Times Online Reports
Eleven years after the British boxing authorities lost the argument against licensing women because they “bruised easily” and were made “unstable” by premenstrual tension, the fairer sex is on the brink of another victory in the equality fight.
Olympic chiefs meeting in Berlin on Thursday are expected to admit women’s boxing to the summer Games with a debut at London 2012.
It would be a landmark moment not only for the International Olympic Committee (IOC), a male-dominated members’ club renowned for oldfashioned attitudes, but for the development of an increasingly popular sport among women and girls not naturally drawn to organised physical activity.
Advocates say that inclusion in the Olympics, where boxing is an amateur sport, is long overdue. It is the sole male-only summer discipline, after the pole vault and 3,000-metre steeplechase featured women at the 2000 and 2008 Games respectively.
Rebecca Gibson, the England women’s boxing development manager, said: “Women should be allowed to have a go at whatever they want. Being an Olympic sport would give women the same aspiration as men.”
The case for women’s boxing is driven by the sport’s international federation as well as Jacques Rogge, the IOC president and a former boxing doctor. A previous effort in 2005 failed after the IOC feared a lack of qualified talent would result in dangerous mismatches. Since then, the number of countries with women at the elite level has risen to 125.
In England the number of registered female boxers has jumped from 50 in 2005 to 642. There are about 670 in Britain. Among them is Hannah Behanny, 22, from London, a double European bronze medallist and 2012 hopeful. She started boxercise aged 17 after being sent to a reform centre for violent behaviour.
In a storyline to mirror the film Million Dollar Baby, she finally convinced a sceptical local coach to drop his male-only policy to train her. “The guys in my gym treat me as an equal but there are still some people stuck in the old school who think it shouldn’t happen,” she said.
“It’s ignorance. It’s the men that get bashed up and bloodied. Women’s boxing is more strategic. I’ve never seen a girl get knocked out.”
The Olympics would bring profile and funding to women’s boxing, which is high on the national fitness agenda. The Government is backing a return of non-contact boxing training to schools.
Women’s boxing first appeared in London in the 1720s and was a demonstration sport at the 1904 Olympics before being banned.The professional ranks in the UK admitted women in 1998 after losing a sex discrimination case brought by Jane Couch, who argued it was no more dangerous for women than men despite a medical expert for the British Boxing Board of Control claiming that they were “too frail”. Ms Couch retired last December, aged 40, with five world titles and is now a promoter.
The British Medical Association still campaigns for a ban on all boxing, male or female, on the ground that it can cause chronic brain damage, which accumulates over a career.
All amateur boxers, male or female, have to wear head and groin guards. Women have the option of wearing breast pads.
Gerry Willmott, a policeman who coaches women in Haringey, said: “Most people who see women’s boxing for the first time are surprised by the technical quality.
“Women don’t have preconceived ideas, so are more prepared to learn the basics. They don’t get in the ring thinking they are Ali or Mayweather.”
The admission of women’s boxing to the Olympics would give heart to the female ski jumpers still barred from the winter Games.
It might also encourage male synchronised swimmers, who were approved by world swimming’s governing body in 2000 but have yet to compete in an Olympics, to eschew stereotypes to make 2012 the first truly gender-neutral Games.
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NYDailyNews Reports
A baby boy born 16 weeks prematurely was declared dead by doctors at a hospital in Paraguay only to wake up in time for his funeral wake hours later.
Dr. Ernesto Weber, head of pediatric care at the state-run hospital in the capital of Asuncion, said the baby weighed just 17.6 ounces when he was born.
"Initially, the baby didn't move, he practically didn't have any respiratory reflexes, nor did we hear a heartbeat and, as a result, we declared a premature fetus of 24 weeks dead," Weber told Reuters Television.
The family was given a death certificate and a cardboard box with the baby's name scribbled on the outside which served as a makeshift coffin.
But when the family took him from the hospital to prepare him for his funeral, the unbelievable happened.
"I opened the box and took the baby out and he cried. I got scared and I said "the baby's crying" ... and then he started moving his arms, his legs and I got scared, we got very scared," said one member of the family, Liliana Alvarenga.
Hours after the baby's death had been declared he was found to be alive. The hospital has begun an investigation and the baby is now in a stable condition in an incubator.
