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Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles ( r, O$ |. c; w7 l
8 T( e( ]/ @: XCalifornia'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.: H8 Q8 ], T% h4 `* w# [
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Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles. # f9 ]: t0 f; h( m0 P, b9 L, T; q6 i 4 k# o9 k+ i$ mI had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things.1 m- q4 j1 Y! p$ z
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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. $ P5 K+ H3 h" v; Z/ z ) W. v* ~5 Z' Z9 I6 ]8 |The porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga. 3 `! a* i* b4 c* b 3 }$ o) O1 w+ C( p0 fPerformers 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. - U3 G; ]- z6 {( h " }' Z/ C. ~! i3 y( ?9 YThis 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. 0 L- K% s, i! J/ v3 {* T, }0 h7 x) f' I# X
Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed. ( D% r$ w4 s- F o" M5 G, Z, M: a7 V, D" d
Fantasy " R3 e$ o& z+ U' g9 r4 V" \, g; h A2 ?& B5 I# v4 D/ `$ W
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. ( c: b# I% i) q( ?. P 9 ^2 P# m% A! ]7 `4 m3 [! g0 @5 Y% EThe problem, increasingly, is revenue. & q# {8 a8 o3 a2 r2 } Q' O 7 ~, Z0 S& O5 m1 p5 X0 b5 RLike the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch. ! i5 a& p" R3 n7 b p) @8 x. `4 C( ^. w: k5 c7 `0 D* f/ Q- I1 {) U* J
DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free.4 q5 g, n _0 u. W' y' Y
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And the economic downturn does not help.& p* P2 K# F* i. H; A
1 E& A" h$ L/ z. [ y M. r8 l$ G"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully.; V+ V8 u/ o0 c" ~/ \- N
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The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. - _; p: B2 h5 t# Z. N% j: @& } C+ l3 {8 C7 v
For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms.$ ~6 M* j+ r5 M7 q m S" J3 r7 N6 \& u
4 P+ z% p( h XHealth scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set.6 b# [% l. q3 }, r# P6 M
" F4 [; I6 I+ }7 `. I6 a# XBut the industry says wearing condoms on-screen is a turn-off. The public do not want it, it will kill the fantasy, they say.7 ~& @7 F% x1 N$ w/ H& h
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Gonorrhoea r a* }! F/ O
6 T9 A5 h6 y8 a0 Y2 BBack on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. # [7 W9 H! T4 b6 i5 v % Q4 ]/ ~1 d) mA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years.* c: g$ W" y' y) h! G- g
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She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. - s. ~/ b9 W1 A! j$ @7 E% d X1 k7 r/ }6 h
"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" ( \8 q* {: S: _2 H& f2 ?% g* f$ i3 l! ]: g
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.* q* x# g* S/ ^
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Each day would be 15 hours long." i1 b1 n: e% e' i7 k
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"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested.& x+ {; E* C2 \$ n# N. @, N
$ v4 b3 ~9 C H"You get used to it," she smiled.5 b- E8 S* Y5 U/ K# E0 @% L
) e3 l( H. L" Q' t" o+ I"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?"6 ^: _7 ^4 R7 q2 Q# [
p$ p( ]- o% O" X0 ]"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." + e0 k, Z' ?6 }$ q) B - ?' M* J' E! \4 a3 l6 @8 {There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided.5 s. R& v* V+ C( |# L% _ ~) f
) }7 a1 i ]( W0 t; t2 _ lExpensive lawsuits & i3 h' c4 ^3 o( f( m% l7 }9 i" N6 z% `- ?* I
In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. 1 v' f: V' m. t% ?* z7 Q7 L3 m. e3 K( s& e- ?
A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it.6 y5 J: ]1 j/ \: \& i5 {
, K4 j- n2 b* y4 p+ C( BIt 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.# `7 B$ @/ ~( N0 t9 I7 W% p
7 M4 y/ Q) s+ {; F* Y1 |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. " O) B E: X) E% k3 i* ?* u " P C9 y+ a: u# V* q"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?") o# s1 C5 T3 W4 [- ?, `
- `& u5 E* \* ~. J* u) l, l; Z# MI struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment., ]! m- p _2 V# M4 {) T @
}7 J" d8 k- P9 B/ ~) L8 a7 Y ]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?& b9 t/ j! W) _9 \% B
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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. W C" }1 j; ~) }+ L, ]. V4 _9 k" V
7 G) s& M6 ~# S- l$ MIt 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. y2 I+ ?- E- }5 j8 C2 D- e6 d6 U ! K0 m& l6 V% N8 C- EA number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them.+ W6 [$ W9 w! d8 n) L
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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. + G. V: c- i: O1 S7 R! D$ } t/ b/ }
That view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene.5 o( S; l% q% O& x* p* a+ B
$ i; x& b7 S, V* U" WI decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. 0 l" L* }- E$ e I- w/ ` 0 Z! I' D& n; H) U$ z , `8 B: f2 S% F- i9 }; Y% l ' |( W) W! t/ w5 x! G* I5 ~$ w8 p
Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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