5 h0 w+ |! `9 Y" u1 ^$ D# z 1 Z' B T: G* yCalifornian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles 0 u. n0 Q; p8 H) K2 n! ^* t$ l- x3 `# X' n4 S9 _
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.6 t. k+ F7 @1 R/ U+ @' E3 O
1 M5 J$ |3 z; I! ]! S. G" W! ?Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.1 R1 A; ^3 R& _, r* p9 c( } f( I! v
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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.$ q, I, O, x& K& ^" T+ c. _
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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.6 C1 O0 N1 F7 b* [# I# K
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The porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga. * |/ P7 a. f+ r4 E; r+ H1 v C" f1 @3 B0 l/ x/ V# [ Y# C
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. ) _ Y* t0 `; F, _0 | , N, `! k6 w& T) b( o1 ?6 y# j1 RThis 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./ c# w3 L: o* S6 d* y1 O
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Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed. $ t5 M4 {3 W1 p2 n# Q! f 6 G$ p) v& m# u' `+ n; a! x% B2 \Fantasy 8 l& j! Q2 ` U& _5 t' b ; o5 q) ~6 V6 K& xThe 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. 1 ^9 ?1 H- d. I8 S+ D2 w1 A# t5 j/ e- i, l L- q
The problem, increasingly, is revenue.) i: ]: L& k0 S$ {7 Y& ~
1 l* J9 D7 \! v8 r- Z; BLike the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch.# C% J+ M0 `. \# ?$ }/ M' F, W
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DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free.' r9 a% s& J% w) s
- o$ ] f: K9 D/ X' }8 lAnd the economic downturn does not help. 8 Q# h3 o5 j/ e0 B* L% d, ~! p1 {% |! x3 S
"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully." N' ]; u% m- j5 A
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The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations.+ X+ l1 M* ?" A8 n
* j. X7 x7 X$ ~) LFor years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms. 0 [8 w8 J" V c7 m, H # P! c4 R G& m1 G- x' THealth scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set. a* u! E# N( ]+ \" l6 g
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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. ( \/ r7 `. f8 J4 F. ]5 Y/ j" A: H' r 1 x1 Z. `0 z2 Y) S" sGonorrhoea2 l+ q5 p3 ]$ E9 Q) u5 ?. ^
/ f5 z0 T! X8 e' `; ^Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers.9 x* c% q# S7 u3 h1 D9 T$ g7 Z; G
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A college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years.; H9 _; v7 I4 R5 i
2 ^" y) g8 D5 z' g. _% yShe turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. \* b9 H! d* w; P2 Q6 T ) Z! C# U4 @' x* A; f% Z$ `$ _"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" % T) P9 H& x1 V1 m `$ R2 e; q7 p1 k' V
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 Z- {2 i" ~3 b1 f7 [% O2 L r! |$ ]$ @5 D* h( n5 |7 J
Each day would be 15 hours long. 0 f- z: _& s- A. V8 h + Z5 n& x: \. k9 T"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested.# m* ^& v" \# e1 O7 G
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"You get used to it," she smiled.- e K' R/ g6 u+ R4 g
7 }/ O9 D( M' O/ k"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" 4 U$ x; F4 U [$ t6 t( g * k! V3 P4 y+ V. j"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." * ~6 w6 G6 E$ F7 X, ` 3 C8 w7 w" `. c- m1 YThere was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. & Q9 Z. V; B0 k/ X4 f, q& I3 w A- V2 u" c
Expensive lawsuits" E. P5 p6 k$ V6 v
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In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. - O5 Y. h$ M" e 8 h7 L* ?6 {- \7 h. x* KA combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it.5 F. j: J3 V$ K# q3 M. h
2 T* Q9 k, x$ g6 P( UIt 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. ; n. J8 q2 i0 u# J1 S6 d + p( u. ]# @* d C; 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.% K u3 ]2 c: U% S7 h1 Y
" L. m. \& m# B3 n"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?" 7 b( I! m& S2 J0 J$ d# j' @ ; A, ?: O" X; w& E+ F" Q3 R1 Y& [I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment. 7 q7 `. n& N+ [" B' I) _4 y- t) A9 V9 ~1 f6 ?, B4 s# R' ~. v! n
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? & I5 t% ?) e3 n6 V9 B. _8 A1 q
The authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection. z, k0 B6 s1 c8 v; H7 _) ^ # w. b0 P3 e+ I2 ?& v" a9 w, QIt 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." S) C: T; ~( W4 F% `
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A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them., v# M4 ~* W3 u1 ~; j
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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 M" M4 M, q; m" V8 R7 o+ ]6 O7 X2 B! n- n% `0 B7 Y0 f
That view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene. W# y; A5 z8 o K5 y$ G
; |& h2 n1 H" n/ {I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. ' a9 [( G+ @% P/ F" H; W+ J) |0 h5 ~4 V; F! }3 @; T 5 B' G( Y; q! |+ R, j; k
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Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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