Vivid Entertainment | Resuming its Filming Production this month after a near month-long shut-down

Vivid Entertainment, arguably the leading adult film studio in the world, is reported to have resumed filming production this month after a near month-long shut-down following the disclosure that one of its performers had tested positive for HIV. Vivid, along with two other Los Angeles-based adult entertainment production houses voluntarily halted production October 12th after it was announced by AIM Healthcare, that an unidentified adult film performer had tested positive for HIV.
In announcing the shutdown at Vivid, founder and Co-chairman Steven Hirsch said all actors who had been exposed to the infected actor were tested twice and none was found to have had the virus.


''We made the decision to halt production as the health and well-being of our performers is of utmost importance to us,'' said Steven Hirsch, founder/co-chairman of Vivid. ''We can now confirm that all performers who were on the quarantine list as a result of being exposed to the HIV positive performer have gone through two rounds of testing and the results are negative. We believe that AIM acted professionally and thoroughly and proved that their system works. We will, of course, continue to require recent test results for all performers in our movies and will continue to take all necessary precautions to assure their health and safety.''


During the closure, Vivid is reported to have not begun the filming of any new titles, however, the studio did spend time on a backlog of post-production work on titles already produced for the label and set for release. New titles from Vivid are expected also in early 2011.


This was not the first HIV scare to jolt the adult entertainment industry in recent years. In 2004, an HIV outbreak in the San Fernando Valley-based porn industry shut down production for a month. During that closure, roughly 30 companies voluntarily halted filming to await test results on dozens of their adult performers who were said to have engaged in sex scenes with an unidentified male porn star and three actresses who tested HIV positive.


The latest case involved an unidentified adult-film performer who tested positive at AIM's Sherman Oaks clinic, which has served the porn industry for several years. Jennifer Miller, HIV/STD counselor at the clinic, would not release the gender of the infected performer or the actor’s employer, but said at the time that the clinic was doing what it could to notify those performers believed to have potentially been exposed to the virus.


Founded 1984, Vivid is considered one of the most innovative companies in the adult entertainment sector, expanded focus on high-quality erotic films, establishing solid brand awareness through selective marketing and licensing programs that include advertising, apparel, books and other products.