( D5 M1 [# N( P% G和加州的立法人对阵,色情电影业最终很有可能打败仗。除了罚款,色情电影业也面临着一些前任演员们提出的代价昂贵的法律诉讼。 $ f1 v% ^9 {1 j. ]( @ t0 y 8 j: l1 l& Q% j5 K8 Z一些演员私下告诉我,他们盼着立法赶快生效。 & k! a0 Q& e, A& z/ f0 L5 X, F/ h& {. a/ {) I
制片人说,这对雇员没有任何好处,只会迫使制片公司搬到海外、或者转移到地下去拍片。观众想看的,就一定能看得到。 ! K+ S5 M- i6 M7 a5 d5 n. R; | F- n1 E) w, j7 ^1 b* y
宝碧也有同感。事实上,这也正是她开始脱衣服、准备开拍性爱场面之前说的告别词。 3 S6 J# {1 T4 w# R( M' n9 B" F1 i/ K& J
我想,我看的已经够多了。我悄悄地离开拍摄现场,重新回到淅淅沥沥的小雨中…….3 u& r5 \; L! o6 ^, v# _: n
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Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles / C7 A3 a- ]: E
3 K% x( w5 b/ TCalifornia's adult movie business is under pressure - internet piracy and the economic downturn have slashed revenues, while state regulators seem set to win their long battle to make actors wear condoms. 7 Q, e1 @! Q, T2 v( Q8 a/ {3 M7 ?# w- e
Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.7 j3 Y# D7 v+ l6 s
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I had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things. 2 [' x1 I0 ~0 G0 Z$ _! k' v) A$ h; d: F' ^; Y: J4 t
What I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect. / b. w3 L7 Q) l. Y! U# ~3 c" Q" B- n6 ]
The porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga.* v& I% y2 i0 [& H8 L# F
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Performers in body-hugging Star Trek outfits, some with prosthetic noses to resemble aliens, wandered around looking slightly bored as a weary crew worried over lighting arrangements. ' V. H# X4 x" S' F$ `/ A5 L 5 e6 `, Z* h: l6 g# PThis morning was devoted to dialogue, I was told, although - as Sam, the film's artistically minded writer-director, explained to me with clear regret - there was not too much of that to be had.4 g3 d0 X4 c* a& G
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Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed.6 b+ }: V+ e- D( S! e
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Fantasy ; U" {; E2 Z7 c; c- T - t1 C) L. Y0 }The demands of porn may not allow Sam to be the groundbreaking film-maker he clearly aspires to be, but at least there are films to be made. 7 }% P9 |9 c2 T# n' w; \4 g. O. k) ^+ T4 P
The problem, increasingly, is revenue.. w: q& |8 m: |" `4 l( R' v
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Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch.* C1 `3 L( p! J$ B
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DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free.+ x2 e( E+ T! H$ j0 C& `
" J6 T8 F% S5 Q W+ _6 ^+ ]And the economic downturn does not help. * j" u m, n9 p+ a' x3 b& _. B. q4 b+ [* d: ~0 D3 X7 z
"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully.7 d, H( b7 |& z( o( F2 J
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The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. 2 V- T. ?1 u6 t6 X3 i+ c( c 8 h: b' _+ K- q+ {9 |- BFor years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms.! T. R" t4 t; i
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Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set.2 e" ?* ~" Q& g& O/ y& T( M
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But the industry says wearing condoms on-screen is a turn-off. The public do not want it, it will kill the fantasy, they say. 7 a: n" `4 K; \6 U4 }2 y4 [ A0 b7 U1 ?
Gonorrhoea ' M( ?1 e% f+ X# }& f $ N- Z; o, @0 t2 y7 \+ k' HBack on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers.$ G5 u \% d0 V* n, ], Z1 l
. h+ x/ y, _% b& a8 S! A- dA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years.5 ^; g* O+ k. i2 r
0 Y$ c( `/ ~2 v; HShe turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure.* X: D5 @' B0 t. |1 a
( C# Y/ D& U' h, E( q( h m( d4 _( j"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" - Z! ~! A' [2 W( G; a$ \ / @$ s4 |2 Q* }Her packed schedule today involved a couple of lines, then a four-hour sex scene. Then a costume fitting on Tuesday and she was off to have her monthly health test after that.) m/ t, G: U8 y p
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Each day would be 15 hours long. % M& T& m. U& p! @% G! T( x. c; l- W; }
"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. * S6 `2 M) f. f4 @9 f0 P, f$ R/ G) i: p
"You get used to it," she smiled. + c- o" \& z; `$ @9 j; U: u! Y$ ]) P
"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?"; {' e0 `0 t& {* O: y/ W8 m
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"Well, just chlamydia a couple of times, gonorrhoea - nothing much. Anyway, we test each month so, when you're diagnosed, you just take your medication and you're good to go. No problem." 7 C1 j. e% U9 \. ?/ x; X) ?6 m/ \9 p
There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. u: K$ d+ p4 x, U4 y' E5 z5 \
/ Q1 E+ D/ W$ W& k+ Q' `Expensive lawsuits; r% |+ n* n L2 q! S7 p
- l/ q! Z* j& Z4 K+ H/ R6 aIn fact there was something very Californian about the entire business.3 W* A2 ~2 s5 a0 b% K3 `# \
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A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it. 5 g1 I: C) q/ t0 u! D- I7 j1 K) J% M& R& g' q
It had taken a Supreme Court battle back in the 1980s to make porn legal in California in the first place, formally distinguishing it from common-or-garden prostitution. & y, o3 W+ B- t0 r) m7 s! R# P # I8 q5 _+ N: V+ V+ cNow, many I met spoke of the right not to wear condoms as a key aspect of their constitutional right to free speech, as set out by the Founding Fathers. * o; r5 X. }% q1 t) ^( ^4 z! |- p9 u
"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?") [3 Q- h6 S+ S2 o
h7 G1 q) }7 S: DI struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment. 7 w a1 F5 @2 c+ \, ~1 u/ d3 M; `* _! b. }/ d h
But then I also struggled to picture hordes of Star Trek fans queuing up to see Captain Jean-Luc Picard going hard-core with the crew of the Star Trek Enterprise. So what did I know?0 w3 b/ L/ l, X9 m* P! T
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The authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection." t" D5 y! A2 {$ E( z+ [
3 N4 c* [. c/ A. W5 \" Q0 AIt seems likely that porn will eventually lose its battle against the California regulators, not least because - as well as state penalties - the industry could be about to face some very expensive lawsuits brought by former performers. $ W# u1 @% r4 w* ~ ! v0 `3 V% R# l6 s6 VA number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them.+ z$ j8 {# I! C: h/ n' w8 a
& ^( @1 j5 y. @! I6 jThe producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants. + ~" D `/ u6 R, m& e 3 E' H V8 z; u: |, HThat view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene.: L$ {- k" H; b% ]9 ~! C
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I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. # }$ I! K4 e6 p' R- Y, B- s1 ^2 E4 Q- F$ | 2 D9 o" C5 |3 j9 f" J8 M
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Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004