: j4 F9 ]3 R& x! _2 o% YCalifornian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles ( b V6 X( T" }. R , ~- b/ D& H" d% ^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. , n# h/ P! p" x; Z7 B W( ^& P: @9 q7 A4 h. q
Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.* g# D5 I8 ^0 t( d$ H
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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.+ n) t q) N. A, i+ D( s, A
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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.' h) {2 e9 C L: E/ i* [' q9 n; O
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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.+ K3 O, ?! \- m7 n$ R; v. P
7 _) G; v. t! u" t3 R6 lPerformers 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.5 C: H/ \( I/ p5 o9 g; b
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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. + s2 Z( n6 n5 G: N) ^ 4 J# {( z @ f- b0 [- ^5 ^Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed. 4 `2 F+ J6 m/ l/ j' R# r- P* D; _9 i- z
Fantasy; M8 x$ I, H( k
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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. 8 w7 }8 V d" s! l- l4 h6 a X* q # l& {# r6 T8 B7 v5 DThe problem, increasingly, is revenue. # f U. L' g$ r- b( E$ f% Z: {4 B2 x4 |. B/ d& s; F4 e' _
Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch. ( K( ?/ V5 C" d- z9 Z- B8 W( ^! u$ t6 ?2 I
DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free.0 r3 M3 e+ |/ p5 o9 e% H) d9 P
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And the economic downturn does not help.6 R" e' G7 C# P. ]
" u8 }7 i {4 o4 }, \+ }( V) ^"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully.( b, U; `! j5 P$ k, @
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The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. " ^, s, ?' R3 g: m$ \ % ^& j/ {7 |. a4 L4 \9 NFor years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms.' }3 [9 W1 |( J5 S
+ a$ c' E& D4 @% A: L+ ? KHealth scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set.8 C2 w$ o" r& F/ H
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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 \4 K" D! q" H: t) h) U; E# u1 H$ }* s
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Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. 5 ?2 \( c/ Y* r4 `6 W2 s/ b; i; q& e* ^1 q$ N: V% B
A college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years. 7 J3 s+ N, A% [+ r- c/ F8 D% p- G$ F ^. s- l
She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. 6 W5 E. f7 J$ J2 v! O+ n/ x9 m: u$ {
"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" 7 Q0 p! q- Z/ D7 E2 a1 k* E) Z( N+ l; | A# g8 e, ?
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. / ~( l" }# s% x$ k+ v2 e9 c0 w5 D S: m+ w! }& \/ \
Each day would be 15 hours long.; Y. q0 d. G% D+ N% w
: N {) N4 x Q# C"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. 1 H/ d) S1 V" |8 c: u 4 W8 P9 C: `9 k8 o) Q"You get used to it," she smiled. + }5 B) O! @# a# @: C/ H6 S + }0 e' H8 h) I7 a3 t"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" 0 @( K3 w; l8 c7 Z: H 9 x. Y) q* {% e"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." : U, X1 m. n% d" _: a( o) O! z2 ?5 L: v1 B( M
There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. 9 J* ~6 ?/ M: y3 X _/ @+ X( q4 Z: v. k$ _8 X- y( }
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$ w$ n* X- b8 U4 g0 y8 ?- kIn fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. : [: ?, v( L8 i" r X! } r- d; o' S* e) N4 B0 w6 g D7 c
A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it. 1 J/ _3 l- B$ ~' c 3 ^4 X7 G$ u* ?8 y; 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.5 h! h3 O0 D- l8 k/ ]" Q
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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. 2 B0 L: `: F0 F- u$ l1 }* X5 g9 f% `1 Y! ?) s4 b7 w' u, d4 R% U1 J9 L" @
"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?"; F% M0 l$ }; l' l" V: n
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I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment. 1 X' a* Q% Y$ |9 `2 p2 e6 R & W( u& B( V) p8 V4 J$ j3 \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? + o- u* O! l# |! @8 R6 I, _6 O 7 a' L' v9 E. X5 e9 ^5 GThe authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection. 8 R2 I: H# Y6 G8 W2 M 0 ]) |! f+ E5 `; I! nIt 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.$ M% l, @4 W" b3 [3 K- X- {9 ~
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A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them.: Y4 W' G( ~* b/ Q& V8 E
; g( s3 M* ~* i9 vThe producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants., L, \ A5 q% m+ Q1 `3 J2 @
8 w( k1 W' e( K; }That view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene. + p. G% _1 ]! m) m0 j h9 C1 q: \: W: {/ h! R7 l: j
I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain.* m9 ^2 H" J: x: D
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3 q/ Z- Q V9 N# ?! P* @$ E( I / @* n9 s! z9 d2 W4 A3 eCalls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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