According to The Free Speech Coalition it is and the mainstream press is eating it up hook, line and sinker. It makes for good copy but how much of it is actually reality?
My guess is, not much.
Porn has been slowing down for about five years and this year it seems to have pretty much hit the wall. DVD sales are terrible, website sales are down, pirated content is everywhere, STDs are rampant. All of that adds up to fewer people shooting, A LOT FEWER and that in turn adds up to fewer permits.
One thing I do notice is that despite the harping from Diane Duke and the FSC Dan Leal at Immoral productions is making plenty of money and he is shooting more and more and he is following all the laws including the condom laws.
I don’t think the condom law is much more than a scapegoat for an industry that has, for the most part, forgotten how to make good porn and has lost its customer base because of that.
The most successful porn market on the planet is Japan, they are making money hand over fist and they are releasing ten times the product on DVD the rest of the world combined does and they have a lot bigger obstacle to overcome than a condom on the penis, they have to pixellate the genitals, male and female, to overcome this they have learned how to actually shoot the scene in an appealing and erotic manner, something Porn Valley has long since forgotten.
I would say to you that if your company is in a sales slump you might considering getting rid of the so called directors you have and hire some that understand erotica, blaming The Condom Law plays well on The LA Times but it aint whats wrong with porn.
29 Responses
Filming Permit Applivcations Are Down But Is It Really The Condom Law http://t.co/fIDodOwEU4
Mike, please do a spell check before posting!
I’m not exactly sure whether I’m supposed to think this is a good thing or a bad thing?
Either my brain hasn’t fully woken up yet or I’m just confused? Not sure yet?
Filming Permit Applications Are Down But Is It Really The Condom Law: http://t.co/KnMxesQc59 via @MikeSouth1226 #condoms #porn (NSFW ads)
I believe you would be absolutely correct on this ever pressing issue. With that said, I have seen some Japanese porn that would make you scratch your head.
Is it legal for an agent to book a performer to work on a location that doesnt have a legally required permit?
When I had my post-prod company, Blue Light Pictures, we edited hundreds of Japanese titles for Typhoon Pictures who were, at the time, the biggest importer of Japanese porn in the US. Trust me when I tell you that most Japanese pornographers are every bit as good at making crap as most US pornographers are… And we got the unpixelated footage to work with.
Not a big fan of Japanese porn, I don’t see what it has to do with Filming Permit Applications being down here in the US. Permits are down because the companies that purchased them no longer shoot in LA county, porn production has not slowed down, people are still shooting like crazy.
I think the point Mike was trying to make was the Japanese porn is successful because they make films that are generally more erotic. I was simply disagreeing with that assessment. Japanese porn has nothing to do with the downturn in film permits. I agree with your assessment of why permits are down, at least it’s partially the reason. BTW, I disagree that “people are still shooting like crazy.” People are still shooting, that’s true, but nowhere near the amount they once were. How long have you been n the biz, Billy? Perhaps you’re not really aware of what constitutes lots of porn production going on. If you’ve been in it for a long time, you must have a short or selective memory. Just saying.
Here’s my take: from what I see online, more and more of the “fresh” content being released isn’t being filmed in LA county anymore. A lot of stuff is coming out of Europe, plenty of companies shoot in Florida, and other companies shoot in places like San Diego and San Fran areas.
Many of the “porn valley” companies don’t really exist except in name anymore, Geekfail bought up a bunch of them and they produce their content in other places.
I wouldn’t blame the condom law directly, more a question of repeat production shut downs and the cost of doing business in the Valley. Each time there is a STD related shutdown, content is still produced in other places to fill the gap. As they get better at it, there is less desire to move things back home. The Cal/OSHA issues are also weighing heavily, why take a risk shooting where they are actively looking, when you can shuffle the whole thing an hour or two down the road and nobody cares?
I would also say that you may have a big more of the geekfail effect than anyone wants to admit. They control enough of the market, and their recent “issues” may have resulted in a cutback in production or perhaps just they stopped while they catch up on their pre-made inventory.
Sorry in advance for long post..big on facts..low on comments. Many Questions for FSC and the Industry Stakeholders it represents.
Is AHF really the big bad wolf blowing their house down? This is a case that they tore it down themselves and cry wolf whenever someone points out…hey your house is broke.
1. Is there a way to verify this 95% decrease leaked to mainstream media at least five days before FSC posted on their site?
