4 t3 b H: L4 X9 E5 `1 C( m) W8 OCalifornian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles ' [7 o/ p9 l# y2 T E
* Y2 L7 ]# P+ l" N6 B. q0 K
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.+ \3 y% C7 w: u- @% M0 E
9 }7 c% I; c$ C3 q$ lLight drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles. ' h, g v9 q* m' A * |5 s m) g" Z: B5 w0 eI had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things.0 X4 l& Y; x+ W
- d, Q8 D% F! J5 O
What I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect." c8 i3 B* t4 i* o% Q9 W' v( b. S
! @, W; k0 F4 c
The porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga. . ]* z- v/ |, R P0 f- P9 V, D9 V" f) e: O
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.5 _6 \$ p( B* }4 u
5 D {, p% e4 Z; m, D
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.; z: H8 A9 e4 {- f4 G
$ f* I$ z6 P9 r* ROnly 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed.0 R/ `0 s: w5 [- z
* u8 M, ~1 a4 I2 |$ A( y2 m$ U
Fantasy ( |+ T% Y2 H" K3 m! O- e6 P8 M- F! b; J& }4 R* O* ?4 ^$ A6 p
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. " j$ S6 P4 L+ T% [- Y2 G! L - |$ k$ s" M* ]) ]/ tThe problem, increasingly, is revenue.# w8 p: I0 \4 e7 f# [2 |7 m
1 x3 p V$ n+ T8 t) c% w# d2 s- p5 ^Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch. ( b4 r) e* ]/ W. s/ o0 G( K 0 q3 g4 Q7 L* C4 q( h& yDVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free./ s$ }; j) v6 f, k& N0 e! g
8 S9 v7 q, X8 g2 yAnd the economic downturn does not help. + N5 P0 C5 }% C; ]+ B* V+ h! F + I/ y" {/ f5 _"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. 9 p+ A7 W( p$ y' O$ ]8 X' e' A9 X* `& ?# }% ?) e; W2 u- u4 n
The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. 8 j$ G+ e; W B) H9 |4 Z2 W q2 S1 a
For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms. K" M9 Q$ A$ P D: v7 G4 F' U9 C# T4 G/ A: K4 P: ~! }
Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set., w4 ?1 U ] E2 B6 a
* [# O! z8 o% u# I6 k! JBut the industry says wearing condoms on-screen is a turn-off. The public do not want it, it will kill the fantasy, they say. 1 f. z I; ?5 O0 W& a R: Z5 r0 M7 T* @% a2 S" n9 \; H: Q0 d2 u
Gonorrhoea/ W8 g6 {# G% H" V, _" m* ?7 F
+ m3 \ a: d- d# q0 x
Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers.) C' }/ }* l7 ^
- M6 m! ]. q$ k/ t$ l
A college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years. 2 o. h6 C% k( N' n1 k r" o* K/ D
She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. + H& Q! m, u9 x0 j+ N# u, D7 L. L# G L, Z% i; q& J" P# J, t"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" % F- i) B# d+ X3 _3 M3 N: j: x( F2 r
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. ; l2 Y: b- Y) C; P1 V1 g, I& D6 w" Y2 \1 R- G. S# q0 I
Each day would be 15 hours long. ! U4 g5 e/ H2 \1 U" h2 D ; q) J" e! s" {0 L3 h"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. ( I& `. Y3 d$ Z: D# h, `4 b& E9 g2 k. V
"You get used to it," she smiled." G; ^+ K W3 s/ p: a
0 n0 A. \( v1 i
"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" . D: P% U8 J S8 z5 [6 M8 u8 [# b+ h) c9 z$ @, F6 w
"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."- G$ i% k/ d: C9 \
5 S0 x4 q. G6 n) ]+ }There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. 1 h; B' N; e6 W* D 9 K4 R* U0 [3 R7 K0 G( e8 rExpensive lawsuits% p+ n4 g2 K! n
, ?8 x' h d8 C* ?2 D J/ \In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business., [7 P" _! V2 y( ]( T0 _+ X
0 D1 J7 u4 n5 P$ l/ a* z1 o& yA combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it.8 @1 l' _ n8 h! K- j) h
2 \7 u$ l( H% n$ ]; m3 YIt 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.. J: U# M6 i- E% t# s" V
: f" z- c& S( j- H& S
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., \; H* i6 x G. O' m% x( Z
- D3 J/ q. E, G4 H$ G
"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?" $ a# M1 z% w1 ] ' n# F6 J6 q: Z/ O! T- @1 C4 a1 sI struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment.; N6 N3 P( X% n
/ n$ Z) W7 _$ }+ j" I0 oBut 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? ! U, s1 Y7 p. x2 ]) `* f# r* C% @) N
The authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection. 1 S0 {5 L! T" g! V. V+ E+ T+ y) @4 A, u6 ]+ F) z
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 L7 O# g$ X9 e1 m1 ]# R/ c0 x
" w0 y: G5 G7 i, L. s! l$ [
A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them. % l0 x+ f5 o/ [3 ~2 e4 K6 B $ Q7 E5 X A/ MThe producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants. $ \9 a/ ?# d5 H' }8 B' H9 `1 V, N7 Z1 h4 W: p
That view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene. 8 I: O0 R* t5 G% O9 d- p( [) d+ Z% Q* o" F5 L* F# h7 g: w0 J2 o9 H
I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. * @ p4 m! q. O) ? 3 @- ~4 I9 S. n7 k% U; f; r; S0 N) D# v. ^, \
3 M( D5 K' y2 [+ h ( t) O( b0 I4 |. L3 |' r4 ~
Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
( R1 E9 L7 n% d
; S0 N) D# v. ^, \
( t) O( b0 I4 |. L3 |' r4 ~