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HipHop Wired Reports
Ludacris is the latest celebrity to be idolized by a signature scent. TAG body spray has tapped Chris Lova Lova to release scents for their “Signature Series.” The “Signature Series” features cologne style scents exclusive to TAG from celebrities including Carmelo Anthony and skateboarder Rob Dyrdek. Luda's “Get Yours” will go head to head with Carmelo's “Stay Up” and Dyrdek's “Make Moves”. The celebrity whose scent makes the most in sales will win money to donate to charity.
Luda recently made headlines announcing his own signature line of Cognac. He teamed up with Norwegian Cognac producer, Birkedal Hartmann to make a new product called Conjure. Conjure cognac made its debut in Norway in July and will be released in the United States in September. The cognac is said to have hints of vanilla, apricot and dried prunes in it and will retail for $30 a bottle.
Luda also made a few more major moves this weekend announcing his signing to esteemed entertainment and sports agency, CAA. The Creative Artists Agency is the same agency that represents Oprah, LeBron James, and Will Smith. CAA will represent him in all areas including music, acting, endorsements and philanthropy.
Additionally he'll be starring in "Gamer", the high-action thriller about humans controlling other humans in mass player online gaming environments. Gerard Butler, John Leguizamo and Allison Lohman also star in the movie. Gamer hits theaters September 4th.
On top of his entrepreneurial and acting endeavors, his next album titled Battle of The Sexes is scheduled to be released later this fall. The album will be a collaboration project with fellow Disturbing Tha Peace female MC, Shawnna.
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MTVNEWS Reports
First, the Game attempts to make nice with 50 Cent and G-Unit, apologizing to estranged former crew recently for his behavior. Now is fellow former G-Unit member Young Buck getting in on the act?
Not quite. But the Tennessee rap titan, who was ejected from G-Unit last year, is making amends. In a video interview that circulated online over the weekend, Buck said he's set to refocus on his music career and again and his reemergence won't include any barbs at his old boss.
In fact, like the Game, Buck thanks 50 for giving him his big break.
"My whole strategy for coming back and f---ing with this rap sh-- is the total opposite of what people think I'm gonna do," he said. "I think a lot of motherf-----s think I'mma come out, beef with 50 and holler 'F--- G-Unit!' and all that. I'm not even looking to do it like that. I'm looking to make straight, good music, and do my thing through the music. Win from the hits itself. 'Cause that other sh-- ain't about nothing."
MTV News request for comment to Young Buck's camp had not been granted at press time.
The Southern lyricist said he hopes to forge forward with his own brand. In the past he signed former 2Pac affiliates the Outlawz to his Cashville label. Although he was signed to 50 Cent's G-Unit Records, Buck never hid his desire to branch out.
"I'd rather get out here and establish Buck," he continued. " 'Cause everybody establishes themselves. 50 Cent established 50 Cent. 50 Cent established G-Unit. I thank 50 Cent for what he did, giving me the opportunity to establish my talent on a boss base. Where I was able to get myself heard on an international level."
Although Buck downplayed any issues he had with his former crew, he did admit his role in getting himself kicked out of G-Unit. Buck performed with or reconciled with Lil Wayne, Jadakiss and Game on separate occasions, aggravating 50, who at the time was engaged in battles with each camp. The moves eventually led to Buck's ouster.
"Maybe I got out of pocket a little bit," he said. "Because I played a part in it, too. So I can't sit here and act like I never did sh--. I played just as much a part in it as anyone I was with, whether it was 50 or [Lloyd] Banks or [Tony] Yayo, beefing with someone unnecessarily. They had a reason at the time, but when it was all said and done, no one got shot. And nothing came from it."
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AllHipHop Reports
British’s most watched TV channel has tightened its broadcasting procedures, after an unedited version of Snoop Dogg’s Father Hood reality show aired on the network.
Box Television operates the popular 4Music channel, which airs Snoop’s reality series Father Hood in the United Kingdom.
The show features Snoop, born Calvin Broadus Jr. and his wife Shante, as well as their children Corde (14), Cordell (12) and Cori (9) and cast of other characters.
Father Hood focuses on Snoop Dogg’s domestic life, as opposed to his career as a world famous rap star who has been banned from Australia and the United Kingdom.
