8 K! q2 G/ Z: g/ yCalifornian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles % W1 R/ s! F9 E' ^6 K$ S) q9 o 0 i n/ r9 \. n3 p k# ]' WCalifornia'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. + [% \: b! X, t( X2 K : @/ k- `. c4 f9 wLight drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.7 f; n5 O3 w; L* G- l4 g, P0 [$ r2 v* R
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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.0 G; J* p: \% P& d4 R# l% C
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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.+ g* @) J; [7 l7 _
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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.; U! u" S+ v* c7 K
4 `( W9 Q( x2 z) }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. 6 t4 n% a7 E& v: F % B6 v. y$ S" L9 AThis 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. 1 `$ C5 W4 d0 X' s* [! X/ V + f5 c/ P; ~# ~Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed.2 @' I0 N: K( j6 n# _6 j
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Fantasy ! a+ o" h1 @( b6 P9 ^8 ]8 G" g7 \$ Q4 y: `) T7 T
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.$ I1 [& a3 i' U/ o% T D3 ^
) C L8 R* y3 O) jThe problem, increasingly, is revenue., O! C$ X* M" J* b
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Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch., W2 M4 _) ?' ~' }6 V; J* X/ n
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DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free. 0 |2 T; m+ d$ h( Q 1 m& H: ]* ^# Y8 W! JAnd the economic downturn does not help.* x) s8 ]& \ g6 E2 Y* k. R- |
' ` Y% [! |( L( X8 F* G7 ["What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. # v7 R6 M+ O+ i& m( c- E9 p* C) g% k. L8 a: f/ f
The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations.& I) M9 D$ q( e9 V: P! u* E
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For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms.. V7 l$ E1 A2 X* y5 O
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Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set. ) R) c3 T- d1 ~' b, m9 q* s3 q) u4 _& i7 ^
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. K8 ?. D* u B { + u; s" Y6 t$ m" x2 ]) DGonorrhoea, O8 {* J8 D) g1 J& A8 @
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Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers.4 ?) o9 w" L. Y) h/ x2 r1 l ]
) z( t1 ?9 d: g7 g1 s+ IA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years.! G7 P. @$ c0 W$ H! _# C4 t
1 h; I! y0 s" {She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure.' Q/ m* ^6 A' g0 Z# |
' a& B/ I) Y8 H2 A' p' J"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" 2 m+ j0 G7 y- e3 k& e7 x, A/ N" X2 q1 @ p+ V
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. * i8 L7 ?" J" n( R' o' F& C$ q: I/ {& g/ E+ F. `# V
Each day would be 15 hours long., s7 P! h/ p' h1 i
+ w7 s' ~# E+ }5 H# }"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested.6 P! ? e! C8 _: `( d
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"You get used to it," she smiled.6 c! S R6 [2 m$ ~: B# g$ B
5 `: e& G$ Q8 x; D/ p A# V"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" / I' \, {3 h2 ]4 t1 d1 I( B" _1 K3 B7 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." 4 F# l/ T& W5 Z 4 e1 D' f( O+ e4 EThere was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. 9 z& [! \! B: [1 e 8 p5 g. X( J2 Y) c* mExpensive lawsuits * o& m. D: ?: |% i: `+ ]- W # l# A4 [! J6 y! l6 k6 xIn fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. K0 p6 [# O6 A* x7 j( g. Y3 \! F& p% ?6 \
A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it. 1 L9 X0 i; \: H; M- u9 h% B7 e9 q. U' ~9 m
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." C1 m$ G' u* i1 b7 Y7 R# r
( u4 l& _% O6 S% ]+ E K- r+ d+ a7 XNow, 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$ T% _& G6 O# i; y& I
+ J, _% C$ H0 {6 h3 w"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?" * X) J) v! h0 M, t5 W ]9 Z6 ?! W4 P+ [. U8 x( w
I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment. % B) g+ a* V0 [6 [ ( k6 x' u# B, V7 N- R7 f+ d% hBut 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? " \+ k" G5 K7 n. o4 P+ C1 O. ~7 ^. e2 T! }# _
The authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection.' N5 C3 j) C( D$ `
/ {. M* V6 T0 x- H$ b5 TIt 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.. G3 y7 ~( u: ^: L7 l
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A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them. 9 O) y3 [$ L; k9 a2 c1 ^( E( ]! H4 ~8 L# D6 o; @- `; [+ Q
The producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants. 2 T5 }9 N! C' x; {: j8 F( l, Q* S5 O" M+ v, ]+ K
That view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene.$ ?: G V9 V9 U7 f
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I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. ( l% i4 J# e% R9 H) R5 [- m0 T0 J* V9 ~ i2 c' [; Q5 a $ O0 Z4 m2 g/ S
! O |6 b* Y% l0 |' A0 ^: R9 X7 D : J- j/ @8 G8 p8 {Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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