Porn industry still at home in San Fernando Valley

[NEED-A-VETTE]

Porn industry still at home in San Fernando Valley despite condom laws, Web, piracy

While piracy, drooping DVD sales and a condom law continue to cast a gray cloud over porn film production in Los Angeles, adult entertainment as a whole is thriving as diverse sex toys and more interactive technology come into play, industry experts say.

And the San Fernando Valley is still the biggest link to kink.

"The future is definitely bright for the industry," said Alec Helmy, president and publisher of XBIZ.com, which reports on the industry. "I believe adult entertainment can lead things as it has in the past."

Virtual reality will be a major driver, Helmy said, and some of those products within the emerging immersive adult entertainment sector will be unveiled beginning Wednesday at the annual XBIZ 360 conference. The four-day event at the Andaz West Hollywood hotel will include discussions on digital media, pleasure products, retail sales and other topics that show how adult entertainment is evolving.

It's come a long way since the 1970s, the Golden Age of porn when "Deep Throat" became a sensation. The films that followed built the San Fernando Valley's reputation as the porn capital of the world. It was in the Valley where the industry became formalized and grew alongside the technology of the time: videotapes and VCRs followed by DVDs.

But those days, when the industry employed 10,000 to 20,000 people a year and earned what has been estimated from $4 billion to as high as $11 billion in annual sales, hit a wall with the Internet and free pirated content. Then Measure B, a Los Angeles County law that makes condoms mandatory on all adult film shoots, passed in 2012. The result was what many said was a halt in local production.

In most years, up to 500 permits are filed from adult film studios with Film L.A., the nonprofit organization that processes permits for motion picture, television and commercial production across Los Angeles. Between Jan. 1 and July 29, 2014, there were 20 such permits released by FilmL.A. That number may be around 40 once all the permits are counted, said Philip Sokoloski, spokesman for the organization.

"There's definitely no shortage of porn stars, but their income per production has been in decline," Helmy said. "Some are webcamming on the side or feature dancing."

And the big-budget movies of the past decades have become what Helmy calls more humble productions.

Stuart Waldman, president of the Valley Industry and Commerce Association, said adult film production is still a multibillion-dollar enterprise, but he worries that the loss in adult film production could cost the San Fernando Valley losses in taxes as time goes on.

"I would still argue that more (porn) companies are based in the Valley than anywhere else," Waldman said. "But as the end of their leases come up, they could leave and spend all their time filming in another state."

Adult film performer, director and sex educator Jessica Drake said there are other challenges in the industry.

"Obviously our biggest challenge overall is piracy, and I can't see that changing quickly, but I think the industry still has money-making potential," Drake said. "I think the ability to learn new skills and adapt is crucial to the long-term success of any company or individual in any industry though."

She said the mass exodus to Las Vegas after the passage of Measure B hasn't really happened.

And it may not happen anyway. After one actor infected another actor with HIV while on set at a Nevada porn shoot last fall, state officials there said recently they will likely enforce a condom law too.

"However, Internet companies or novelty-toy companies are able to exist nearly anywhere in the country, and many other countries as well," Drake said. "I would even say the majority of adult studios are still located in Los Angeles."

Drake, who will be a featured speaker for Canoga Park-based Wicked Pictures at the upcoming Adult Entertainment Expo and AVN Awards in Las Vegas later this month, said she has branched out from just being in films to stay competitive.

"I've always done more than just scenes in movies," she said. "I have product endorsements; I do appearances; I feature dance. Three years ago I became interested in sex education and started a line of instructional DVDs."

Yet if there's one area that continues to boom in adult entertainment, it's manufacturing. The largest sex toy maker in the nation sits on an 8-acre property in North Hollywood. Doc Johnson, which produces very detailed anatomical toys, employs 500 people, has a lab and scientist on site and is certified by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Most of the employees live in the Valley.

The company began in 1976 and is planning to grow, said co-founder Ron Braverman.

"It is our intention to continue to grow and create more local jobs," Braverman said. "Our continued growth is possible by staying true to our roots by creating the most high-quality, realistic and creative products in our industry."

Helmy said he sees that same vitality returning to the industry as a whole as studios turn toward focusing on more interactive entertainment.

"It remains San Fernando Valley based," Helmy said of adult entertainment. "The most notable works typically come out of the Valley. It's still the hub, no matter what people say. It's still porn Valley."

Porn industry still at home in San Fernando Valley despite condom laws, Web, piracy

There are a lot of major porn production companies within < 10 miles of my gym, with Vivid being only about 2 miles away. The porn stars all live nearby....and I think they all must go to my gym. No joke. I thought I'd see a decrease in the number of porn girls there, after they predicted a mass exodus with the condom law. Hasn't happened.

