6 R- e9 Q; @9 bCalifornian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles 4 b( M2 }# e6 {. n
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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. 9 h2 E: f. _, U" ~* F% n2 B" o) M# Y5 }
Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.& ?9 c& l8 x+ \
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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. ) |' B. E: Y. i7 G& @$ H8 F! t B; q+ v9 x0 w
What I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect.& X7 j; @! R/ p; m$ h5 C% T! Q6 e
- C+ O" L$ P+ W. c2 K6 xThe porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga.$ X5 F9 a1 w# Y
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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. * E5 \, B) Q- S# p3 f. C" A # X' x) W& \8 [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. . s& l" F- N( v7 A: } 1 u( ~* D: N* m# X5 I" |Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed.+ }3 b8 } J2 x" D: R, [/ I9 t. m N
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Fantasy* B0 v; _7 W5 S! X" Q
# N6 a2 J$ K) C' gThe 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. ' l0 k5 h% m8 Q3 z! F" P" X& \$ l! B7 V5 Z
The problem, increasingly, is revenue.2 \2 W6 X' ^3 N5 O" a$ W a! j4 J
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Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch. 5 P2 e9 ]# ]' e9 ?, V+ v: g* x [0 U9 e3 @$ H0 h: Z0 P
DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free.# @1 l; H7 ~* z
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And the economic downturn does not help.; J- q- \8 S. n" r
9 C* i2 Z7 R" G! L4 }* F"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. ; v# ]) N2 H' w* x, d8 h / F- `) {% p7 J2 ]The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations.( [! {' W; o* K* K4 ~# ?3 \4 M
2 v4 m" [# Q: m# q1 }/ G7 cFor years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms. 5 x- ]; ~, `; M, B8 o! l: [5 \- L2 h9 x/ ~/ V! D. D- }7 p
Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set.# {' U; X: D- O. m7 K% e. \/ j
* i% k* s- e yBut the industry says wearing condoms on-screen is a turn-off. The public do not want it, it will kill the fantasy, they say. " m4 v* ~) E" O. Q$ G6 Z7 A0 b ' X' ~& I7 c. g, H) YGonorrhoea+ g" e8 z: |' w9 M, b" c
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Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. - {* @/ n9 j) T2 K+ z! f9 G _( U3 ^1 E: i# G. I2 ?
A college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years. 3 q9 ~1 d- u. E% V* k. ~9 D 7 P1 l3 ^: q2 o/ A) }) l' T" `0 Q9 jShe turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. 5 O: a$ I6 O* K 3 d. G* \ @; ?7 i" C8 _ ?' s"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" 9 V* G3 K& B5 V# [5 |2 A1 }* f5 b3 L% @5 A D
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. / c5 X2 f: z: }1 N4 p! b j' ?& k8 L. x2 I: ?* r
Each day would be 15 hours long." _( b" Z; X# D6 z" P
/ h: y7 M! ?* r% k2 T"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. 8 w9 k% j! z. m5 L* B/ F! ^0 B" `2 G% b5 r, M+ @1 v( o3 h% F+ J
"You get used to it," she smiled. # l$ Q5 Y6 X$ o$ q2 Q' ~* h " R& [, Q t* {"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?"$ D7 S& a5 r# S9 V; F H
9 Z7 \% E2 W0 T) @"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.", C% e5 E2 f- d6 o
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There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided.8 C7 Z/ I& X5 D2 E' C5 {
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In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business.1 S# h _# \3 H( \+ P9 F& t! w
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A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it.) w2 T- t1 l4 s3 P8 Z0 t9 X' G
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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. ) s$ t \# u" I 9 l7 E+ l# S nNow, 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./ ^0 c' h% N+ R0 j& V% @9 ^* F* z
, k* [# i7 W7 ^; s% d/ I"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?" 5 @2 m4 h$ g9 n' A0 d1 \- Q! E
I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment.3 W. X) A. W3 S8 a
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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? 8 g2 s) k+ ]# ~0 p) q7 {8 T3 g0 k: i8 T; f i
The authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection. 2 K! Q3 O* u$ T7 E& q3 e3 o+ C( x/ m. s, s1 P
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.5 R9 B: C9 l3 u
/ t" {. d. v9 e o& y1 D; iA number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them./ o$ g8 G U. _4 k9 V7 F2 _9 R1 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. $ Z8 d) `5 g0 u# i0 V & M' r: q4 a# F9 TThat view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene.: u- E4 M* Z h7 p5 A0 @$ [) f
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I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. ' S8 J3 d) f8 N3 Q7 a2 C8 c( A# ]3 Z+ D K0 ]) o& {9 T! N5 ^: ?. i
6 V0 v' S7 S" Q, H0 O & q9 M6 q( v- ]- D5 ^% A% X+ A3 ?% mCalls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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