Network watchdog Ofcom received hundreds of complaint when an unedited episode aired featuring the chart-topping rapper using the F-word twice during the show.
Ofcom said viewers were very offended by Snoop’s unedited foul language and apologized for the mishap, claiming human error was to blame, as the wrong version was entered into the programming schedule.
4Music aired two apologies for running the unedited version of Father Hood, which Ofcom deemed appropriate, allowing the network to avoid any further penalties.
“Ofcom notes that the broadcast of this language on this occasion occurred as a result of human error,” the organization wrote in its ruling. “While we have concerns about the broadcast of this material, in light of the actions taken by the broadcaster and its good compliance record in this area Ofcom considers this matter resolved.”
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BallerStatus Reports
Former boxing great, Mike Tyson, doesn't do much film work, besides the recent documentary released about his life. But, he did make a short appearance in the recent Hollywood blockbuster comedy "The Hangover" where he played himself.
Now, he's back on TV again, confirmed to appear in an upcoming episode of the new half-hour comedy series, "Brothers," which debuts in later September.
The new series is a sitcom in which Michael Strahan ("FOX NFL Sunday") plays a former NFL star dealing with post-gridiron life as he moves back home with his family. It co-stars Daryl Chill Mitchell ("Ed"), CCH Pounder ("The Shield") and Carl Weathers ("Rocky").
In the upcoming episode, Tyson will show up to collect money from Mike (Michael Strahan) at his brother's (Daryl Chill Mitchell) restaurant.
It will debut on Friday, September 25 at 8:00 p.m. on Fox.
For more info, visit Fox.com.
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TMZ Reports
Only Prince can rent a home for $150,000 a month, leave behind a security deposit -- and the landlord doesn't know who to give it to.
According to a lawsuit filed in June, when Prince moved out of the home he rented in Beverly Hills, he left behind a $300,000 security deposit. 3121 Rep Inc., the company that claimed to have brokered the lease for Prince, has sued the owners to get the money back.
But the owners say Prince made all the payments himself -- 3121 was just an intermediary -- so the money should go straight to him.
Now the two sides are suing each other, with Prince caught in the middle -- 3121 wants the money they says is theirs, the owners just want their attorney's fees paid.
Meanwhile, Prince is probably sitting somewhere composing ballads, with no idea any of this is going on.
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MTVNEWS Reports
The teens have once again spoken, and their favorites seem to be "Twilight," Britney Spears, Miley Cyrus and "Gossip Girl." There were 83 Million votes cast for the 2009 Teen Choice Awards, and as the results were unveiled Sunday night (August 9), it was a meeting of many big, beautiful, bizarrely matched superstars at the Gibson Amphitheatre.
The evening was hosted by the Jonas Brothers, who began the festivities by "interrupting" a Barack Obama press conference, then took dares from fans (who gave them such challenges as speed-hugging a line of fans — Kim Kardashian cut in near the end) and also rocked out with a full brass backing band. Highlights of the evening included "Twilight" winning 11 awards and Britney receiving the Ultimate Choice Award.
"This is an honor, you've got to love the teens. We're here because of them," beamed Chace Crawford, moments before heading inside to take home the Choice TV Actor: Drama award for "Gossip Girl." "I don't know what I would say to Britney Spears. Hopefully, I'll bump into her."
"Wow, I would need to think about what I would say to her," laughed Taylor Lautner, finally revealing what he'd ask the superstar if stuck on an elevator with Britney: "So, what are you doing tonight?"
Moments before the taping began, Britney and her entourage had the backstage swag shop emptied so she could pick up some goodies. Britney parked her kids in front of the "Band Hero" video game, where they banged away on the instruments while she snagged free sneakers, hats and other items.
Once inside, the awards were presented fast and furious. Lautner, Ashley Greene, Kellan Lutz, Justin Chon, Robert Pattinson, Nikki Reed, Jackson Rathbone and Catherine Hardwicke took the stage and braved the shrieks to take home surfboard trophies for Best Drama, Romance, Actor (Pattinson), Actress (Stewart), Villain (Cam Gigandet), Fresh Face Female (Greene), Fresh Face Male (Lautner), Liplock (Stewart and Pattinson) and Rumble (Pattinson and Gigandet). Another highlight came when RPattz and Megan Fox came onstage together to accept their matching Hottie awards.
