' Q, y" s: A0 b5 D: `Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles ) }0 o; D5 b! S" A' N/ G: `; j
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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. ) C( P# d# Q" v, V. O1 g " A( k, F" h/ w8 U: N; _, Q$ c9 OLight drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles. / s" M' S9 z/ E V* c1 T" k# a# h' i4 ?6 ~, H: y, h0 r
I had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things. v: N( ], T: B% j. V6 ?
5 t: [6 g( b" [- |1 s4 DWhat I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect. 4 ?; m' }2 m/ P1 _6 c7 j& x 6 X- p# g. v: d" C$ m. S) C7 VThe porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga., ^7 z! i0 U. S& L# L
: E& X5 M. |* @0 H' y4 `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. 3 R1 @5 _# \8 `% O+ [. E( } 0 Y( i# W; k4 y. g2 B6 Y8 ]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. # b2 s0 l0 f1 Q T* d 8 w2 v; B1 a6 ^ c+ ? Z, B1 \3 v1 V% \Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed.0 @# F4 i( t3 L* b' 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. / c" P4 `* S( m* V7 e: C , @' U. O" X2 g4 c' j+ |The problem, increasingly, is revenue. F" M! p! _4 t3 J& Q
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Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch.1 v& C% K( J7 u' D2 T4 [
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DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free.4 u7 p) c, Q+ ]
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And the economic downturn does not help. [0 b- b6 T' |3 N6 r7 b) V9 R( k
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"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. . O) r6 _) U+ M8 x& Y ( U# Z( H2 P: U' G) w3 fThe economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. / V \2 Y% }' p9 k6 ~9 v8 k, J, B% r) u3 k/ D4 `1 P$ C0 k8 f
For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms.: x m% d6 p* ~+ e( O0 G2 O: e
; ~6 N, \' {* c' UHealth scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set.; F$ S/ x3 J- a4 y; E% H: @* w& F3 \
) X7 z2 ]" s( U+ I; i3 r. ABut 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 B! M2 Y+ _- {. y/ B) A 3 ]' w3 k- m& V5 c1 k% b6 tGonorrhoea" x7 g7 l) f% W! G1 D
) X5 n u/ u' B# y& [: p+ H# pBack on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers.; z) k) N% }. y; T1 f+ j
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A college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years.; F) M l% k: T$ b
& E: L ]. f$ ^She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. X$ S$ C! s. J9 I0 E
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"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" % F/ e/ u( z6 o* N" U# A% l 3 k, v9 Y! k0 p7 [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. 7 h& \$ \, ?7 C$ d# j- _& e' \: x$ _2 t N5 D# g- N2 j
Each day would be 15 hours long. 6 u2 ?* p# V5 p5 {" M " a* \2 B2 D" I"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. 9 F" L$ @7 K V; J) n- e0 o" V - _4 @8 n. X7 J7 Y+ D& w( G"You get used to it," she smiled. : Q. P5 D/ O: y M; ^$ H+ m, I: ^( m2 m( S
"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" " H# F/ \5 s( {; y3 J; ?( C; w; l3 b9 s0 a( A# R/ v
"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 E7 N9 F! c& `3 _, Q y7 ` 2 @0 R+ S. @2 K: A9 g" KThere was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided.- R. I; I& Z+ S- G" i
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Expensive lawsuits 6 T2 n2 b7 _7 ]7 y4 J4 s6 \# i) d& X8 ?: q" W( L; I
In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. $ v3 {" | ]) x# p& a6 d0 z9 v 6 q n. h+ S, e- c2 w+ cA combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it., z( ~: D) B3 n
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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. 5 j' e) A& ~/ d$ G/ `. j" ^7 b. Z2 c5 N- s, u* J8 K" _0 k; Z, f9 ^
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. ' |/ V; _! C i Q; w8 u$ Q; Z- U3 F- [
"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?" % m. v2 u3 B. g) z, t* L, ^( M; B4 l1 v4 H5 @. R( x- D
I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment. 3 ^9 m* T, G# H : Z4 O. f7 V/ `$ F KBut 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?3 B! |" g9 V% N% \" ]6 H5 {
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The authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection. 5 }- O5 B r! d- a# C- N7 D. v |6 m5 l% c; G \5 e5 u( a
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.1 H3 ?& g# W- [8 c
7 b5 ]* C8 g4 R4 pA number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them., x5 Y) r, f/ S( w9 o5 ^! o6 Z
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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., v* _% j- N% r% i% c: P9 L. {
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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. 2 ?" o% j% l R3 r6 o / h D" f+ B; U/ b7 a( p& ^ NI decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain.* D' T% R- q( M2 M, M9 ~2 b4 z; B
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Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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