Porn may point way to H’wood restart

Hollywood could learn a thing or two from the porn industry when it comes to protecting its film crews from a major health scare.

As Tinseltown gears up to restart production in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, it could turn to its freaky cousin, the adult entertainment industry, for battle-tested solutions developed during the HIV/AIDS epidemic, according to a new report.

“When we first starting talking about COVID, we felt very well-prepared because we have a whole history of testing within the industry as well as contact tracing and production shutdowns,” Mike Stabile, rep for the Free Speech Coalition, a trade association for the US adult entertainment industry, told Reuters.

“This is obviously a different type of virus, this is a different type of threat, but we understood in general how it would work and what we’d need to do in order to protect ourselves,” he added.

The protocols include rigorous testing and a database that lists who is clean and available for work, which were established in the late 1990s after a porn actor faked an HIV test and infected several others in the industry.

Hollywood studios, represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, have been brainstorming for weeks on how to restart the production of TV shows and movies, while ensuring a coronavirus-free set for everyone from actors to makeup artists and camera crews.