?- B
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. ?; U* r! t$ u
+ `% ^) F: x" q. I"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?"1 z$ ~6 ^5 n5 N5 y. Q s, s- c* }
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I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment. / t+ K1 R) P4 K( e$ D, C" \2 Z1 e' S# N8 a5 t1 V
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? 0 D9 l. @9 n8 q8 f! r6 q/ r: \2 b1 C* ?5 A7 p8 }+ w9 e
The authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection.4 g0 n7 v% D# }, z- R! [* o2 v7 g; G
3 n2 N2 Z) c! l' w. @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. ) e5 H* @, h a. f, V: u2 \: m2 I
A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them. % D7 C! c% ^* u" L# A. }, m $ p3 e$ n' w" }; R1 K! kThe producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants. * Z( {3 J5 a% [9 P% J/ q' u3 o1 s" u1 y1 B9 h
That view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene. ( n/ K- L( A; r4 c% r m% ~) D; z! W4 P" m. y* b
I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain.( C9 b# _" j) c4 b3 f
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Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004