"I'm doing something special with her tonight," Miley Cyrus told us before the show of the night's biggest moment, when she presented Britney with her Ultimate Choice Award. "She's a good friend of the family, so I'm just happy to finally show everyone that she's back, and she never went anywhere. She's had a successful career, I'm proud of her — and both of us being Southern girls, I love that."
Hugh Jackman was presented with the award for Choice Movie: Action Adventure in a way we can safely assume no one ever has before: by getting his face tattooed on a Jonas Brother. "They had a little challenge to Kevin, one of the Jonas brothers, to tattoo the winner of the award on his arm. So, they announced it by showing the tattoo," Jackman grinned backstage, promising that the award for "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" only made him more resolved to return the character to the screen soon. "I thought that was pretty good work for one commercial break — that was probably the quickest tattoo in the history of the world! But it was a good way to get it. And particularly good for me for my street cred, because my kids like the Jonas Brothers — and just be being near them, that's all that matters."
Other big winners included Zac Efron (Actor Comedy, "17 Again" and Actor Music/Dance, "HSM3"), "The Hills" (Choice TV: Reality, and Female Reality, Lauren Conrad) and Beyoncé (Choice Music R&B Artist and R& BTrack for "Single Ladies"). Sean Kingston stole the show with a memorable performance, as did Black Eyed Peas — who surfed above the crowd.
"We just wanted to try something different," Taboo told us after the show. "Flying in the air over the crowd? I was scared. But it was exciting; we got the opportunity to do something different. It was great."
"We had a fantastic night. We pulled in 11 — that was amazing," marveled Jackson Rathbone after the show, reflecting back on all the "Twilight" triumphs. "I got to sit next to my Ashley Greene, and she won 'Fresh Face,' along with Taylor. It was amazing to have everything go the way it did."
"The universe didn't explode — like some people may have thought — if the two of them came in contact," laughed Miley's "Hannah Montana" co-star Jason Earles, remembering the moment when she and Britney were onstage together. "It was cool, it was almost like a passing of the torch."
"I wish Britney Spears would've performed. I didn't get to meet her, but I was so excited she was there. She looks great — I'm so happy for her," said an excited Ashley Greene afterward. "She's had a rough couple of years, but she looked phenomenal. And Sean Kingston? His performance was cool, the dancers ... I just ran into him [backstage]. Now I'm going to go download his stuff."
The Teen Choice Awards air Monday, August 10 at 10:00 p.m. ET on Fox.
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A scene from Shmuel Beru’s film “Zrubavel,” which portrays some of the difficulties faced by Ethiopian immigrants. Even as it tells of discrimination and difficulties, Beru pulls no punches when portraying his own community’s faults. His characters often wallow in self-pity, drink and use drugs, steal and beat their wives.
Reporting from Tel Aviv -- Growing up, they called him the "chocolate boy" and worse.
Shmuel Beru arrived in Israel at age 8 with the first wave of Ethiopian immigrants in 1984. Classmates, who'd never seen a black person before, rubbed his skin to see if the color would come off.
"I was like the new animal at a zoo," recalled Beru, now 33.
Today the actor-writer has turned his childhood struggle for acceptance into the first Ethiopian-made feature film exploring what it's like to grow up black in Israel. Drawing inspiration from filmmaker Spike Lee's stories about racial conflict in the United States, Beru examines an Ethiopian family's dreams of building a new life in a white-dominated and sometimes-racist Israeli society.
"I love my country," Beru said of Israel, "but I don't want to lie."
In a nation with so many competing well-documented narratives -- Jewish, Palestinian, Christian -- Beru's "Zrubavel," which opened in cinemas here in June, offers yet another perspective from one of the Holy Land's newer arrivals.
Since the 1980s, more than 80,000 Ethiopians have immigrated to Israel, many escaping famine and poverty in the Horn of Africa nation.
Known as Beta Israel, many of the Ethiopians were considered by some to be a lost tribe of Israel. Though living isolated in northern Ethiopian villages for centuries, they preserved customs remarkably similar to Judaism, which sometimes led them to be ostracized by other Africans.
