Not only is the immediacy of the Internet hurting the ability of the print journalism industry to publish quality reporting. Now, even porn stars are complaining that their competitive industry is forcing them to eliminate the acting and get down to business.
The New York Times reported yesterday that porn films are less likely to have scripts than ever before: “'On the Internet, the average attention span is three to five minutes,' said Steven Hirsch, co-chairman of Vivid Entertainment."
So, directors are finally cutting to the chase and taking out the
cliche plots lines and generally horrid acting. Consumers may rejoice,
but it looks like some actors are sad to see the fantasy leave the bedroom:
"The actress known as Savanna Samson once relished preparing for a role. 'I couldn’t wait to get my next script,' she said... She said she played a psychotic who, because of the way her mother treated her, 'had an obsession with flashing and doing things in public.'"
Clearly, this role was quite a departure from her normal professional life of flashing and doing things for public viewing. The article claims that "moviemakers are focusing even less on narrative arcs these days." It might be a stretch to call a porn plot line a "narrative arc," which would usually entail a decent amount of character development and an unexpected climax. This particular corner of the entertainment industry need not be concerned with this, as the average consumer does not choose a porn based on the script or theatrical talent of the actors. This is forcing companies to begin to cater to the customer's desires, even if that means altering their business model:"The big studios, like Vivid and Digital Playground, have turned to a subscription model, charging monthly fees for access to their Web sites and advertising the frequency with which they add new clips."
Who would've thought that the porn industry would be the first one to find a feasible business model for online entertainment?