Makes the gym interesting, anyhow.

Also, I didn't think people actually paid for porn anymore...???

Anyhow, I gotta hit the gym.

Carry on.

[DukeAllen]

Do you Lysol the seats or hope sweat kills crabs?

[NEED-A-VETTE]

Originally Posted by DukeAllen

Do you Lysol the seats or hope sweat kills crabs?

They have spray sanitizer and paper towel stations all throughout the gym. You bet yer ass we use them.

[Aerovette]

So you could get me in your gym if I happen to be out that way?

[NEED-A-VETTE]

Originally Posted by aerovette

So you could get me in your gym if I happen to be out that way?

Guests go for free.

[Giraffe (He/Him)]

Awesomesauce. Maybe I can get that Caitlyn Jenner blowup doll I've been eyeballing now.

[Jeff '79]

A buddy of mine worked for Vivid in the '90s as a grip.
He's back here now working as a chef.
He is a Mopar guy and we used to take old cars and run them in the fields as teenagers....
Good times.

[Craig]

Originally Posted by Thomas

Awesomesauce...

I do NOT want to know what's in THAT...

[Giraffe (He/Him)]

He's back here now working as a chef

Talk about a career change.

What's on the menu? Zucchini?

[Jeff '79]

Originally Posted by Thomas

Talk about a career change.

What's on the menu? Zucchini?

Joe was one crazy, live for the day mofo. He's lucky he's still alive.

[Grey Ghost]

Originally Posted by NEED-A-VETTE

While piracy, drooping DVD sales and a condom law continue to cast a gray cloud over porn film production in Los Angeles, adult entertainment as a whole is thriving as diverse sex toys and more interactive technology come into play, industry experts say.

And the San Fernando Valley is still the biggest link to kink.

"The future is definitely bright for the industry," said Alec Helmy, president and publisher of XBIZ.com, which reports on the industry. "I believe adult entertainment can lead things as it has in the past."

Virtual reality will be a major driver, Helmy said, and some of those products within the emerging immersive adult entertainment sector will be unveiled beginning Wednesday at the annual XBIZ 360 conference. The four-day event at the Andaz West Hollywood hotel will include discussions on digital media, pleasure products, retail sales and other topics that show how adult entertainment is evolving.

It's come a long way since the 1970s, the Golden Age of porn when "Deep Throat" became a sensation. The films that followed built the San Fernando Valley's reputation as the porn capital of the world. It was in the Valley where the industry became formalized and grew alongside the technology of the time: videotapes and VCRs followed by DVDs.

But those days, when the industry employed 10,000 to 20,000 people a year and earned what has been estimated from $4 billion to as high as $11 billion in annual sales, hit a wall with the Internet and free pirated content. Then Measure B, a Los Angeles County law that makes condoms mandatory on all adult film shoots, passed in 2012. The result was what many said was a halt in local production.

In most years, up to 500 permits are filed from adult film studios with Film L.A., the nonprofit organization that processes permits for motion picture, television and commercial production across Los Angeles. Between Jan. 1 and July 29, 2014, there were 20 such permits released by FilmL.A. That number may be around 40 once all the permits are counted, said Philip Sokoloski, spokesman for the organization.

"There's definitely no shortage of porn stars, but their income per production has been in decline," Helmy said. "Some are webcamming on the side or feature dancing."

And the big-budget movies of the past decades have become what Helmy calls more humble productions.

Stuart Waldman, president of the Valley Industry and Commerce Association, said adult film production is still a multibillion-dollar enterprise, but he worries that the loss in adult film production could cost the San Fernando Valley losses in taxes as time goes on.

"I would still argue that more (porn) companies are based in the Valley than anywhere else," Waldman said. "But as the end of their leases come up, they could leave and spend all their time filming in another state."

Adult film performer, director and sex educator Jessica Drake said there are other challenges in the industry.

"Obviously our biggest challenge overall is piracy, and I can't see that changing quickly, but I think the industry still has money-making potential," Drake said. "I think the ability to learn new skills and adapt is crucial to the long-term success of any company or individual in any industry though."

She said the mass exodus to Las Vegas after the passage of Measure B hasn't really happened.

And it may not happen anyway. After one actor infected another actor with HIV while on set at a Nevada porn shoot last fall, state officials there said recently they will likely enforce a condom law too.

"However, Internet companies or novelty-toy companies are able to exist nearly anywhere in the country, and many other countries as well," Drake said. "I would even say the majority of adult studios are still located in Los Angeles."

Drake, who will be a featured speaker for Canoga Park-based Wicked Pictures at the upcoming Adult Entertainment Expo and AVN Awards in Las Vegas later this month, said she has branched out from just being in films to stay competitive.

