# T3 v2 Y( s2 V. z) O) w: h2 }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。 . Z# E$ k j1 b% b. F; ~8 B$ Y" T8 H* q, Z0 }, z
一些演员私下告诉我，他们盼着立法赶快生效。0 ^7 P' o) w2 w" M* v+ j9 i
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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。 & \7 L0 ~9 Y' Q( R5 j. b$ v% P 3 E. }# I7 N# y/ Y% y' M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。. J' M8 N4 o' I# }3 i
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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……. * l9 F" T+ G) C: q( d0 h : ?4 H, T0 z4 q& ` , n b" W$ j* p+ X% yCalifornian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles - T A/ }0 v# k4 U! e7 I
2 y) Q" P6 ^9 s; r9 ~" E8 }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: F/ L ` \
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Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.4 L V/ G! Z8 C7 x% v* O
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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. ) n6 j4 H: e% E r' w" L/ A" F* m8 v$ f6 y7 \
What I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect. 6 {4 U5 s' t5 a% P" z% a/ {3 z+ `- F1 q! R, E) Q" c2 ]. G# s
The porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga. % `. B; F: g/ H" B2 R+ w8 G2 D+ f' \+ M Q/ a( j
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. ! d, q5 `6 `7 s9 z+ I; } : c3 T$ Z# ~/ fThis 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.( R! V& E9 S$ q) _
; U3 ~' @6 g7 y( I0 |7 fOnly 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed.( h- N0 u+ T" c
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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.* P: K' a. v1 V; z& f
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The problem, increasingly, is revenue.& Z9 o* O# d4 e6 u
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Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch. 2 e. Y6 I2 y7 d k9 i! o- i! ^ / O$ P3 a% Y/ Z4 |' E$ fDVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free." v0 a" M* C$ k) w
5 l/ c/ z& t6 W+ C$ GAnd the economic downturn does not help. % l+ v( ?7 {! B$ X& w " \7 w' ~% o3 `: g7 D) I"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully./ O, V: e; e c, e' s/ r# W
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The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. 7 `# a4 Y! z0 p O/ R" c/ x5 Y 7 ]: I: z0 m, A+ B% m7 @. xFor years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms. 6 ?7 ~+ ~9 H0 X( B; M. G' h0 ~2 H6 `/ G7 P8 B
Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set. 1 Q8 d/ }* w7 Z8 Y6 C# B$ E6 @) s: J. s }* k! 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.9 z6 U1 z4 L5 q
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7 T4 J" [7 |0 m# ?' ^Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers.. s- f3 \# o) [3 }# d& |8 U
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A college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years.0 B$ H. y) f. l
1 P$ p& w/ t3 g+ F0 I- NShe turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. ! a+ z7 z3 R/ V8 V. Y2 J% D , Q% L3 L; y. P"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?"4 n% T, i' x- ~" ]: A3 C+ f" X3 E+ f C
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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.7 L) O3 M, n! `3 N9 x# ^
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Each day would be 15 hours long.$ N% f; _1 M$ S3 n% O% G
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"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. 6 g/ {- D$ r! o4 y/ Y( ~' L% a. R5 F" T2 Q( y9 Z
"You get used to it," she smiled.+ b6 ~- \& N' p; Z, ` T
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"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" 9 p+ K* C, o8 Y H( P( n' x+ H* y/ C. g- S9 o' P. i" t
"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 |3 s7 U2 m6 i0 L+ C8 A 0 u' b( p+ ?0 E; QThere was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. ; o- E: n P+ R0 M! Q+ Z " e: Y$ y8 @/ I$ ?+ ~" oExpensive lawsuits / B0 o/ ]( B R+ x q9 W" z# ? m; f9 g0 G; N
In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. + z1 H6 {: C% t( s/ G; [ 1 e7 H" k4 ?1 tA combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it.! E3 {3 f+ u V/ O5 G
~, r B$ k5 {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. 4 n, B$ v) [9 J/ s4 G: ~: e# O 4 \( M8 ^! A' p' c% [# xNow, 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.+ [( S8 f9 c: c# e! p
' A4 J6 l& D- g; @( X"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?"1 {2 G% A" L1 q6 _
' @4 J* m# P) i: q- e5 K7 XI struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment.; y, \: j' }' {( O. a
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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?9 q7 }0 `, c3 {2 ^
% j5 R+ L. R/ o! f9 |* @The authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection.- e8 N: Z3 |( Z7 g
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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.* c+ k% v8 r7 ~6 k3 E
. K8 x' V& r: n- G2 z9 H5 F. EA number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them. ' K8 o: [0 f& E& }9 h. f% b. E8 D' o7 }1 T$ H: z- R) v* S" s) e
The producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants. 4 K. z! O8 u6 C$ \3 `7 x% E9 L) C( u2 |3 _( ~
That view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene.5 Z D7 s( U2 Q$ X7 ]5 |% R; q5 U
9 d5 O# {2 B% A5 `I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. & Z) Z( u2 E5 j: u# I. ^8 k/ n3 C6 C5 k8 M; [ 7 `; \; A! c4 f9 [0 g
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Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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