u7 s* H9 C L4 F宝碧说,改行做色情电影演员,主要是为了追求性探险。她说,“这是找乐趣。身边的人都高高兴兴,你有什么可烦的呢”? 2 G% r9 c* b p8 C' N/ I5 | d5 z# d) j5 l8 L" o% \) t8 G* R# R
当天,她的日程安排得很紧凑,两句台词,四小时的性爱。星期二试装,然后就去接受每月一次的体检。宝碧每一天都要工作15个小时。5 E' j. |: V7 B
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我说,“你一定很累吧”?她微笑着回答说,“习惯了”。- U2 X8 Q9 J. T- s9 a' Q/ U
: B) r/ k A* V% \: _我接着问,“那么,健康风险呢?你经常被感染吗”? , |% l1 q( O9 F% w6 ?; C2 d1 }/ z" s4 `
她说,“也就是染上过一两次衣原体,还有淋病,除此之外,没什么大不了的。我们每个月都体检,得了病,赶紧吃药,然后就又能回去上班了。没问题。”3 d' A: V, B- {# O7 h
- ]3 P$ X8 ?* @" J: ]我看,宝碧人很“加州”。进一步说,整个色情电影业都有点“很加州”的意思。有执著的热情、反叛的心态,还有一点点自由主义者反抗压力的顽强。 6 G) |, A+ g- I/ F, w. `7 F: i0 r* O" v
1980年代,官司一直打到高等法院,色情电影在加州才得到了合法化的地位,正式与普通意义上的嫖娼卖淫划清了界限。 . _9 k2 f1 u/ f! v' M; ~5 p不戴安全套的权利 Z2 i) w' O2 b
: A+ V( Y" [) q0 ^+ q. |( M现在,我遇到的许多人都说,不戴安全套的权利是宪法赋予的言论自由权利的一个关键部分,正如美国的立国之父指出的那样。( ?1 l: Q1 m' g7 i. U' {, R
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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”? " _( q! }/ f- X! D1 N- c, D9 a2 S % ^6 N* L, f9 }. V* a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。- L$ b1 W. ]4 x z, t
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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? & ?4 P: d. I4 q6 H! C: h4 U0 M: A) W: M, H6 o
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。 8 s5 a1 j$ m" d9 H) s # h4 y* d# z2 u4 M7 U1 s9 u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。$ o4 W6 y8 e* N3 z# N( ^
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一些演员私下告诉我,他们盼着立法赶快生效。$ X& T, L/ i" }4 c9 j) [1 r- C
/ Q- ]& W+ }0 e" e8 u: F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。 ! Z1 C5 ^# [. h - c J' ~; H* P1 G. `* \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。, e( W3 J7 ]/ P O" i& x
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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 i/ k$ C: Z4 U2 D' b" U; W9 k3 ~2 q/ v: E
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Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles ( h' o6 ^: `+ k- L1 F1 L ; z: G! V, c: d4 qCalifornia'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.& o* M; r% i4 U6 y# _8 `
/ C$ b5 o Q0 B% T0 ]$ c8 {0 R4 i* bLight drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles. 0 N% s' f" R5 R; h9 j & D0 D$ w3 ]: ?) @I had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things.: A& S. }. H+ D% ?5 X8 s
1 _+ ]' h. \$ i4 ZWhat I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect. ( f( w, f; g6 d, A: d8 {2 h % f6 R& N& o$ x/ X/ |' jThe porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga.+ J) Q- L v3 u5 e, n7 a
' V" G" [; B0 n" GPerformers 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.& l& s9 u w: B2 c7 E+ W, v" Z: a
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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. . |/ s) e# B% U1 v2 U3 l* b- |7 u& V' b- h
Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed.: [+ v. J a! C4 Q
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0 `# `# v g0 P+ v+ ~7 F# |' x0 B/ zThe 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." E: r) S; C3 S" C
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The problem, increasingly, is revenue.7 r* ]5 ?* V( u+ ^5 D3 h6 o; I
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Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch. 3 _# G8 u' Z, _& s8 B( q/ ~! P, y$ P* }5 l( q/ ?
DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free.# j6 a" H2 L: L, U4 B
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And the economic downturn does not help.! Y7 N3 E( {# z% Y
1 t4 S% ^* j5 _. T( H4 S"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. / L4 @# X6 ]" s. C$ ]+ e + j+ \: \, R7 p7 M! K$ nThe economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations.! X4 @8 Q7 X! n$ h
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For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms.5 D- Z7 o1 ^( {% m8 i
% @6 Y1 r- F- }. M2 U9 AHealth scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set. / o1 s+ P& G# L/ W1 O( o + n( I, h6 Z( o* \ ^4 M% i) {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. ( B4 n7 L- d/ o5 @. t" L * }, V8 ~& O4 m/ [+ g5 S. ?Gonorrhoea # f0 k% o/ y: J9 c8 v$ F % I% j2 [6 v. c0 I' L$ nBack on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. 1 t3 n& o, k/ {) M$ i: P , C% l( F# J0 n3 N! u" g) ]A college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years.( K, J& ?1 p* y& u
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She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. i' o# F! Q* l2 e9 b k1 X- o; }' g0 W"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" 8 S3 N( |! P$ f% @! P9 Y. g) d% ]7 d7 V0 x
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. . x5 `7 H, o+ Q6 [2 @ 2 H: s: }5 e/ K& u nEach day would be 15 hours long./ D! a( {! {, @: Q
& r- h2 `, V) i1 _( s0 P"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. 5 W1 G- U4 k" R9 j0 B+ ^0 F2 ]% r# M4 E- g' j. ~: T( O
"You get used to it," she smiled. 3 y8 C) y5 r) R: O( Y6 a5 P6 {, R6 D& v) q* M m" {
"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?": l8 Z9 z5 ^) R; `/ z
: O" q) h# p1 X: t# i"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 Q& l% Z, m$ @1 Y7 ]; i; U- F" C6 T% ^. K ?% q5 L: a
There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided./ P1 b! L! j% k3 V" ?: E( c
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Expensive lawsuits4 j4 l: h1 m" V2 Y" z* f+ P- _% ]
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In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. + D \. T$ [* n/ s - ?. \! f Y3 Z6 d; Q4 GA combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it. 8 F/ ?2 n% E7 B' w) M% H% M 8 ]8 e$ r2 \( ]5 m+ P3 AIt 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. + Q. c$ N# n0 \( q, n. Y% F2 i- d- c: ~" i6 P w
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.8 N# V8 N% e. E' ]( w
$ Q6 J8 G8 V/ u$ D- p8 q"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?" 6 `( d5 o; B$ u" |) [9 |, F5 X * h P' H. u/ _0 l- n7 wI struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment. 3 I/ o" P! m* p- I+ @4 n2 h+ ~+ ?" V w# s+ {
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?3 A$ \0 d8 E, a) n! J! E! k
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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. + _) X: H1 d1 n3 F8 N9 {- Q7 R 5 }" H) X6 X3 ?: B: A" E; yIt 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.4 A" u4 j0 {3 t
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A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them. 8 ?. x* C" d$ N/ m0 E, G7 D0 K5 k; G
The producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants. G# m" w0 L* X& k6 a# V5 e: f6 m
That view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene. 6 q6 i- U0 `- M% ~+ G 9 G3 d/ Y. J5 s5 F' _- sI decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. 1 D% G6 @7 {- \; X7 a6 A . p/ E+ ^& r5 D b7 i * m. a |$ t; d- ^) G. `7 P$ A * c, H# W4 z5 g; L 9 ?( z1 Q1 a2 J4 Z2 z) ~Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004