. n. _3 Q. U( J+ t5 l+ Q, r' X- P一名制片人告诉我,“如果你把我的演员都装在橡胶里面,作为艺术家,我还能怎样表述自我呢”? 3 I" s" {( S2 g' K( g# I( b - v+ W$ F, b# l$ u. r我很难想象,法兰克林和杰弗逊起草《第一修正案》的时候,想到过戴不戴安全套的权利。, f4 F+ \, Y1 r5 ^) E+ d
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但是,我也很难想象,《星际迷航》的粉丝们排着长队去看皮克船长和“进取号”的船员们真刀真枪地“肉搏”。所以,我算老几呢?/ o& W; D% W/ g Y1 s, ]
, e& f H9 U1 f! U但是,当局非常坚决。建筑工人必须戴头盔,矿工必须戴口罩,色情演员也必须有适当的保护。 - u1 q2 ^; k6 u, S4 a1 K $ a- h c* }! u6 Q/ _1 S/ Y+ M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。 % l9 H* S; Z& n; R/ U 2 V: e7 {- T8 N一些演员私下告诉我,他们盼着立法赶快生效。 3 v* s* y; J( c* [% N $ ?' w' D/ w0 D* r# y) u- D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。) n- M; a$ d6 R1 W8 o; C
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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。" O' e4 {/ m! A
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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……. 1 F; V8 v9 r; P7 H$ f4 A" T+ k) m' C" w ^5 b) i% b
3 j6 M2 G6 {. h3 D' Y9 x. HCalifornian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles . V( N' l# ?" y5 ~9 Y* g( P
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California'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.( Y, Z4 c4 k0 ?& Z6 L. k
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Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.7 {" |* |1 B. u" t
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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. * f, h8 ~' y* Z6 a( M3 ] $ P1 D* x1 ^2 |What I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect.0 U7 S/ a4 T5 F4 Q
$ @1 [% K5 b8 w0 kThe porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga. 8 z' A5 J% F1 B* r) m; q: B8 z$ H4 P+ z; w ( m& D1 m0 f/ C# H. d9 B8 ZPerformers 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.# y# }: l" d0 d$ W
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This 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. + z! [& a) ]' ~. N- K( R" A. A/ p, e% J$ p& t5 w Y% a
Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed. & M* r0 N& c7 X$ G8 ^( g- B % A& v2 N$ I# B0 U9 q3 F( \Fantasy: i7 m* P0 R5 | }7 y" w
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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.& T% v2 l8 l6 l9 C/ e" ^
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The problem, increasingly, is revenue. `, v/ }" M4 U4 w
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Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch., `. J6 w2 R# f# ^: {
8 F1 L1 `- u! S' m8 X; r @# YDVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free./ R/ s' Y. K. }. w3 J5 _( L2 ~) J
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And the economic downturn does not help. A& q3 w2 w) x* m9 S& K1 n v- F S . v0 w0 n# w$ @. Y"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully.( V% X9 `/ ?- u T% e. g
: s/ L. y6 G, aThe economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. & _8 |. W- b; B* w9 ?6 Q1 p& f7 V, e* q/ m& R
For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms.* }3 X& R4 a8 A# w9 k$ f, A/ N! p
( H5 W7 |" S( Q: R7 J1 uHealth scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set. # V: y7 a& K: B* A! v2 V) _+ D' J. [$ ]5 v0 e( E3 W
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. . X- M$ \ t& n1 S" M6 M 2 K' e5 {, s+ J9 M; sGonorrhoea + b; _" l p9 S8 k# g2 _) }9 e- Z
Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. ?2 }! b5 K5 S# e# r: U+ F $ U# }. w6 Y) a/ xA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years. # ?- ~7 v, n* V# O) k% n $ @- }, `. [5 \7 i$ p+ W6 H/ uShe turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. 9 m+ L& q: X4 b/ e$ z* L/ y- F9 \9 d
"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" + k7 d6 G7 n. s- X/ V, K ) o' Y0 G& e8 I3 _; q% d# UHer 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. $ c6 ^. t. {+ \9 c + Z4 {& B9 I& n1 \; d. l* \' \$ TEach day would be 15 hours long.3 V( @* R2 t N
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"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested.; @* f' `& {% U$ u% J' E; F" w
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"You get used to it," she smiled. " Z9 f$ w% A( P3 R) f3 i 8 R/ ~: L4 Y k& {6 \5 P8 c! @"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" j: m- q8 u( W. t2 z) y 4 q" ?; v+ e8 \, \"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.": |5 O/ y* X# b7 n4 n, n' N
7 Z `/ n+ w" ]5 \8 {There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided.; k; M' Z# s l
0 I: ?4 [- {7 a. }2 S2 j wExpensive lawsuits # g+ S0 {( Y6 E' D8 T( x# K" @+ O
In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business., |; B. \# k* I2 J; Q6 \/ z5 I
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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. ( r5 c" [ d: t' I/ j$ _. U1 `" l7 y/ h- h
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.0 D% ?% p* Q$ x3 ^
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Now, 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.: b7 U+ e6 ]/ ?2 q; {
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"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?") y2 ]6 w6 _2 x$ ~
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I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment.9 O( K A3 w+ a3 T) b% |
) _( C: R8 r8 d1 S) _( vBut 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?" Y; ?6 k* _0 }5 |
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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. . |1 k8 x4 L: k! y+ k, ]+ _6 c* u0 B
It 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.8 q5 R( u7 }, D0 B% A
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A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them.* W* |0 J+ E6 H4 p
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The producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants.8 X8 B A3 _+ p0 D
5 d+ Z7 U( u# ]! z% g# o$ fThat view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene., ~# |' O! D$ j& N: L
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I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. + t; X* p- o& [* y1 Q/ Z) N: f . Q% T8 L+ J6 z3 {. I ) c s1 c$ v: F( m; f' i4 F) E8 O' E ; t8 P+ H! X" e- [% U8 SCalls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004