; @. ]5 f' L& c' q) lCalifornia'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.% t" l& h; |: d" D3 o G
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Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.7 i6 ]2 Y" t2 E K
! a( v4 A8 G+ ?; AI had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things.$ E$ M( a1 o! f
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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.( c' |; F7 A$ `! ^. R
' o9 m7 w2 R/ u' t/ m! YThe porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga.( t+ v! i( m7 `6 L+ l3 U" v) v) c" c
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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.! p# E( x. P$ w' G
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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. 7 @) G7 |* x& v' S% h( v& ?; b " |5 H. Z) A6 n% o& v2 j) a" l4 c9 zOnly 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed.& Z3 z( t; h2 d" `/ R
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+ R2 `: D$ }6 r, o2 |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. a9 w% |! ]# h5 ?4 L
# L y3 D* I+ {" uThe problem, increasingly, is revenue. + W" `( k% e Y" O( ]$ V) _4 I5 h0 J' V1 T% v. o
Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch. ) `$ z( @* }( f' G$ E$ Q8 g) I/ _& N6 l& x( |/ K' n
DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free. $ E7 U( n$ q! J4 q F: w0 T T6 N9 \+ U& r HAnd the economic downturn does not help.6 L! x% D% ?. T
) F$ d/ Y4 G' ?) j# ^"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully.! ~" V( @6 s( g! [+ ~; V
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The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. . _# N7 H4 X3 U4 E) R% u+ k1 d' R0 o% K
For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms./ p% R0 W& ?0 w
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Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set. K' m9 ?0 L; k. I5 R* W$ V
( m2 Z' N1 J2 FBut the industry says wearing condoms on-screen is a turn-off. The public do not want it, it will kill the fantasy, they say. # H4 N% R& O. b1 T P; o4 T: \3 q, i. G. j7 AGonorrhoea: Q1 m2 k' z) o% K* o
1 l1 j( R. s. q6 M- CBack on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. * }! W! J0 c' \ , K4 F5 \. ^+ uA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years.$ i' Y' D' E8 f% x
9 p0 x5 |& E, t. H' c( kShe turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. & `; |4 ?! o# k) n0 b9 k P& ~! P2 i. H0 C, p; ?
"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?"' o- }4 o6 d& M% H' F" d
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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.- D- Q7 h- B( v: }( c
9 i1 A* Y* k9 N2 U" j9 J) k% V& {, |Each day would be 15 hours long.% m: n3 D1 w* v. R8 T
N* L) a2 }2 J8 _1 k8 d2 w7 N$ ["Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. ) t5 P p! i/ E, a/ D/ r8 ?7 K9 J6 H. o& Q& I" ]: A
"You get used to it," she smiled. & R9 A+ Z0 ^/ r* f; C, i# {, }% u6 e* H
"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?"7 f5 b! d0 c' e2 B+ ?1 }1 z
, K3 e, G$ b' |0 T! \( R9 C0 I"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."1 v# i" {7 Z; K. ~- h0 X/ u* a
6 S$ U$ q. n# C! q; d2 ]9 l' yThere was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided.. W; ^ D; c; P5 u. i4 e
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Expensive lawsuits" m5 Q9 V% L% u7 [" i/ \
8 X# f' x" X. S/ n. L: O; GIn fact there was something very Californian about the entire business.. O9 I& b6 l8 k- P9 r; u6 V3 D
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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.. \' ^3 l8 r X
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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.6 f+ H! s+ M3 c( H" ]9 V
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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.0 b" J; e& y0 b% e9 _! t( Q$ x
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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?" ; M, Q$ d2 H- p: d. s/ ^8 L$ f- [8 A+ {( u$ T; Z& [- d
I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment. 3 G& {# O/ w4 E1 ^% u' E/ r 4 L+ O' n0 h/ z( i! D4 F% }: o# DBut 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? 1 L( r/ X0 W8 {0 X1 v; M* H % \7 O @1 |9 W4 _, ], @/ t# YThe authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection.& R# p; z7 H2 S7 K4 t( Q4 Y) k
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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 y$ v- `6 Z6 v) x1 M* P8 u8 W, |1 \) Z2 ]! [: b9 ~
A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them. , `% Q! i! J( {' n * G9 t; s" |3 qThe producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants.3 l2 D1 A8 _, P; b2 S, t
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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.8 M3 e8 Z( \3 m
8 }- e) }8 Z+ N3 j7 Y( @3 }# [I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. : k% y' ?, H9 H7 t4 C4 }7 W' l4 M% h . i$ u" k% D6 T$ f4 _8 e
1 C% M; z1 t6 w* ` 7 h4 g: ~# E7 R* A V9 fCalls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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