Dennis RomeroAfter you, the L.A. County voter, decided in November to mandate condom use in local porn production, the adult industry has nearly pulled out of town, so to speak.
FilmLA, which processes permits for the city and county of Los Angeles, says it has received only two adult film applications this year:
That's according to spokesman Philip Sokoloski, who told LA Weekly the number is a far cry from the estimated 500 or so porn permit requests the organization might receive in a typical year.
However, that's just an estimate: Until voters passed the mandatory condom rule in November, FilmLA didn't distinguish between smut and Hollywood fare. Sokoloski:
It's only since the passage of Measure B that we've been so carefully tracking this.
Credit: Keith Plocek / LA Weekly
Of course, the low number of permit applications wouldn't account for underground productions or defiant directors.
The industry has made no secret of its, er, distaste for condoms.
Vivid Entertainment, perhaps Porn Valley's largest concern, is suing to stop Measure B, and some productions have tried to head to Ventura County suburbs such as Camarillo, where a moratorium has put a stop to such filming.
Porn leaders say the business' monthly testing for performers works just fine, that consumers won't buy porn featuring condoms, and that the law will force adult video underground, where actors will be even less safe.
The AIDS Healthcare Foundation spearheaded the county law and is now hoping to see similar, statewide legislation.
[@dennisjromero / djromero@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]
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