And Now We've Got A Nationwide Moratorium On...Porn
By: Ladies and gentlmen, ahem especially gentlemen, we now not only have a foreclosure moratorium on our hands, but we also are under somewhat of a porn moratorium.
Several adult entertainment filmmakers in the porn capital of the United States, aka California, have hit pause on producing after an actor tested positive for HIV.
Vivid Entertainment, Wicked Pictures, Digital Playground and Hustler, are some of thethe companies that said they would stop production for an "unspecified period", according to CNBC.com.
An "unspecified period?" Now, just like the banks, I couldn't help but assume that this halt in production would be bad for business, costing the adult entertainment companies piles of money, but apparently the bigger firms will be okay, says Steve Hirsch, Vivid Entertainment's CEO. It will be the smaller firms and the Web-based companies that will feel the fiscal strain.
It's always the little guy that takes the hit.
“We have up to a year’s worth of movies that are in some from of post production,” says Hirsch. “We can withstand several months of being shut down. … Once we get back into production, we’ll be able to make that up.”
The porn industry shoots roughly 20,000 scenes per year. Bigger companies, like Vivid and Digital Playground, tend to produce four or five films per month — with costs reaching upwards to $300,000 — allowing them to stockpile releases.
Smaller studios, though, could face challenges. Many are already struggling and have few (if any) films in their library, as they release the movies as soon as they’re shot. Should this shutdown last several months — as one in 2004 did — it could force them out of business.
Web sites specializing in adult content could also face challenges — particularly those that pull talent from the San Fernando Valley and have no other distribution channels.
“It hits the Web-based companies harder than it does the DVD companies,” says Michael Fattorosi, an attorney with Fattorosi & Associates, a boutique firm that represents the adult industry. “Website members expect constant (content) updates.”
Don't we all.
» Read Morris's entire piece at CNBC.com
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