"I've always done more than just scenes in movies," she said. "I have product endorsements; I do appearances; I feature dance. Three years ago I became interested in sex education and started a line of instructional DVDs."

Yet if there's one area that continues to boom in adult entertainment, it's manufacturing. The largest sex toy maker in the nation sits on an 8-acre property in North Hollywood. Doc Johnson, which produces very detailed anatomical toys, employs 500 people, has a lab and scientist on site and is certified by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Most of the employees live in the Valley.

The company began in 1976 and is planning to grow, said co-founder Ron Braverman.

"It is our intention to continue to grow and create more local jobs," Braverman said. "Our continued growth is possible by staying true to our roots by creating the most high-quality, realistic and creative products in our industry."

Helmy said he sees that same vitality returning to the industry as a whole as studios turn toward focusing on more interactive entertainment.

"It remains San Fernando Valley based," Helmy said of adult entertainment. "The most notable works typically come out of the Valley. It's still the hub, no matter what people say. It's still porn Valley."

Porn industry still at home in San Fernando Valley despite condom laws, Web, piracy



Porn industry still at home in San Fernando Valley despite condom laws, Web, piracy

There are a lot of major porn production companies within < 10 miles of my gym, with Vivid being only about 2 miles away. The porn stars all live nearby....and I think they all must go to my gym. No joke. I thought I'd see a decrease in the number of porn girls there, after they predicted a mass exodus with the condom law. Hasn't happened.

Makes the gym interesting, anyhow.

Also, I didn't think people actually paid for porn anymore...???

Anyhow, I gotta hit the gym.

Carry on.

All this crap and yadda..yadda...yadda..with no pics Haven't you learned by now we don't read and only look at pics.

[Giraffe (He/Him)]

Originally Posted by Grey Ghost

All this crap and yadda..yadda...yadda..with no pics Haven't you learned by now we don't read and only look at pics.

Just a couple pics. Maybe some cum-guzzler doing squats or something. It shouldn't be too difficult.

[Kerrmudgeon]

I wondered how they stay in business with all the free stuff on the net.

So.....have you chatted to any of the "stars" there Sandy? .....must be lots of silicone, botox, and pancake makeup in that place.

Check 'em out without makeup.......:yikes:

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...97949915,d.aWw

like this.....

[RedLS1GTO]

...years ago I became interested in sex education and started a line of instructional DVDs.

I feel like I have seen this story before...

[Aerovette]

Originally Posted by NEED-A-VETTE

Guests go for free.

Cool. Do they have a pool filled with hand sanitizer at the gym? I feel I'll need a dip after my visit.

I'll just stroll the neighborhood and listen for fake orgasms. (Trust me, I know the sound, I'm married)

[NEED-A-VETTE]

Originally Posted by Craig

I do NOT want to know what's in THAT...

Caitlyn Jenner?

Originally Posted by Kerrmudgeon

I wondered how they stay in business with all the free stuff on the net.

So.....have you chatted to any of the "stars" there Sandy? .....must be lots of silicone, botox, and pancake makeup in that place.

Check 'em out without makeup.......:yikes:

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...97949915,d.aWw

like this.....

Haven't really chatted any of them up. Lots of silicone, but they're mostly in their 20s...Botox isn't needed.

Makeup isn't too bad. Most don't wear too much and they're still cute.

Originally Posted by aerovette

Cool. Do they have a pool filled with hand sanitizer at the gym? I feel I'll need a dip after my visit.

I'll just stroll the neighborhood and listen for fake orgasms. (Trust me, I know the sound, I'm married)

There is lots of sanitizer. They type for your hands and in a spray bottle for cleaning the machines. You'll be fine.

On a side note, I think these girls are tested for STDs once a week. Same with the men in the industry. It's sad to say, but they're probably cleaner than a large chunk of the people available right now in the dating pool.

[DukeAllen]

Originally Posted by Jeff '79

A buddy of mine worked for Vivid in the '90s as a grip.

What a coincidence! I watched them and had a grip!

[Ol Timer]

Originally Posted by NEED-A-VETTE

On a side note, I think these girls are tested for STDs once a week. Same with the men in the industry. It's sad to say, but they're probably cleaner than a large chunk of the people available right now in the dating pool.

There's an abundance of large chunky people everywhere these days.

[RED-85-Z51]

I could probably walk in and know half of them from most any angle...as well as their fake backstory...preferred position...and measurments.

[island14]

Originally Posted by RED-85-Z51

I could probably walk in and know half of them from most any angle...as well as their fake backstory...preferred position...and measurments.