They became the first large-scale immigration of black Africans to Israel and their adjustment to Israeli society has not been easy. For every success story about an Ethiopian Israeli being elected to parliament or becoming the latest singing sensation on Israel's TV version of "American Idol," there are a dozen more about Ethiopian gangs, domestic violence and the high rates of suicide and joblessness among Ethiopian youths.
Hebrew University expert Steven Kaplan, who has studied the Beta Israel, said that despite the government spending more money and energy trying to assimilate Ethiopians than it has for other immigrant groups, Ethiopians remain among the poorest groups in Israel.
"The most disturbing thing is that even after 30 years, if you ask me if we've turned the corner for the second and third generations of Ethiopians, I can't say we have with any real confidence," he said.
Beru said he hoped his film would counter negative stereotypes about Ethiopian immigrants.
"I wanted to show that no matter what your culture or color is, we all have the same stories," said Beru, interviewed recently at a Tel Aviv cafe. "We cry in the same language. We hurt in the same language."
For him, making the film was a deeply personal journey, enabling him to reconnect with his African roots and ultimately strengthen his appreciation for his adopted country.
"Zrubavel" is a classic immigrant saga, showing a younger generation fighting for acceptance and an older generation striving to keep its children rooted in the traditions of home.
The film follows the hard-working grandfather, a former Ethiopian army colonel reduced to sweeping streets in his new life; the son-in-law whose embrace of ultra-Orthodox Judaism alienates his family; the ponytailed college dropout, trapped between his father's dream that he become Israel's first black fighter pilot and a society pushing him toward more "suitable" work as a restaurant cook.
Beru's is a gritty, largely segregated world. White Israelis are bit players here, mostly one-dimensional authority figures, such as the police officers who taunt, beat and even kill Ethiopians with little remorse.
But Beru pulls no punches when portraying his own community's faults and responsibilities. His characters often wallow in self-pity, drink and use drugs, steal and beat their wives. In one scene, the troubled dropout robs and beats an innocent white senior citizen, before he is caught and beaten by police.
"My commitment was to tell the whole story," Beru said.
The film is based partly on Beru's personal experiences. He still hears the occasional racial epithet or is prevented from entering a Tel Aviv nightclub on the excuse that a "private party" is taking place.
As an actor, Beru often found himself typecast as a bodyguard, bad guy or pauper, despite his small build and easy smile. That was if he found roles at all. "It's hard to be a black actor in Israel because everything on TV is about white people," he said.
When he complained of the scarcity of good parts, he said, producers told him that white Israelis wouldn't "relate" to black characters.
But Beru said it's the artist's duty to provoke audiences and explore new territory. That's why he decided to write his own movie and hire Ethiopian actors for most of the roles.
The project provided him with the chance for a brief homecoming when he visited Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital, for a screening this year, his first trip there since his family made the two-month trek to a Sudanese refugee camp 26 years ago.
"It was a shock to see a country of so many black people like me."
He said he was heartened by the public support he received in Ethiopia, but was troubled by the poverty from which he narrowly escaped.
Though his movie won an award at the Haifa International Film Festival last year and he visited Los Angeles this spring for a screening, Israeli moviegoers have given the film a lukewarm response.
At a recent screening in Tel Aviv, one white viewer attributed the low turnout to Israelis' preoccupation with the country's political strife.
"I guess we are people with so many of our own problems that we don't want to hear about other people's," said Ronit Avronin, a Tel Aviv office worker.
Some anonymous Israeli critics have attacked Beru and the film on the Internet, calling him a "monkey" and accusing him of being ungrateful for being rescued from a life "living in the trees."
Beru said he remains unfazed. Because so many Israelis have endured their own struggle, persecution and trauma, he said, they sometimes come across as less sympathetic to others facing a similar ordeal.
Overcoming the struggle and surviving on your own, he said, is part of the Jewish experience.
"Israelis appreciate strength. If you're nice, they'll think you're weak. But if you fight [for yourself], that's when they respect you."
Source : LATimesRead more…
Adult entertainment actress Savannah Stern, whose income has dropped because of the rapid decline in job opportunities in the porn business, is replacing her Mercedes-Benz with a used car from her parents.
