10 Things Hollywood Could Learn From The Adult Movie Industry
Where else do women earn more than men?
Everything you’ve heard about porn is true, more or less. Most of the men really do enter the industry in order to have sex with large numbers of women, who in turn are attracted by the money and the glamour.
The horror stories from the 80s and 90s are mostly true, too. While rumours spread that several high-profile performers had contracted AIDS, their colleagues were blowing their money on nose candy. All kinds of unscrupulous people were attracted to the industry, and bounced cheques, threats and violence were not unheard of.
Whether as a reaction to the industry’s decline in the face of piracy and free online content or because of closer scrutiny, the adult movie business in the 21st century has begun cleaning up its act. The practices of yesteryear are no longer tolerated, though many performers feel the emphasis on health and safety has gone too far.
In May 2015, for instance, LA’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health recommended that all performers wear goggles – yes, goggles – as a way of preventing the spread of STDs. That’s a long way from when Linda Lovelace claimed her performance in Deep Throat was coerced at gunpoint.
Ironically, as porn seeks to go legit, Hollywood is being hit with accusations of sexism and creative bankruptcy. Here are 10 things Tinseltown could learn from its less prestigious cousin.
10. Zero Tolerance For Divas
Sorry guys, but appearing in adult movies is just a job. You show up at a certain time. You do your job. You go home.
There’s a zero tolerance policy towards performers who don’t pull their weight, so if you’re high, or caught smoking weed on set, you’ll be fired. If you’re consistently late or rude to your boss, you’ll be fired. You treat people the way you would like to be treated – in a professional manner.
In porn, there are no wig-outs like Christian Bale’s legendary rant at a director of photography whose only ‘crime’ was changing the lighting in a particular scene. Listened to now, the most striking thing about the rant is how professional the crew sound, and what an ego-soaked asshole Bale comes across as.