) s- X( c6 R- ^$ y) bCalifornia'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. 2 `; T" ?2 a1 z8 h5 E- V) f! W- j% d z, I3 m$ e* O _( [* S3 a9 J: o# n1 I
Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles. ( c2 k* G4 ^, Z4 N, `/ @3 t5 g e$ f 6 R% R( o9 k, v& K! UI had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things. $ N/ ]* t4 m7 N! q4 Y: p$ R+ @ * A& R( g& {0 N, ?' I6 Z# qWhat I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect. + Y& ?5 k3 Q, \3 Y* R; D' o+ ]& ^- \/ K' @' t1 a6 A
The porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga.+ b5 Z d! c# i" f5 b$ R) {! [
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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. b! D: r; \! o6 c) x. u3 g; L1 a5 ?2 M5 r( ?" U8 v
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.- F+ c6 o% N3 ]$ ]9 Y) j3 h
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Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed.: T, v2 B) f. Z1 [7 M% e2 V
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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.5 q0 A# ~3 @4 j' x' ]. B3 Q2 d
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The problem, increasingly, is revenue.' X. m1 ]/ K; j4 r# K$ E8 S
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Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch., n3 b$ \$ y1 u
0 Y7 g7 { C+ V+ }7 h5 j! x: p! cDVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free., g8 F- o( ]' A- `+ E4 X {, O
) {6 Z3 i2 i4 @# pAnd the economic downturn does not help.6 ^( ?5 P; i. E) W* ]2 \
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"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully.9 B+ e4 N* w' @( Z
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The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. # N& f$ Q- G, C: @1 H9 }5 R( }9 m2 g* | 1 R4 R ~8 Y+ T e. } a0 wFor years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms.- S0 w8 V* E1 P6 e3 O; W4 |: d
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Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set.& ]/ C, c- t9 A) e) E
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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. 5 U' J6 V6 Z; d& K A4 x- D l! uGonorrhoea % [8 x8 @& i1 i8 r/ J Q& X# G" ^7 L2 xBack on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. # M6 _7 x( j9 }9 H3 x; c9 E7 u ( c) O5 ]4 M4 S2 _A college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years. }& x. B2 Y# C$ V+ h$ t- ?
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She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure.8 Q9 P5 S6 a6 ~* q( i3 l$ b( [
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"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?"2 f- m: P' a/ U/ \0 j7 L3 _9 M3 ]
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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. 6 `8 c- C4 v) u3 |$ d" X+ x5 @4 _1 p: W3 Z1 `& V2 Q
Each day would be 15 hours long.- U& @ p M. B; k/ a. R
2 m! Z% X5 q+ `% \"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. 3 P h% Q/ g6 V2 q |- m, ^8 w3 g1 ~6 O! ^+ f
"You get used to it," she smiled.7 g5 c, E2 _, ]& m8 c9 v
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"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" & t4 v! D/ R! Y% Q; Y4 F" X6 Z* Z3 g% R2 A
"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." . F$ {4 u/ r8 n/ T) v/ c9 E0 x 8 j5 u# I R5 ]9 R5 SThere was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided.( ~: {9 s, w7 Q; ]8 v
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Expensive lawsuits' [2 b! _* }' |
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In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. 0 o4 @9 j. p0 I% w8 Y! T. t/ _2 u+ r* M8 O5 l8 b1 ]& }# S/ k
A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it. ! ?& X& h3 ?5 O$ y, Q' x- A( P) A7 F$ g8 s* y0 L$ L
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. 3 n. N' n L4 [' D8 ]: V * c/ d, W' k1 j' N! K7 UNow, 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. * i, z6 R) C' [% X6 c- r/ V6 R* D5 d' ]! @8 P
"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?"% J& B+ }2 v& ]! }: o9 d
5 k7 z$ r8 \- ^/ d. @I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment. 9 P. a- A5 w8 [8 h5 U0 p$ J / A$ p9 t4 U6 l" n1 w* n) SBut 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?/ X( t# J$ z3 f, i9 ?
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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.4 }7 u2 e6 V* }% E% j/ o" f
, H7 u) w6 D: K5 x/ rIt 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.1 \/ y+ l2 A, `# I. F) ^* E
: m1 I( h& `. L" } cA number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them.$ l4 l) o H5 ~. O
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The producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants. 2 _) q g, Z+ V' ^* N- o+ ]3 F p* }. {6 S# N8 T) y$ }
That view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene. 6 o- S6 C4 C' G9 m0 o+ {, }( c. \ . A1 C5 B/ O) u' H" _/ V% b& EI decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain.- \ s2 M- R7 y
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) L0 z/ P0 u& P* I & X, A2 U: \2 lCalls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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