" @) Z6 z; ?! f. B4 C) J* h/ 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。 3 \; q/ D t) m5 `$ `" U, _$ `
我说,“你一定很累吧”?她微笑着回答说,“习惯了”。2 c% |9 t5 L4 h5 A
% G7 Y* N0 U k* |我接着问,“那么,健康风险呢?你经常被感染吗”? % w- Q$ _( U5 B) R2 R1 {1 z4 H/ d5 W5 R t4 T( }# s6 u
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。”' ?) ^) k' O" g0 A6 G" l
" B I# u- v5 J6 n- R9 h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。 / \1 H8 W6 ^2 Z ' a2 D$ g$ w4 u% W1980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。 _5 B! V4 b3 { i
不戴安全套的权利 6 X, a, M. R$ Q3 i7 x' J9 S9 l3 p0 G' f3 j1 p8 U
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。 . ]4 A2 f0 w) j3 g- H# @ ! A5 a. k |! I1 I: n$ ^$ K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”? ) \* w: T8 H' S* l$ _3 E) ? ! [9 d9 ], M3 q3 u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。 - _" f, A' `# \2 T2 c + l/ q0 ?9 v7 C9 ~# j' N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?9 n9 Z7 h( w D" n5 I' C
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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。2 ^- z4 Y/ N H$ N, }4 A
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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。 2 J0 |* [0 e9 j) T ; R, ^: i$ D/ k$ k5 U9 g* J一些演员私下告诉我,他们盼着立法赶快生效。3 E. s( j* E2 B9 \5 u6 S3 ?0 \
$ `' T2 H9 W: E# x' f8 E ]# K4 w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。9 t' Y$ @3 I7 S
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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。* k8 G4 t$ k7 l7 e
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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…….. w5 o0 V& U" p1 W) l, K
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Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles ' F. Y$ o, Q& f/ l4 R* m) b \
; Y( E3 h* a5 t$ d5 c% g( @! GCalifornia'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. 5 k. h& W/ h; x% @$ ]+ O' Q7 R6 Z" t7 p& \2 ~3 C3 y. W
Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles. O: a6 z% K3 D# _1 t) C
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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. 4 p7 O" w: Z- a, w: `4 P. O, J0 p8 X9 D. E; r4 U
What I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect. - D' k: F! _) b- p1 F7 s$ V+ N( U; U0 f, D* N6 f% D( u
The porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga.' h$ Y# d" c6 k
$ R2 q- z1 f! _. E8 i g3 c+ O6 C3 xPerformers 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.# t5 v& O- d% e
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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.0 z* d; V- B( g# P
( ?& U& o/ z% i; Q* E+ [' rOnly 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed./ ]4 G( {$ |% S9 h7 g: g$ `7 h& C
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Fantasy5 {# i1 i2 O/ s9 e- d# \
& I. B! o4 k! E! c, jThe 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. 9 t |! d1 j/ X0 H q$ }+ T; ~! M" H$ w, M. o, [% X
The problem, increasingly, is revenue.: L' h" e* [* N' _+ O+ w, T h. L
+ C3 y4 Y) f9 T4 qLike the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch.* F7 Q# ]2 ~: e) E5 v
& p/ b5 Z. a, ^' A( `( s pDVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free.+ ^, T& y3 b7 N& n
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And the economic downturn does not help. ' ?0 e- S# f1 u. K% X* J. E8 E9 L. I3 s/ U& C6 N% ]+ q
"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully.% {( y; ^3 Y" R4 B& `7 w& B* s
( M6 Z$ L9 m! Q1 _! UThe economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations.! o% T) y( J; o8 h' s3 a' K1 r
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For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms.% o& Z' F4 a/ E
8 F. R! h+ l. Y, r* VHealth scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set. ) V% I. ?' U, v) a0 R7 X4 Q " N; j5 c# U1 q: z4 |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 Z7 Q+ `( ^' O& S( W/ O3 a1 z( t9 ^! j1 H7 k' ]+ A8 h- P% E% F5 s
Gonorrhoea' C6 P+ t( e2 A9 ?
! h8 J W& v* |0 {Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers.+ e* M2 M" N# S& f
1 h7 C* y5 C& t; QA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years. ; Y. {3 T; F9 h% D( y2 [6 Q8 K$ f T8 R* {
She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. & | z1 p6 F/ E$ L& E6 B1 u- {" o: y! E8 X2 V% R' V; R
"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?"0 d; Y4 o* [# F. {7 X) u
) P- x; P! t7 G$ Q# w- 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.; u- A! i; k+ }; L" p( D7 P" Z+ p
& g+ V$ S* r- u9 oEach day would be 15 hours long. / U9 E8 o) C' q5 { B8 ~; E* u4 ~/ @% s0 `' ]* Z8 X1 x2 O' ^6 _3 @. V
"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested.+ \: i: y, d6 W l; N8 N$ e
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"You get used to it," she smiled. ' u, N- b4 N0 s% I: E/ K( N" H2 s3 e! h& p9 s8 Q
"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?"* N9 t8 _; t- i3 ~
0 [* S6 P, ]% i% m7 R2 j"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." , q, m; j8 c( O) G4 S % N7 s) r5 Y* C0 P' x4 [There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided.% I/ G# E7 M0 O2 ?
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Expensive lawsuits2 `1 i1 r$ R2 e* I. k: ^& l: [
2 G# J8 ` u8 w' SIn fact there was something very Californian about the entire business.7 v" ~; y+ J( h+ n" s C5 z# S
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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.2 `8 L; O: \0 w& O, z6 ^& P
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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 _- I6 g1 U) m, ^. @
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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.3 d- K: U2 g; g( W
. z0 [ S: _0 |" @"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?" , v {$ K$ k' n3 R1 [. R4 n" C) b, C6 L k9 N
I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment.3 t7 D1 V- A2 X, x" 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? 0 D6 S3 u9 J& N3 V% J6 x % [; w+ s% T* aThe authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection. # T7 \0 G! E2 Q" U& | : Y* w3 E/ g9 D6 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.8 U" F% T. P7 [$ \& t" O' f
. i( L, u2 j$ O3 J0 W$ r* RA number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them./ N- z1 R) \: a- S" ~/ S
; d( l( |! a! J% _* w8 r2 F; zThe producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants.) p7 G& d# t2 E( ] b3 q8 f
c2 i( B& g5 ~4 K# K* K8 Y6 IThat view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene. / Q6 }2 Q% r/ o1 |! U. ^' P$ P* Z+ y. n, z
I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain.. H5 G2 h5 q- p5 c. B1 O5 {
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Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004