2. How nice FSC blames AHF for the lost permit revenue and related jobs..AWWOOOHPH
3. “Los Angeles County enacted an ordinance to improve the safety of workers in the Adult Film Industry. Effective December 14, 2012, the ordinance, Safer Sex in the Adult Film Industry, requires all adult film producers filming in unincorporated county areas or in any city that has adopted Los Angeles County Health and Safety Code, Title 11, Chapter 11.39, to obtain an Adult Film Production Public Health Permit. The Act conditions any film permit issued by the County for the production of an adult film on the use of condoms and other safety precautions to minimize the spread of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, and authorizes the Department of Public Health (DPH) to take appropriate measures to enforce the Act.” (LACHD website)
4. Authority:
Los Angeles County Health and Safety Code, Title 11, Chapter 11.39
California Code of Regulations, Title 8, Sections 3203 and 5192
5. LACHSC effective 12/14/2012; CCR effective 1991
6. February 2009 FSC publishes FIRST EVER health & safety manual for the adult industry. (FSC, AVN to verify) which stakeholder(s) insisted on TROJAN brand condoms?
7. The nice FSC health and safety manual was NEVER INTENDED TO KEEP ANY PERFORMER SAFE!!!! It was for OSHA policy compliance and related fines reduction. (To say otherwise FSC/stakeholders have to show that they actually implemented what they wrote)
8. Duke didn’t present that published health and safety manual to OSHA as way of “cooperating to create industry appropriate guidelines” she copy and pasted 45 pages of essentially worthless stuff hiding the few ‘specific relevant industry specific’ pages in the muck. The document listed three classes of actors …offering varied protections! (8/11/2010 for 8/18/2010 OSHA mtg)
9. FSC matched AHF voice for voice at every OSHA mtg, be it open forum at regularly scheduled, special, or advisory. (OSHA minutes 2010 to 2013) (Haven’t researched LACHD yet..)
10. 1998 Workers comp case starts…AIM is created as a non-profit, doesn’t have proper medical facility licensing.
11. 2007 July 20, AVN does its last ever report on the case…in depth details of the hearing. 10 days later x-biz does a great q/a with a Industry attorney re workers comp…no where is AHF mentioned in the two part in depth report, it does reference the 2004 HIV case that woke up OSHA. California legislators opinion that actors and performers are employees doesn’t stop at mainstream.
12. Verifying dates..(lost paper in notes 🙂 Dupree v. California WC appeal Board.
13. I can go on and on and on…I can do math too over $25 million worth conservatively!!!!
The bare minimum a performer paid for 12 tests is 1500 x 1200 for 1.8 mill a year…with a conservative cost and even more conservative #performers testing after AIM opened to address ON SET HIV TRANSMISSION
1.8 million annually 1998 thru 2004 when OSHA woke up = 10.8 million employees reported as income, then paid out for employer expenses! This doesn’t include one thin dime for costs related to treating the disease brought on set by bad prostitutes who bring their filth to the good performers.
2004 more HIV more 1.8 million annually till 2011 when AIM is closed. 12.6+10.8= $25.2 million
Now we have agents and producers paying a fee to FSC see y/n availability for the performers paying for the tests FSC/STAKEHOLDERS shout from every roof top..OUR testing system works..of course it works you’re sharing in an annual cash jackpot paid by your employees..the ones you tell we can’t discriminate against HIV, HepC..check out some of the published opinions by INDUSTRY ATTORNEYS..disclaimer aside..they didn’t publish the opinions for shoots and giggles. They covered their asses by publicly informing you of your duties.
2009/2010 more HIV and health records violation via improperly licensed AIM with inadequate record keeping. FSC fixes that…with another jackpot!
APHSS …how many paid to see Y availability (n=next) based on testing performers who paid their cash to AFFILIATED testing centers? isn’t FSC smart…they fixed that problem by adding TWO more income streams …now they get a percentage of what performers pay to be available to them & make the agents/producers pay them to see it. Lets up the number to an even 2 million with the added national performer testing cash kicking back affiliation fees. (Got a retired attorney sitting at my side that explained exactly how it’s done, he was doing it thirty years ago moving guys from NYC to Delaware..if it didn’t happen prove it! he will eat his wheelchair)
2012 testing system that works…doesn’t AGAIN. FSC stakeholder generously antes 50k for a five months for testing reimbursement…lots of noise from other copyright stakeholders over tube sites stealing revenue. 50k @130 month = 385 performers to test that month. real number much lower with added syphilis tests medicines and costs…out of their nonexistent pay performers need to find a way to pony up..save you the cost of testing..and you’re a swell guy for giving them back SOME of their money. AWWOOOOOPH what did AHF have to do with this?
2012 A well known producer begs performers to stand up for their choice against big bad AHF and Measure B..while bragging about how he mismanaged all his money living it up and partying until the tax man caught up to him. How much of the ONE million raises to fight measure B came out of performer pockets?
