Porn industry may boogie out of L.A. over condom law
Producers weigh taking legal action or moving out of town when a Los Angeles measure requiring performers to wear condoms takes effect March 5.
The AIDS Healthcare Foundation demonstrates last February near the L.A. site of an adult film awards show.(Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)
By Rong-Gong Lin II, Los Angeles Times – February 21, 2012
For decades, the nation’s pornographic film industry found a happy, largely accepting home in Los Angeles.
Producers operated lucrative businesses in anonymous office parks in the San Fernando Valley. Available in the city were a steady supply of actors and film production talent as well as opulent mansions that often served as theatrical backdrops. By one estimate, at least 5% of on-location shoots were for adult films.
But this coexistence has been suddenly shaken by sweeping health regulations that, starting March 5, will require porn performers to wear condoms while on location.
It’s a debate that pits the desire to protect the health of porn actors against the freedom to make films that audiences want to see.