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\n\tPatrice Sabourin of France poses for a photo with Jules Jordan Video stars at the 2012 AVN Adult Entertainment Expo in the Hard Rock Hotel<\/p>\n
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\n\tPatrice Sabourin of France poses for a photo with Jules Jordan Video stars at the 2012 AVN Adult Entertainment Expo in the Hard Rock Hotel<\/p>\n
\tBy Andrea Domanick<\/p>\n
\tLas Vegas has a new vice. You might not notice it, but it\u2019s happening all around, in industrial warehouses, luxury high-rises and the bedrooms of suburban homes.<\/p>\n
\tPorn is here, and more could be coming. With an estimated 90 percent drop in adult film permits issued in Los Angeles County after the 2012 passage of a controversial law requiring adult film performers to wear condoms on set, California\u2019s $6 billion porn juggernaut is looking elsewhere, and its gaze has landed on Las Vegas.<\/p>\n
\tInexpensive and just an hour\u2019s plane ride away, Nevada offers a vice-friendly attitude and lax film regulations that make the valley an attractive destination for adult filmmakers.<\/p>\n
\tStill, porn\u2019s ties to Southern California run deep, and its escape over state lines remains as much a political play as a quest for opportunity. There\u2019s no promise the industry will stay, let alone grow, once the dust of heated political battles settles.<\/p>\n
\tAs California policymakers push to apply condom requirements statewide and the adult industry threatens to take its revenue stream elsewhere, Nevada finds itself pitched in the middle, eyed as both a pawn and a backup plan among two warring sides. Whether porn\u2019s courtship with Las Vegas will be just a fling or the first steps into a new economic driver for the state remains to be seen.<\/p>\n
\t\u2022\u2022\u2022<\/p>\n
\tIt\u2019s tough to pin down just how much of California\u2019s adult film industry is decamping to Las Vegas. The Clark County Department of Business Licenses doesn\u2019t classify adult film companies specifically; rather, they fall into a number of categories, such as film studios and advertising businesses. Unlike Los Angeles County, which closely tracks and regulates film shoots, Nevada requires permits only for specific locations and conditions. Shooting on private property, frequently the choice of porn producers, requires no permit or notification, and the state has no explicit regulations about condom use.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cVegas is looking more and more attractive as time goes by,\u201d Kink.com founder Peter Acworth said. The San Francisco-based company, valued at $30 million, opened a Las Vegas office in July, filming a slate of highly-publicized exploratory shoots and launching web operations here. \u201cI think that a lot of companies are doing what we\u2019re doing. They\u2019re setting up satellite offices and getting their feet wet with Vegas as a potential place to shoot.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tAs many as a dozen companies are thought to have set up camp in the region, and many others shoot here but aren\u2019t based here. Most prefer to keep a low profile, as one of the industry\u2019s chief antagonizers, Los Angeles-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation, is close on their tails. The foundation in August filed a complaint against Kink.com with Nevada\u2019s Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the first of its kind for the state.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cThe move is happening, but quietly,\u201d Acworth said. \u201cNobody wants to be Nevada\u2019s test case. They don\u2019t want a target on their back.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tThe outcome of the ongoing feud remains uncertain, but if Nevada can position itself correctly, it stands to gain a slice of what\u2019s estimated to be an $11 billion industry nationwide with the potential to bring new jobs and resources to the state, particularly to its fledgling mainstream film program.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cA lot of people I know in the mainstream industry started out in the adult industry in California,\u201d said Jim \u201cJR\u201d Reid, president of JR Lighting, Nevada\u2019s largest production rental company. \u201cIt\u2019s a very good training ground. It provides opportunities for people to learn a craft. As a businessman, I think it\u2019s a valuable asset to the community.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tIn Los Angeles County alone, porn has created more than 10,000 jobs.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cSome big part of it will stay (in LA) and production companies will continue to be based there, so it\u2019s not accurate to say that all of that $6 billion translates to Southern Nevada,\u201d said Robert Lang, director of Brookings Mountain West. \u201cBut what it also gives to Las Vegas is that it\u2019s building technical capacity that undergirds non-pornographic production and media. It adds some competitive advantage in scale to Los Angeles.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\u2022\u2022\u2022<\/p>\n