2012 lawyers are covering their asses again…publicly stating their opinion about potential liability issues and advantages to moving protecting corporate assets and shielding personal assets via corporate umbrellas. FSC can’t cry we had bad legal advise when the wolves are huffing and puffing their house down.
2013 the great testing system that works…doesn’t AGAIN…now it’s really ugly the HepC talked about Oct 2004 is back so is HIV
June CET & TTS start offering HepC for free. Now folks when the labs make a public statement offering free HepC and B tests on a 45 day schedule, they didn’t suddenly dream up Hep awareness month…my bet is…they tried to get the protocol changed via FSC and failed, w FSC taking the position that performers would cry foul at paying more and (NFW) we ain’t paying..if it isn’t on the panel we don’t need to know about it. Docs afraid they might get zinged for determining MEDICALLY FIT vs diseased soon after a syphilis out break that shut down production just might forgo profits and CYA…
August magically within days of performer being outed for HepC since 2010 here’s FSC to the rescue….just like how many other times FSC looked at their crystal ball to PLAN NEW TESTING and now were moving it up…new twist this time it’s 2x a month. FSC/stakeholders get to keep 3-4 million annually.
Some watchdogs they are! AWOOOOOHPH
August 28 HIV Positive….same day…FSC renames PASS.
Go search FSC…they are yanking APHSS stuff off their site left and right..yes what you post can be used against you.
They removed the APHSS/PASS button and link from their site..
Checked today..APHSS.org is for sale…wonder what happened to that not-for-profit organization? Nice set up a nonprofit…take fees for the service to agents/producers in the name of protecting performer HIPPA, grab some affiliation fees from the approved providers, Pay Officers for all their hard work to administer this great work of charity because FSC cares so much about performer safety.
Manta shows that on October 4,2013 Dr.Maio changed his status to employee of CET, effectively erasing the data that previously showed 4 employees and estimated annual earnings. TTS remains the same. Not even gonna guess..just stating fact.
FSC isn’t speaking to the Industry at large..FSC/STAKEHOLDERS are too busy covering their asses, trying to convince the world that AHF is the big bad wolf.
Sorry if I made my case long ago…still have tons of data and info to support it if you aren’t convinced. Btw..if you aren’t..I don’t care..this is my opinion based on this information.thanks for reading this far, please do all you can to keep performers safe on set.
@JimmyD I’ve been in this biz long enough to have been a fan and visitor to your old blog. I’m talking about what the Internet companies are shooting not the DVD companies. Brazzers, Bang Bros, Kink, Reality Kings, Naughty America, and Porn Pros. They shoot everyday, they shoot 60 to 70 scenes per month, they picked up where the Gonzo DVD companies left off. People are still shooting, people are still making money.
@Mike IMO Japanese porn is just weird not erotic.
Admitted the Japs are into some wierd shit and theres lots of low end porn being shot in Japan but if you think its all about tentacle porn and such you dont know anything about JAV. Take a look at offerings from Prestige, S1, Soft On demand, Dogma, Moodys or Idea Pocket if you cant see the difference then nothing I write about it here is gonna enlighten you
@LurkingReader –
Good info.!! Just read through all of it quicky… need to read it again when I get a minute…
I noticed the Dr. Miao switch… Any information on who legally owns CET? The only thing I’ve gathered so far is the name of the registered agent listed on public record. But, that doesn’t really answer jack shit.
You must have spent alot of time away from baking in the kitchen to gather all that information? I hope your family isn’t starving by now? Hahaha. 😉
@LurkingReader: How long have you worked for AHF, exactly?
@Lacey Lol…I never bake..not cooking TG this year, did do impromptu mussels in white sauce for 17 on Sunday.
No idea who registered stakeholder is…just hoping testing centers don’t get tossed under bus..so if maio needed to change his structure to provide continuing care my hats off to him! If that’s the case, I hope he gave others the heads up so they can all keep doing what they do best!
@Raw…never even knew they existed until three months ago, what I know about them I learned from Industry sites, OSHA minutes, and news articles. Why does FSC have more on their site about what AHF is doing to them than what FSC is doing for performer safety? Ask FSC why I know so much about them…I’m not buying the story FSC is selling.
@Lurk –
Haha… Not only do I suck at baking, but I completely suck at cooking. I have this horrible tendancy to over cook just about everything from chicken to pasta.
I can make the occasional casserole for holidays, but I’m pretty damn good with a crockpot. You just stick food in it and let it cook for like 8 hours…. dinner!
