9 S# ]. P+ B; v1 F$ t- {- w/ q3 HCalifornia'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. * r1 o5 K9 p% m5 T7 y! E2 T, d" i( t2 |# X
Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles. 6 `/ u6 h: W/ V# ?1 M" c/ u" ]4 ^1 O. h) }* Z- g) V2 G9 A" f
I had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things. ; h9 B4 R( } v1 D N- b ]8 q9 M2 b6 d/ L4 e7 d S" N
What I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect.* p: w" I' T& \) T/ A
) s2 |$ `: ]% ?# H5 o; Q/ a2 x) ^The porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga. * B" g ]+ w6 D! \- T ! y; {! f2 P4 G3 ~6 x3 j# Q8 EPerformers 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./ U2 M. E) O/ b q; c3 U7 O3 ]
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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. 8 b8 z/ p$ N. [# e5 }, j2 _' r0 `0 K$ l1 t
Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed.3 { H7 w D) w9 B5 ^
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Fantasy $ B* ]: \$ ~+ @+ Z9 W; W. i; @, U M: C6 P* c
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.4 H6 B' l+ G, O! c; u9 P9 [$ r
& F+ p1 P; v0 V- G6 ?9 [" ]2 fThe problem, increasingly, is revenue. 0 F4 w4 \/ {6 b) N5 _( C, H' t, r) x# J& W
Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch.4 L5 a9 Y( c% Z j: p
2 C3 {' e- Y; j+ f0 w" ]DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free. $ e' h! F* a/ ~2 Q . R6 Q( T; o1 C% D5 @$ Y" E5 dAnd the economic downturn does not help. / w* I" U9 `' r& R: M " n0 v8 l9 q9 q5 [( H8 p# h"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. ( p+ S- W) S; C4 [ P ( F( c$ E5 l, ^1 a( k6 f' c8 tThe economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. : X; E' U4 L& K% k' C5 K* ` ) ]5 C9 X! f5 w1 f0 p; |: U4 o% rFor years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms.& F& M+ H, S6 y9 @
4 F* x0 K( Q! N) O- xHealth scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set. 0 e) o' C) ~ | . Q% S6 m% O: y# @( sBut the industry says wearing condoms on-screen is a turn-off. The public do not want it, it will kill the fantasy, they say.( Y; T4 L; y: K' k2 ~: ?
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Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers.* a2 b4 s% f* I
$ l! C8 b+ f: R# oA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years. ! r( f: h; J0 d% t1 ?9 n) J( I! Z- S7 K
She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. $ |4 k; g. e. ~0 T( d3 [( l) |- c
"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" . t& X0 i' V" {% j/ x7 G 2 R1 t- o- Z. z$ D2 }0 O1 ?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. - b: L6 d+ N! u$ y3 R6 l4 \# j/ | C# r# ~8 V- Z
Each day would be 15 hours long.4 Z8 F, f- N' U. ~" Y' S2 T+ d! m# H
% s* D$ @4 }* ~* P( E, U' @"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested.1 ]7 v9 H. S6 N6 @
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"You get used to it," she smiled. 5 a" N0 Y9 b7 w. l M0 r6 e: {3 U, p/ t, f0 @2 u' P
"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" * K% [3 [% B$ j2 g- p1 U$ r$ K8 B' _/ M/ |2 D" E7 R
"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."" i7 j1 H/ P8 \% j9 l3 A
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There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided.: o9 e! B/ t7 g! O6 A
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Expensive lawsuits5 Y- e4 ]' c3 {8 j* e
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In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. - f% r s( B2 a2 g3 O 1 [4 `1 ^, x% yA combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it.6 `0 P* g( u% ]5 X- D9 J
3 B0 p) x' x9 @* nIt 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. , L/ }( g4 Q7 t8 k+ G% o4 O- u& d) d- l r0 j* S: n0 A
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. 9 W( x3 [" e, L2 R/ m1 ~$ T; e 1 e; @% u) A1 \"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?" 7 |, M! I4 @# E" F. Y0 W & [; c1 G+ @% SI struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment.* E: O( _* B" ^, l- _
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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? . R. U9 T( _4 e7 \4 r! s" p( M4 g3 C$ q/ B; g4 C
The authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection.) R8 ^; S+ r7 e4 T, T& m
9 b% v! g a( ] Z, i: E2 cIt 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.& V+ i L# {3 M' H5 v
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A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them.# Z& M0 X+ M. _8 K, U$ s
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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." N. G# K1 x' a/ f: W" S8 i
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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. % E# T( A& P) M6 R5 y9 ]+ {% ]& l, h T# }% C% _1 V5 l; \
I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain.6 ]! a2 { k/ [$ r' o
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Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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