\tPorn and Los Angeles always have been easy bedfellows. Hollywood\u2019s resources made Southern California a natural fit for adult cinema.<\/p>\n
\tLas Vegas\u2019 own history with porn dates at least three decades to the first Adult Video News Awards, the \u201cOscars of porn,\u201d in 1984 at the Sands Convention Center. The valley\u2019s low cost of living and vice-friendly atmosphere made Las Vegas attractive enough to maintain a modest but steady local adult film industry, which gained traction as LA\u2019s film market grew more crowded and expensive. Nonetheless, the porn community here remained small and transient, with the bulk of workers dependent on LA\u2019s resources.<\/p>\n
\tThat changed about five years ago, when an unidentified female performer in LA tested positive for HIV. Though the infection was believed to be contracted off set, the news, along with the 21 other reported cases of HIV in performers since 2004, prompted government health officials and lawmakers to re-evaluate safety measures. Years of acrimonious debate ensued as policymakers pushed to make condoms and protective barriers mandatory on adult film sets and adult industry advocates cited civil rights violations. They argue the condom regulation violates free speech and is a hamfisted solution to an exaggerated problem. HIV has not been contracted on set in the United States since 2004.<\/p>\n
\tStill, in late 2012, Los Angeles County voters approved Measure B, which requires producers to obtain county public health permits for porn shoots and mandates that performers wear condoms during vaginal and anal sex scenes. California politicians and AIDS Healthcare Foundation now are seeking to expand the law statewide.<\/p>\n
\tTheir latest effort was defeated last month in the California Legislature, but the AIDS Healthcare Foundation vows to reintroduce the bill next year. Such threats continue to make producers uneasy, and they\u2019re growing weary from the time and money invested in fighting back.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cHonestly, I\u2019m just tired,\u201d Acworth said. \u201cI just want to get back to focusing on productions. It has taken up so much of my time in the past three years. That alone is reason enough to look elsewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tAnd Las Vegas is getting more attractive as a result.<\/p>\n
\t\u2022\u2022\u2022<\/p>\n
\tLas Vegas\u2019 appeal to porn extends beyond a quick plane ride and the ability to film condom-free. The adult industry as a whole has been forced to downsize in recent years amid dwindling DVD sales, a rise in piracy and the prevalence of free streaming porn sites.<\/p>\n
\tOur growing tech sector offers resources for production and web operations, and it\u2019s cheaper to hire talented workers here than in California. Acworth said he would\u2019ve launched Kink\u2019s web office in Las Vegas regardless of the condom mandate for just those reasons. Southern Nevada\u2019s abundance of available housing means plenty of options for sets, and many homeowners are willing to open their doors to cameras since fees earned for a few days of shooting can cover months of mortgage payments.<\/p>\n
\tWhile permits in L.A. can cost $800 to $1,000 a day, in addition to location fees that range from $1,200 to $2,000 a day, Clark County charges up to $45 for a permit, with no location fees.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cThe extra hoops you have to jump through in L.A. versus a town (like Las Vegas) that\u2019s open for new business and willing to essentially help you move forward, the stress difference alone is unbelievable,\u201d said Lee Roy Myers, a veteran adult film producer and director who relocated from L.A. to Las Vegas last year.<\/p>\n
\t\u2022\u2022\u2022<\/p>\n
\tJust how long porn stays unregulated in Nevada remains unknown.<\/p>\n
\tFor now, elected officials have yet to pay much attention to the industry. But with no surefire way to keep tabs on its size, knowing when it hits critical mass will be difficult.<\/p>\n
\tClark County Commissioner Steve Sisolak said local elected officials likely wouldn\u2019t hear about the industry unless concerns trickled down from the state level. Even the Attorney General\u2019s Office, which is pursuing a ban on revenge porn (vindictively posting intimate photos or videos of an ex-partner) maintains distance from the industry.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cRegulation of the adult film industry is not a topic on our legislative agenda at this time,\u201d spokeswoman Jennifer Lopez said. \u201cOur efforts to ban revenge porn are on the agenda as it pertains to consumer protection issues, especially for minors.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tWhat eventually could turn lawmakers\u2019 heads is the potential to lose out on an economic opportunity, or, perhaps more pressingly, the possibility of California\u2019s political battle crossing state lines. The latter depends on the AIDS Healthcare Foundation. Though its OSHA complaint remains under investigation, foundation officials admit the move was symbolic, intended to call out Kink.com and provoke dialogue among policymakers.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cOur point really was that we could easily prove our case,\u201d said Whitney Engeran-Cordova, senior director of the foundation\u2019s public health division.<\/p>\n