So, yeah, I pretty much go out for dinner numerous times a week. lol. 😉
Billy– I’m aware that internet companies are still shooting. Until fairly recently, I was shooting for one of them twice a week. But I still don’t agree that “people are still shooting like crazy.”
I’ve been around for a while. Around the porn block a few times you might say. And I’m still not completely out of it. I’m not some old fuck who’s been put completely out to pasture and doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Admittedly, I do spend time in the pasture these days, more so than I’d like, but it’s not because I was “put out” there. I’m there simply because there isn’t the amount of work for crew or for talent there once was. Not even close. Fortunately, I’ve found other ways to make a few bucks. And I do it completely on my own. I don’t receive a dime from the government and I don’t work for anyone yet I pull in a livable wage. A livable non-porn related wage.
That aside, I was predicting a lot of this shit that’s going on now (and has been going on for a few years) while I still was authoring my SimplyJimmyD blog. People told me I must be smoking crack or something. I caught a lot of shit for publishing reality and predicting where the business was going. But it didn’t take a crystal ball to see it coming. It simply took keeping ones eyes open and resisting being in denial about it.
I have a clear perspective of the history of testing in this business. I personally attended meetings before any testing was in place. Private and confidential meetings presided over by the “heads of the LA porn families.” (For lack of a better term to describe them.) Those meetings weren’t reported by AVN or Luke Ford or anyone else. (Actually, they predated Luke Ford’s arrival.) People were trying to figure out what to do about HIV. But many of those people were in as much denial about a lot stuff then as they are today. I was a front-row, first-hand witness to what I can only describe as the testing wars. Wars? Yeah, wars. Why? Because there was a lot of money (in the testing biz) to be made off talent then as there is now. I witnessed stuff that was nearly straight out of a mob movie in those testing wars. Testing has always been about the skim, the kick-backs, the take. Always. It still is. People are still walking straight into the “count room” like that Mormon fuck in the movie Casino and helping themselves to talent testing money. As a side-note, people make fun of Rob Black or they toss him off or suspect his motivations, whatever. But he’s right on the fucking money with a lot of the shit he says. His problem, why he’s called on it, is him and his history in this business and he knows that. But that doesn’t mean he’s wrong about a lot of shit. Just like I wasn’t wrong.
I know when everyone was discussing this awhile ago, most were assuming that Dr. Maio owned CET. But, I never found out who the legal owner was? That section caught my eye because now I’m wondering if they changed CET to maybe a Corporate entity to protect the personal assets of Dr. Maio???
I mean, if he was officially changed to an “employee” recently then what was he considered before? The owner? An independant contractor from the hospital? Did “the owners???” somehow decide to bring him on full-time as an employee? So, many questions….
@jimmyd –
I really don’t want to take up too much of your time, but can you give me a brief rundown of the structure of internet only companies?
It seems Brazzers shoots alot in Vegas, Kink is in San Fran. and then you have the 2 FL companies from yesterday.
Are there any regulations in place for internet companies or companies that just pick up and shoot all over the US?
What I’m trying to understand is that internet companies aren’t regulated the same way as the porn industry in CA? Correct?
@rawalex –
I am definitely not taking anything away from Lurking. This is some well researched and very important information. But, you could find almost all of this info. online if you knew where to look.
It’s more about connecting the dots and putting the puzzle together with information gathered from various different sources.
It’s generally takes some time and I’m sure @Lurk spent a pretty good amount of time on this, but the information is right in front of you. It’s putting it all together and then determining what fits where and how this is connected to that…..
Btw, the AHF probably knew all about this information months ago….
@JimmyD Thanks for the reply. Please post more.
@Lacey
Exactly…it’s called “consider your source” check anything referenced….
FSC tweet 8/12/13 APHSS: An important resource for adult industry that upholds self-regulation….link to xbiz article..Lisa Ann outing Gonz. LMAO
Takes nothing away from me for people to know that it’s all a simple matter of lining up publicly available information. Take nothing at face value. Yes AHF had everything months ago…9/6/13 Brian Chase synopsis posted on this very site. I checked my facts 🙂
Jilted says same thing all the time! What’s the agenda?
Yes ..lots of questions..seems like FSC/stakeholders present more than enough for me to even consider going below the surface on ancillary players.
@Lurking: Well done!!! Very well done!
All of my comments are now on moderation! I didn’t bully any commentors here and I let them attack me unconditionally! They even made fun of my book and my spiritual beliefs and I let them! And I am on moderation! So much for free speech, eh? Thanks, Mike! Good to know the truth!!!!!
@Lurking: No such thing as “mafia” is and argument in semantics, nothing more. What’s in a name?
Are you being troublesome again, Nick? LOL 🙂