' r) j8 h& e# G: X; ?" G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？6 s: i. v5 d6 n
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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。* w5 i# R0 e+ E% g: a( O
! A0 C# _! I; F3 I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。- }; I# B1 @) q
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一些演员私下告诉我，他们盼着立法赶快生效。1 m$ U& t3 q" I, _
. Y. A- j4 u( N2 e2 {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。! z( b; ?$ a5 s# |& Y
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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。3 Q6 |/ M& Y3 @( F2 J; k1 ]; J4 o' p
6 ^+ [) Y; o% k" n, j) @6 L5 |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…….* \# n: _( M! y3 k
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Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles " A6 Q. H1 Y d \1 ^) F# q" Y K
6 V! F4 Q$ C+ C6 Y! U* ~5 ~2 I0 oCalifornia'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. ; K) F1 o1 A$ v0 n+ _2 a3 P. s7 G6 q8 K& O; r2 L
Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles. @; Y Q# _- A" T& S( d# a6 v! ~5 G/ _3 s
I had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things. ' d% S" b; t* |9 y 7 q: F* J5 i( p/ ^What I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect.4 s! |( d, d/ ^3 Z6 F/ _
6 B8 ]$ f! E8 i: bThe porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga.- A: o( ]- e8 R9 U3 \
9 B4 k& ~! S B2 E* Q: Z' z, hPerformers 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.; V8 I* i/ X5 g& T+ n& |. J. X
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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. & B3 G/ \& ^0 A4 `4 V; E" B+ U& F0 z7 ` + E; \8 b3 U& B% Z9 V R/ k- QOnly 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed. ! g1 U0 N5 `$ N8 f* } ! k# ^' T# H# M$ ~ i+ [) x* o. DFantasy8 i7 H! u; k7 r$ \
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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. : r; {0 v( D" U $ R/ T) D- Q1 O5 F4 O8 eThe problem, increasingly, is revenue. 4 `) t3 S6 } }$ R D. Q6 W; e* f6 t. e1 @; L" a L
Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch.6 O) c- z8 V- p& E( \( D
* C- u) J: |% R" v, c( oDVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free.4 Z3 e0 \) ]! c' V, S3 g
6 n b) C7 t" e1 D% NAnd the economic downturn does not help. 1 }5 s# v+ y; Q( x+ `8 L6 @ M2 k4 E7 M9 d* U% K B* ~$ A8 Q H
"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. 3 D) b/ O% }9 N9 ?8 W; D- ~' h ' X4 f; C0 G# VThe economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations.5 k e* s- L4 @. q1 g6 H
5 i. Q8 R4 U: H6 w6 {7 ~For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms. 3 `6 R1 h% v" z% f/ } r8 ]+ q$ `& z8 Z; Y' g5 S* L0 Q- YHealth scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set. 3 C) U) w0 z3 j2 C& M2 o, R 5 O% c2 [0 N7 l/ [/ U1 r6 wBut the industry says wearing condoms on-screen is a turn-off. The public do not want it, it will kill the fantasy, they say. , d. ]. q# w5 A' ^1 ?/ ?6 i1 c# [" Y0 R5 @
Gonorrhoea . d+ ?/ i+ V- T " ^; [ l# J8 A7 d; W& mBack on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. / `/ s2 i. [) } * k4 K0 Z5 o, T r2 i# LA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years. ' g/ l; s5 v8 ^ w+ S5 x: b ' a: d% K' x3 u, HShe turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. 7 G' s. c' R# E' C2 O' s+ @" P- A7 @' J 5 K2 S2 C3 y: _8 Q+ u"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" S! w0 B# K. x5 H. W
( H' N) o' `9 j' [7 |: l$ oHer 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. A# T, ` s. [! _3 i. v# I! i- J7 v8 W$ f( e
Each day would be 15 hours long. . B) f+ z2 S* a9 ` a+ d) U& v0 Y, a6 k$ d/ B3 E
"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. 8 e2 O, B4 G/ p6 P" r* D' d* C) J9 S ( I# W0 A1 o0 K7 g"You get used to it," she smiled. : O' V0 G0 T( Y& ?" w$ x0 h / y( J* J% I8 G1 c"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" $ Y1 @+ w' B& c- Z4 [4 D- T }% y. f" q( F
"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."2 W) d8 \* Q, R
) z" f( w0 C6 i4 Q6 X$ X% B) U% T; h7 _There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. 2 F( |+ @8 G( H% @& @1 c : X# ~: C9 b* y7 rExpensive lawsuits0 U: v7 O3 @+ y( Q+ n( d
+ Y z6 i" d" q4 P3 j3 X, zIn fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. , g" L1 W) g2 ~3 V- H$ m+ M ; V0 T, ` Y6 j& D& B( D# P( MA combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it. 4 ]6 A4 p% i% ?: k7 p" j: G9 e+ t& k$ T% u
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. 7 U$ L F6 Q/ V3 b 9 w5 S4 P# c9 I! w* WNow, 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. ! r+ a2 J& ?: }9 N ( P- R. W* i7 N# {4 s! J! F3 |! o8 f"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?"6 E }3 U: o$ Z) r; b ~" M& T
8 x; q# @7 Z7 Y4 c1 P3 u3 m CI struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment. " p) G8 w. \2 m* d- P" V, W J" ?/ `. T9 H9 ]
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?7 n) i+ w) `' c2 C9 A- k6 w5 F
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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. * Q# S' ~& c+ }' X+ B4 l9 @. e6 n" O; s( L8 e
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.! D) w# I. t1 i& c2 k+ x9 t1 b# Q
3 o3 R9 `1 w' rA number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them.6 S) e' ]$ e1 ^$ K
& N# b* G# B7 g) Z1 kThe producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants.+ |; Y* D% Y# g1 j2 [! b
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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. {0 N9 @0 Y4 G2 ?: T) f5 g 1 p# g2 _1 g7 @& ]I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. ! a+ M0 k' W# ~% E3 F. o+ r" a8 S6 G0 c$ f; h% g , Y" T& i+ K4 o2 F$ i2 i3 r `4 L$ `7 j3 s+ k. S5 D F+ x* A1 a* N* Q
Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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