\tEngeran-Cordova called reports of a porn exodus to Las Vegas exaggerated.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cThe film industry is embedded in L.A., and it\u2019s going to stay there,\u201d he said. \u201cI think it\u2019s a bunch of baloney. What they have done is stop getting permits. They decided that they don\u2019t care to follow the law.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cIf they do make an exodus and come to Las Vegas, at some point they\u2019ll have to get a permit to do something. This may be the \u2018Wild West,\u2019 but it\u2019s not that wild. Gambling, prostitution \u2014 Nevada regulates things, especially when dealing with vice. That\u2019s how Nevada has been very successful. We would hope it doesn\u2019t want to walk away from regulation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tFor all its appeal, Nevada isn’t a given as the industry’s potential new home. States like Oregon, which boasts strong free speech laws, and Florida, which has an established adult film community, offer their own competitive advantages. If Nevada does want to add porn, and the global revenue stream that comes with it, to its stable of vices, the playing field is primed for action.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cWhat happens this legislative session is going to say a lot,\u201d said Marc Randazza, a Las Vegas attorney who represents adult film companies. \u201cIf a bill gets put forward (to require condoms or similar regulations), and it gets shut down, I think that will scream to the industry that it\u2019s welcome here. If nothing gets introduced, that would be even better.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tBut industry players say they\u2019ll need more than a shrug from politicians and a \u201clive-and-let-live\u201d attitude from the business community to really put down roots here. And as the adult film business looks beyond California, Nevada isn’t alone in its appeal; states like Oregon, which boasts strong free speech laws, and Florida, which has an established adult film community, offer their own competitive advantages. Porn producers say they want to know their industry will be embraced, and if necessary, defended before they can be comfortable making their presence known and moving permanently to Las Vegas.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cWhen people speak about porn here, everything is still said a little hush-hush,\u201d Myers said. \u201cIt has been made clear that new business is welcome, but making clear that the adult film business is welcome would go a long way with the industry and its dollars.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tWhat\u2019s it like to be an extra on a porn set?
\n\t\u201cThe first shoot I did was 10 hours. It was supposed to be much shorter, but there were technical difficulties. I got $100 for the day. That’s usually what they give for just a few hours, too.<\/p>\n
\tIt was a parody of ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ called ‘The Whore of Wall Street.’ It had a big budget, lots of production value, lots of crew. There were 10 extras total, and we were all hired to stand around in the background and cheer them on while they were doing a hardcore scene. We had actual lines of dialogue; there was like a 10-page script!<\/p>\n
\tI was told to wear office clothes. I was playing a secretary, so I was told to dress like one. I dressed a little bit like a sexy secretary, but you\u2019re just background, so they don\u2019t really care.<\/p>\n
\tThe whole time, I could barely keep a straight face. I went to the bathroom, and the cabinet was fully stocked with enemas, condoms, vibrators, baby wipes, drinking straws. Weird stuff, right? They had a full-size cutout of the queen of England, as well as a framed photograph of Eleanor Roosevelt on the wall, which I thought was really odd.<\/p>\n
\tBut it was an incredibly professional environment. They run it just like any other production. I\u2019ve also been an extra in mainstream, big-budget movies. Same thing.<\/p>\n
\tThey cover their legal bases so thoroughly. When you go in, you have to sign a release on camera, hold your ID up next to your face, state your name, information and consent. They ask if you were made to do anything that made you feel uncomfortable or that you didn\u2019t expect to be asked to do. Lots of questions like that.<\/p>\n
\tAnd then only after that, do they pay you. They really make sure they won\u2019t get any accusations. And that was for both the extras and the featured talent.<\/p>\n
\tI was really impressed not only with their professionalism but with their camaraderie. It was kind of like one big family. They were all joking with each other, it was a very ‘let\u2019s go out for beers after this’ environment.<\/p>\n
\tI think porn coming to Vegas is great. I think it\u2019s a natural fit.\u201d \u2014 Sarah Jane Woodall, local artist and writer<\/p>\n
No replies were posted for this topic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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