# ^3 b& T6 h, K! H! \! pCalifornia'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. & Y5 V6 X# ` |, e7 c" [ , z# a) K3 g! ?2 rLight drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles. 8 H' e. z7 q8 P: v$ b" u \ z, I1 {+ c2 d% M5 E, r
I had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things. 1 A" s/ X+ N: L8 v& a, J 3 g0 K9 e/ C4 B) @What I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect. ( O2 y# W! `0 K: D5 D 3 @, K- n! o+ ~/ YThe porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga. " Z4 y8 J+ Y0 z( Y. E2 j/ }+ X$ Z/ x5 ~. O; L/ Z- z
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. ! C' m6 k1 r- e; v! z; N1 B8 t. m, b! `5 M; o) k" t
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.& x2 h, C6 x j. x1 E
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Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed. % K4 v0 _& W$ u; R4 U0 ?7 L1 Z& H' r6 Z; L3 M
Fantasy& B# R# z& |1 `" i B5 _
3 n2 v4 Q) h" g1 K1 }7 q9 Q* A' FThe 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.0 C! D6 U7 E. q; E) Q% M
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The problem, increasingly, is revenue. , O, d0 t: W7 R9 P( ]9 T1 p% p1 P# @! P
Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch.* M6 o) m+ a5 ~6 `0 z5 V }* {
- ^8 x6 c1 @7 J5 ?8 E7 m7 WDVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free. 4 N+ O8 [' K& r/ }* c h) ^2 h% I8 I2 X1 [. Z7 g6 |/ Q
And the economic downturn does not help. # X0 O& @! f: Z 3 f; c- r3 Z5 t: [6 X3 F( Y" l"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. 8 ?+ M; x: j+ [$ m5 D/ U 1 e* j, V) W. T$ M" T% |The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations.2 q# ?1 N0 D( d
! i8 [5 [; X( \4 }7 oFor years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms.7 t& _+ H& w3 [
. |" r: Z/ ^8 F r/ ?Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set.% ?# U h7 U8 F
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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.6 R, ^! V. A$ S! g1 v' B: E$ Q7 f
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Gonorrhoea( I( b3 {6 t2 t* z. w$ M- N* d
5 Y; M1 Q: p! {% L" x% o8 ^: oBack on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers.( r4 j2 J' K! }: I6 ]
( ]: U+ O* c9 c/ jA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years. % T0 g: q5 D/ @4 H p6 S$ J( S & U; X: U# n1 b$ b) n+ v: I( kShe turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. : x" H1 A% c# i9 W) o/ P. I2 D7 G! u N( K! l3 q* T6 u- A0 x
"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?"3 _. g# K Q6 H j; N
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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.! p7 x& _8 P i: ?; U
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Each day would be 15 hours long. ) p! n7 Z6 k4 r7 }6 K6 N0 o9 G$ o1 w4 ]" G( w) ^7 R
"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested.5 X! H s: ~8 y$ Y. n: K
) x; s$ K5 H& X. D& f, U0 I- H4 O"You get used to it," she smiled." T; s: r5 `& M; Y6 l) m* _5 o
# }% ~. e& I0 u5 H2 j" M"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?". _# |0 [0 F6 P+ x/ i$ \# H0 F
7 X$ P: m0 z9 ]' ?5 X"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." a* [) \ V' ]0 g. P# a4 w
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There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. P# \9 n* o( d( z- ^" ]' ^ D5 m8 v! G' E* F: O' e4 H9 ~8 o9 S$ l
Expensive lawsuits$ L7 u2 a+ e: g P
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In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. ; V- O# i. ^7 X: `2 X* o) \2 F* J/ G z8 f, V
A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it. , v( ^9 V! x' q2 i) v. @ M) W! R3 s4 X9 C5 V2 U0 G, J
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. . |" a! t4 ^& `+ Y) \ 1 @6 c# X4 m; t) H' QNow, 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.7 Y1 x" |$ \0 ?0 N7 } J& n
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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?"7 G( R" p* y3 |' }$ I
2 @4 j! w' _* N( J2 _( v# pI struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment.: H9 n5 H9 w. W* v( c
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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 q7 A/ F/ E& ^# f. O& U( o# j5 Y; K5 h* G2 G' L; H. y
The authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection.5 t& X, P( C( y; U8 x
. a0 ^/ S: z" D0 ZIt 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. w' |# P* W, O" L8 G, G, U# S# g! e
A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them. ; _0 c( j* \/ P v+ I6 ]' g1 y: G1 Y! U
The producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants. n; i2 A; P# \# D8 m$ H0 N6 }
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That view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene. % D/ _( S( Q( G% \# `0 I* T1 A: Z% T, M V* Y
I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain.; ~1 `" E5 [$ {0 H2 b% j0 Y
, a( j6 k* {1 }8 D( `7 P) H* a* P / i$ l3 s8 h4 k/ B! r' n 4 m+ Z7 B7 o v; W) H9 J4 ? % Q0 b/ B' v6 n/ B m, iCalls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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