0 L0 Z- p/ A# d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…….8 ?+ o% w2 u- I6 g2 z1 h( M
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# d2 i" R" }- O p; g" F. o1 M: |Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles ' a+ i2 t9 j+ i+ b8 t- ?( h( e# N z0 k0 [2 [/ y2 k7 ?9 K- ICalifornia'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. 3 f0 G& h3 O: g$ f8 L) G8 u5 W# i7 `" e" o7 ^
Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles. h: U s0 w6 z( c" F2 n; U/ g 3 |7 N* \% I9 F/ Y' N9 f+ RI had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things.5 w' x. \" R$ n% H; @
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What I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect. & u' n; a, P( X* _" R( Y( X: O) p* T; o3 |2 Q. ~' t# d
The porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga.1 v' P& S0 n% l: j
* K- n7 g. W' a! kPerformers 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.8 k. u) b; ? G+ z
: x; u* \' K5 F% p1 nThis 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.6 B+ A2 X+ k; Z9 u
! V3 j1 l4 m+ i U9 _+ {5 U& OOnly 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed./ Y! m: g9 Q. C! s d9 I" {
9 j! R: A0 A( j- W9 hFantasy3 c6 l. J' P" ?
( V. m8 s" e: E7 Q8 \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. 2 a. ~; E& ?$ P' d0 l6 J8 i [- T, l7 x' n; Q6 F
The problem, increasingly, is revenue. 5 b, ?3 l, P# t+ G, d; }: t2 j4 ?( ` Z6 c ?
Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch. & Z: w7 w6 s; ]+ i- I( @& s8 g% ]' x% [
DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free.6 T: `. N. U. b2 m! [0 }
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And the economic downturn does not help. . q2 i& C# ~1 l7 _- h+ v6 `6 ]& ^8 x4 i0 P6 y
"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. 2 d: z% Z! f( _+ ^ S" P 0 D3 ~/ q( z, U) v% _" gThe economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations.6 ]! Y' [7 |8 J8 ?. {! r
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For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms. % a A& ]: g6 k) l" Z+ U' U- }! j2 J/ {( ?8 u
Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set. 3 l( t! \ i7 C% x0 O/ G$ { R" w/ U. n7 t' Z5 R: ~6 p
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. ( a: [ s1 E7 d) }% P/ d# v5 o5 A D& d+ n; C
Gonorrhoea" e" C' n8 M2 h" }
r/ W7 y3 W; F4 J# d" jBack on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. # Y: E# R8 U5 {4 ?+ c4 J' R. h ( q- ^( ~% Y& F0 F: fA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years." ?, h7 d6 @) }3 p& K& }5 y
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She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure.3 R% p1 c6 f6 y" r
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"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" 6 k9 Q/ h, y% H. Q3 E! a$ I5 B0 r* I0 G- C5 f) W4 s- I
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.1 ?) V+ t! j( n* N: @: M! }, f
) n& {5 m( |7 {+ a( y* ?7 [ c OEach day would be 15 hours long." B; V+ o" `- F) f
: L5 w) d; s- C"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested.# u" _3 \8 m4 T9 e5 h# M& v
f2 s4 L5 b# J6 q"You get used to it," she smiled.+ o& F: [: r2 y% C
0 S4 K* C+ n0 U7 _: C6 c3 ?" m"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" ( l. V2 c& u0 ?4 b, p* W h( ]. L) ]" ~6 }3 L" G( b$ x3 n1 N
"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." " K, X- G* U$ p" H 9 d# A: M/ P$ c& M2 dThere was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided.) m0 {$ l& B: ~3 ]! C
# s1 T0 v, |# B g! C8 YExpensive lawsuits ( }$ O1 n$ S* j" P9 `$ Z . L6 f; O( ^( S! x3 F" L( _/ DIn fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. 0 g; a3 A d2 [* P+ Y 3 J. t- G B* b2 |2 Q! N O% G {A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it. 0 L. d, A2 w- V3 n0 R1 ] 0 s( m5 P6 j6 eIt 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 g/ Y3 ^ \4 Q- ]4 l, Y6 u ( k# I! x4 o& p0 N' W* L3 T8 \0 J5 B% KNow, 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. 2 Z9 H# ]) @4 \7 W 3 `2 \) w: P- b$ r"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?"4 L2 C* V: z5 S: D6 ~& P
8 k# V% z% T* m2 p$ |1 g3 ?9 g1 fI struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment.. w$ n7 o0 M2 e# k
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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?0 @; J! Y0 j4 X$ N T0 I4 R
5 Y/ l* E m/ L+ a% k8 wThe authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection.$ ~. H+ H4 F) y7 @
, C' W1 r: M1 f8 q. VIt 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.3 q Y2 N4 t- d' @* o9 K& E
1 ]& Z6 c3 R7 W3 zA number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them.3 ^5 H' d) N5 z8 t7 Q
- M* ]( @* q/ T4 F1 T# g, VThe producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants.7 g9 p5 \$ V. P4 t: Y
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That view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene. , i: h( P3 N+ Y* E) X) W- D4 B* c) Z; B* t3 z$ M
I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. # g4 i0 S$ z8 a- }% W/ B 7 d7 l2 @2 w1 b 7 ~7 h/ ?! }* L( J3 k9 a4 r" `; S/ x; f4 [! w: ^# I7 a ( u" k' X$ y, t; i# T0 F
Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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