Foreign porn filming carries added AIDS risk

Many countries don't require the same strict testing used in the United States.
By GARY GENTILE
ASSOCIATED PRESS
LOS ANGELES -- For the past few years, the adult film industry has operated on a closed set of sorts, with many actors preferring to work within a few San Fernando Valley communities using a testing system that made them feel relatively safe from AIDS.
The recent news that actor Darren James contracted HIV while filming in Brazil and infected at least one other person upon his return has uncovered an open secret no one has wanted to confront: Adult film companies often shoot movies in foreign locales such as Brazil, Budapest and Prague, in part to save money on less expensive local talent, in part to find new faces to fill the voracious demand for adult films.
But those trips come with a price that has gone unpaid until now.
"You have such a strict situation here with the testing," said photographer Suze Randall, who has recently begun producing adult films. "We all felt safe, and all of a sudden this came from left field."
Many countries do not require AIDS testing for adult film actors, or they require unsophisticated tests that fail to uncover HIV for up to six months, industry observers say.
Actors often have filmed sex immediately after returning to the United States, potentially infecting others.
James performed with 13 actresses before a blood test last week showed he was HIV-positive. One of his partners, Lara Roxx, also tested positive for the virus. More than 60 performers who had contact with the two have been barred by the industry pending new blood tests, and more than 30 companies halted production indefinitely.
Industry test requirements
The industry has regulated itself successfully for the past four years through the creation of the Adult Industry Medical Health Care Foundation. AIM administers tough tests -- called PCRDNA or polymerase chain reaction deoxyribonucleic acid tests -- which can detect HIV within 30 days of exposure.
The adult film industry requires its talent to be tested every 30 days, and actors are supposed to ask fellow actors for their test results before each performance.
The system has lulled many actors into thinking they are safe having sex without a condom.
"In any country that has PCRDNA testing, I'm comfortable if that's what the talent wants to do," said Patrick Collins, owner of Elegant Angel Productions.
Some of the larger production companies, such as Vivid Entertainment and Wicked Pictures, require condom use.
Most others do not, thinking that movies with unprotected sex sell better. Performers sometimes are paid more for such scenes.
Investigation request
Los Angeles County health officials have asked the state division of occupational health and safety to look into working conditions at the production company that hired Roxx.
"We have received a complaint on the issue and are opening an investigation" that could take up to six months, Cal-OSHA spokeswoman Susan Gard said Wednesday.
If the agency finds that employees were exposed to serious health dangers, it could issue fines of up to $25,000 per case, she added.
In addition, county health officials have ordered the health care foundation to turn over the real names of the infected stars and their confidential medical records. The county is trying to determine whether the actors might have spread HIV into the community.
Sharon Mitchell, the foundation's executive director, said Wednesday she complied, although she was "not happy about it."
Employment and revenue
The adult film industry includes about 200 companies employing about 6,000 workers, of which 1,200 are actors, according to Jack Kyser, chief economist for the Los Angeles Economic Development Corp.
It's estimated that as many as 11,000 videos are made each year. Estimates on the economic power of the industry vary from $4.4 billion to as much as $10 billion.
Over the last 10 years or so, an increasing number of those productions have been made overseas. In some cases, production companies fly their regular stables of actors to such locations as Hawaii or Mexico.
"You can only see the same people so many times, and you can only see the same view of the San Fernando Valley so many times," said Steven Hirsch, co-chairman of Vivid Entertainment.
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