# I- I ^" |6 _% o3 bCalifornia'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. : w+ P* Y5 d y4 B 0 p+ E0 b" s2 x/ \9 E( oLight drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.( ]7 Z% R- f' J% K. ?, x( c% O
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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.* H, \( O! u4 {9 j8 J8 M, O
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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.4 m( i; b) H5 L5 s3 X
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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. : A0 k* n7 a n: S e( {! K6 l% ]/ ~! M
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.+ k3 L; r( C# h3 r# l
: \% C. k7 M4 U+ T, o# d8 R I4 [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. 3 |* S& M, w2 ]+ L 9 i7 Z, p, |: r+ r4 c! l% @Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed.) C$ Z& {# p( ]/ j
1 t# `3 p( `6 V! ~& V' c% A9 aFantasy1 F e9 F4 X3 ]! F
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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. 1 w/ J: F }& W4 t7 l* M7 M D0 k, ]: ?: ?. d7 wThe problem, increasingly, is revenue.# |1 j/ P2 I7 d& V7 \
* T; |6 i; K9 W* P! @" B- U8 g4 {Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch. $ v2 | Q& q. z1 m: f % r: F# r( s$ x% a7 N( T }1 Z1 @DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free.. x; {8 ?) S4 P/ b8 X
4 R. ~0 e1 b4 kAnd the economic downturn does not help./ @! t5 l( w5 {
$ ]" E6 ^6 a: W) h"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. ; n% J/ p) C* x/ x$ d8 F ; d0 H# m$ t# r9 G SThe economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. 7 f9 B8 k l# j7 J9 Y+ U" |$ @+ J: _3 w! \1 F: N) H* p8 m0 m
For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms. + R# \0 g9 `: ]; c" |1 ?' }1 I# r3 z- v
Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set. K* u1 O3 i' r( K0 m, M5 j
. f. Q) a8 q+ I uBut the industry says wearing condoms on-screen is a turn-off. The public do not want it, it will kill the fantasy, they say. & @4 C( i4 P3 [ 4 K* p% x' D) j4 WGonorrhoea # T( U' _3 F/ _2 ~0 } / j) e; }7 L* Z- z7 d. j% KBack on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers.( W' h1 y: F9 C3 A' t7 E
- j7 c+ K- T, w: _, JA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years.0 s) S+ ]5 n% l( G6 w3 N0 C
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She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. w0 F$ x0 U+ f- U
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"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?"! U, i0 i4 G8 Q* W& b6 \
7 T) d, X$ f+ a3 l6 Q) R2 j K" kHer 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. / Y# B# }8 ~: z$ I: ? g& B( O. o: R
Each day would be 15 hours long. " I3 n+ o3 t f* h3 }* }$ I+ q" g7 K2 }
"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. 5 ]) O- V( K( a4 j A" N' S$ C2 [5 ] 6 q2 W" J, d# e"You get used to it," she smiled.$ k* }( k0 b. v! X1 ], Q9 z0 ?
8 Y( T0 e f& _4 X"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" # Z( ]& v* r9 z) A h# q$ I: |6 i* z+ 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."4 M. w0 G$ m n y: e
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There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. 0 Z" k3 ]# \ F, |4 c* Z \0 X * S1 _3 |/ a! Y- q; a0 gExpensive lawsuits' `. n. S2 J) @. g
H, q3 H i; L [& E+ b: uIn fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. - j( R% e. \+ T$ L2 \ # P) T0 r6 F% A7 o( |% KA combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it. & s' ~/ {& O, @ D. _5 [ ' `+ D- S- w2 D. ]7 _' `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.# ~2 ]2 ~ I$ `" {4 n' x8 |, g8 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.: f \4 k( _0 k. E
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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?" 6 \1 ]$ S1 ?( D5 w* P $ ^$ P& }3 P& L& y" QI struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment. # Y6 ?& Q7 z2 Q* R$ l5 h - `0 \- @2 }$ [$ {& ^0 F4 {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?" B5 }" N( P/ @5 y2 B
, X) R8 @4 |$ o1 Q2 xThe authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection. * r5 }) B% P+ d6 c( j: \% j- R! l6 e, n8 D6 G
It 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.! \7 e. u2 n. N2 Y
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A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them.* g( K( V! L- w# |* B) B7 r- R
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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.% J! t6 c2 Y% a, `
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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. ( c! P6 M7 {( s( Y* `' W7 N/ [* q& |! c
I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain.9 y4 c$ t1 {% }8 i, t, B+ X
+ @' }3 p6 l! o9 s7 r# q8 v4 l 4 @5 y$ A# r9 W( K# v+ T/ A0 v! v' u 9 c" O5 C! l) I1 w3 M " A9 L, m O5 ]( }4 LCalls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