LA Times Reports
On a recent Saturday night, Savannah Stern earned $300 to hang out for seven hours at a party in Santa Monica wearing nothing but a feather boa.
The veteran of more than 350 hard-core pornography productions took the job to earn extra cash and to network. But the word at the 35th anniversary party for Hustler magazine was not heartening, especially among the roughly 75 other women working there.
"At least five girls I haven't seen in a while came up to me and said, 'Savannah, are you working?' " said Stern, who started in the industry four years ago and, like most adult performers, uses a stage name. "I had to say, 'No, not really,' and they all said, 'Yeah, I'm not either.' "
The adult entertainment business, centered in the San Fernando Valley, has weathered several recessions since it took off with the advent of home video in the 1980s. But this time the industry is not dealing with just a weakened economy. A growing abundance of free content on the Internet is undercutting consumers' willingness to pay for porn, and with it the ability of many workers to earn a living in the business.
For Stern, 23, the rapid decline of job opportunities in the porn business over the last year has been dramatic. She has gone from working four or five days a week to one and now has employers pressuring her to do male-female sex scenes for $700, a 30% discount from the $1,000 fee that used to be the industry standard.
Less than two years ago, Stern earned close to $150,000 annually, sometimes turned down work and drove a Mercedes-Benz CLK 350. Now she's aggressively reaching out for jobs and making closer to $50,000 a year.
As for that Mercedes? She's replacing it with a used Chevy Trailblazer -- from her parents.
"The opportunities in this industry really are disappearing," Stern said. "It's extremely stressful."
Industry insiders estimate that since 2007, revenue for most adult production and distribution companies has declined 30% to 50% and the number of new films made has fallen sharply.
"We've gone through recessions before, but we've never been hit from every side like this," said Mark Spiegler, head of the Spiegler Girls talent agency, who has worked in porn since 1995.
"It's the free stuff that's killing us, and that's not going away," said Dion Jurasso, owner of porn production company Combat Zone, which has seen its business fall about 50% in the last three years.
Porn is hardly the only segment of the media industry struggling with these issues. But its problems appear to be more severe. Whereas online piracy has forced big changes in the music industry and is starting to affect movies and television, it has upended adult entertainment.
At least five of the 100 top websites in the U.S. are portals for free pornography, referred to in the industry as "tube sites," according to Internet traffic ranking service Alexa .com. Some of their content is amateur work uploaded by users and some is acquired from cheap back catalogs, but much of it is pirated.
Sites like Pornhub, YouPorn and RedTube attract more users than TMZ and the Huffington Post. The porn sites are even bigger than Pirate Bay, the top portal for illegal downloads of movies, TV shows and music.
Frustratingly for porn producers and distributors in the Valley, none of these sites appears to be making much money. Suzann Knudsen, a marketing director for PornoTube, said the site's parent, Adult Entertainment Broadcast Network, uses it to attract customers for paid video on demand.
"PornoTube isn't a piggy bank," she said. "Its true value is in traffic."
The adult entertainment business, which was previously in the vanguard of home video, satellite and cable television and digital distribution, now finds itself leading the rest of the entertainment industry in losses from them.
"The death of the DVD business has been more accelerated in the adult business than mainstream," said Bill Asher, co-chairman of adult industry giant Vivid Entertainment, who estimates that his company's revenue is down more than 20% this year.
"We always said that once the Internet took off, we'd be OK," he added. "It never crossed our minds that we'd be competing with people who just give it away for free."
There are plenty of other signs of the porn industry's pain. Attendance at the Adult Entertainment Expo, an annual trade show in Las Vegas that's open some days to the public, was down 20% this year. Pay-per-view programming, a key revenue source for the industry, has fallen about 50% from its peak three or four years ago, according to a person familiar with the cable and satellite TV business.
Reliable revenue and employment figures for the adult industry don't exist, since no analysts or economists track it. Adult Video News estimated in 2006 that it was worth $13 billion, but Paul Fishbein, editor of the trade publication, said the number was "an educated guess."
"Almost all of the companies in our industry are privately held, and they keep the cards close to their chests," said Diane Duke, executive director of the Free Speech Coalition, an industry trade group.
The effects of the downturn have been felt most severely by the thousands of people who work in the adult entertainment business.
