How about this - something similar to vanity publishing. What you charge for is the rental of your equipment and the service of arranging an ‘actress’ to work with you. You set up the camera, make sure the lighting is good, push ‘Record’ and leave them to do whatever they agree upon. The customer is essentially paying for the production of his own pornography. The contract allows him sole rights for distribution of his film - hey, if the producer chooses not to distribute his movie and not make back the expenses of making it, that’s his problem, and technically it’s not prostitution.
That’s weird, I’ve been pondering this question for about the past year.
So what can we conclude?
My take is that its not exactly legal but you’d probably never get caught or prosecuted if you set it up right.
If you advertise for a female porn star, pay her money to have sex with you, and tape it, I doubt the cops would catch on. The way most people get caught is by running a huge prostitution ring or solicting on the street right? If someone knows anything about laws governing porn industry we could get a clearer answer. I have a feeling there’s restrictions we don’t know about, like having to be tested for STI’s, etc. that would make this loophole too much of a pain in the butt to be utilized.
prostitutes and pornstars has more discussion and links.
I seem to recall there being an article in the LA Times Sunday edition a few weeks back about the lack of testing required in the adult film industry here in California. Just as an aside, I’ve wondered about this plan for a few years, and it seems to me that even if you could find a loophole, the cops would still find out and not be too happy about it. When they did, I’d imagine that they could find something to force you to stop, at least temporarily…improperly filed fictitious business name statement or some such. If you could avoid all that, I could see the SAG (or any other Hollywood group) stepping in and requiring something…I’m no expert in that area. Worst comes to worst, the IRS could probably take you down, Al Capone style.
This is about the eighth time this question has been asked on this board. Doesn’t anyone use the search engine?
Short answer: virtually all professionally made porn films are made in an area of southern California where local law enforcement has chosen not to prosecute this activity. So if you really are that desperate to pay for sex, move to LA and start a video company.
As for the cost of making it, nobody said it had to be a good studio. The point, after all, is to let the, uh, actor of the day cough act.
Claim that you’re making dogma porn[1], with no artificial lighting, music, rehearsals, perhaps extremely limited directing and only one camera on a tripod… 
He wouldn’t pay to act either, just for the tape, with a hefty actor’s discount - the retail price of the tape (for sale to appear more like a proper studio) would be a billion gazillion dollars.
[1]I think we’d all like to see this phrase one more time: Dogma porn
So how would that work if the producer hired the girls, then hired himself to star?
Doesn’t that Ed Powers guy do that?
If you kept your books and paid your taxes, the IRS could care less if you are redoing Les Miserables or fisting your cat. You would be frightened to hear someof the things people write/claim on income tax returns that do not get reported anywhere else.
“… you get to take your movie home, etc.”
Wouldn’t you be charged with distributing obscene materials?
[hijack]
Okay, i REALLY want a cite for that one.
maybe we should consider a whole new thread.
[/hijack]
phyre, strippers get to write-off their boob jobs as a work related expense (as told by an accountant over the radio). I suppose porn actresses get to do that too.
There was a thread a while back where a guy thought he could get around the prostitution laws by running a condom shop. Each condom costs $200 or so, and if you bought one then one of the ladies who hung around the shop may just take a shining to you and show you a good time. No money would change hands for the sex, of course; the girl just couldn’t seem to control herself once she laid eyes on the hot (bald, fat) customer and his shiny new condom.
The OP in that thread and this one really show a fundamental misunderstanding of the laws (and the last thread spawned a pit thread by a lawyer that was very well written). Basically, the law is not concerned with magic words or King’s Xs or anything like that; it’s concerned with what actually happened and your actual intent in doing what you did.
Also, just because you have an argument to get you out of trouble(i.e., “but we were only making porno movies”) doesn’t mean that the argument automatically wins or that the police and courts won’t see through your charade.
“There was a thread a while back where a guy thought he could get around the prostitution laws by running a condom shop.”
Reminds me a recent Cops show. The prostitutes said the sex was free, but they wanted a $20 loan until tomorrow. The cops said they could arrest her for public lewdness even if sex were free.