Kelly Labanco doesn't need industry estimates to know what's happening. The makeup artist, who has worked in porn for five years, is landing half as many jobs as she did a year ago and has seen her pay drop from a high of $250 an hour to less than $100.
"A lot of companies say they don't even need makeup artists now and the girls can do it themselves," said Labanco, who has returned to her previous job doing freelance music publicity to pay the bills.
Even the industry's biggest events aren't worth what they used to be for working people like Labanco. Last year, she and a friend did makeup for a week at the Adult Entertainment Expo and earned $8,000. This year: $1,200.
Caroline Pierce, an adult film performer who lives in Las Vegas but flies to Los Angeles for work, said many companies have pressured her to do more scenes for less money.
"Instead of paying you $800 to do one, they'll pay you $1,200 for both," she explained.
As economic pressures increase, many performers have also changed their minds about what they are willing do on-screen. Previously, women earned hefty bonuses for unusual sex scenes. That's often no longer the case.
"A few years ago the girls we got were OK, but not stellar models, and we were sometimes paying $2,500," said porn director Matt Morningwood, referring to a website he shoots for that features one woman and multiple male partners.
"Nowadays some of the top-tier models will do that scene for us and you're looking at maybe $1,800. I'm happy for the production, but I feel bad for exploiting the girls' situation."
The only growth market most executives see is mobile devices, since they let consumers watch porn anywhere and in relative privacy.
Major companies that serve as a gateway to content on cellphones in the U.S. such as Verizon don't allow explicit adult content. But like cable and satellite companies in the 1990s, they may change their minds when they see the potential profit.
"Anyone betting against porn being a meaningful driver of traffic and revenue on mobile networks would be making a bad choice based on history," said Charles Golvin, an analyst at Forrester Research.
Adult performers with big followings probably will continue to prosper, since they often work under a guaranteed contract and have loyal fans who buy all their work. Business managers for Belladonna and Tera Patrick, two of the industry's biggest stars, said their clients were using their celebrity to make money in other ways, like dancing in exotic clubs and licensing their name to sex toys and lingerie.
"The economy has forced us to look in other directions such as tangible goods," said Evan Seinfeld, who co-manages Patrick, his wife, and runs her production company, Teravision.
But for the "middle class" of the industry, those opportunities don't exist.
"It seems at this point that if you haven't established a well-known name, it's really hard to keep working," performer Alexa Jordan said.
Savannah Stern is adjusting to that reality. She's shooting scenes for her own subscription website and planning a tour of exotic dance clubs to earn money from her name while she can. After that, she hopes to go to college for an interior design degree and work in her family's real estate development and contracting business.
"I wish I would have never gotten into it," Stern said of her career in porn. "When you get used to a certain lifestyle, it's really hard to cut back and realize this may not be forever."
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Action figure-turned-movie star G.I. Joe stormed his way to the top of the box office this week, crushing rivals on the first weekend in his big screen debut.
"G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" raked in $56.2 million in North America and $100.3 million worldwide.
The globetrotting adventure starring Dennis Quaid, Channing Tatum, Sienna Miller and Marlon Wayans enjoyed wide appeal in surprising places.
"One of the best markets on the movie was Russia," said Rob Moore of Paramount Pictures. "How far G.I. Joe has come. He was incredibly popular in Russia."
"Julie & Julia," featuring Meryl Streep as iconic female chef Julia Child, opened a solid No. 2 as an alternative for adult crowds with $20.1 million.
"G-Force," the guinea pig animated action movie and former box-office winner, earned $9.8 million and third place at the box office, and "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" dropped to No. 4 with $8.9 million.
Last week's top movie, Adam Sandler and Seth Rogen's "Funny People," tumbled to No. 5 with $7.9 million, while the newest slasher thriller, "A Perfect Getaway," opened at No. 7 with $5.8 million.
"G.I. Joe" pulled Hollywood out of a month-long box-office swoon.
The downturn was particularly noticeable compared with last summer, when Batman blockbuster "The Dark Knight" remained No. 1 for four weeks and sent ticket sales soaring, box-office watchers said.
"'Joe' kind of saved the day," said Paul Dergarabedian, box-office analyst for Hollywood.com. "We needed a box-office hero to turn things around, and we certainly got it."
Source : NY Daily NewsRead more…
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