6 l6 L+ F5 O' X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…….9 R# M, p6 u6 x8 f+ W+ u2 t
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Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles 7 ?: u$ f! x8 D8 x7 d, z% N0 L/ G
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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. 3 j$ D2 z1 i) m# Y' u3 C+ T9 E : \3 k& G# e2 i" N+ b# d oLight drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles. . y7 W+ P+ @) }4 t% U ?& [: G* K$ u+ J; K2 I7 M
I had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things. - t" d' \: Y$ o, _ A2 Q9 [ , c- a& j6 b( h0 B* g, z: {: D9 S6 MWhat I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect.3 ?- ^, Y6 u# t; A$ @# h: C
5 u7 M/ v1 c# ~5 tThe porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga. % M# u1 m- X7 q7 N( G; p- H0 R& F9 r/ Y! S: ^
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.4 m' U3 E% M8 m9 X0 @& {
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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.: d$ z2 [, J' ^7 P" e$ V
9 s( x; r5 A0 H4 S7 A/ {1 gOnly 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed. q" n' s/ A4 f8 Y5 |
% Y7 \( j; Z6 k1 z6 R C2 }( ~Fantasy 2 ]0 E. q; }. B1 Z+ Q1 J9 ~ J * `5 H9 I. F: }4 f. Z+ HThe 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.+ b: w" }4 D( I2 M) b, C
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The problem, increasingly, is revenue.2 n" `' a( g# P5 h
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Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch. " R8 D, Y5 f8 ~( l0 Z/ z* t, l; s: I, w: u$ e7 r4 x
DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free.6 M5 V* v6 W B# J
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And the economic downturn does not help., d! P' o! {8 e9 i, J0 O3 H& J0 j
7 T I* T) L# m% s' E1 x"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully.8 L* F# r9 }0 S% u# z
( E2 W0 d9 C( oThe economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations.7 w* R! H! @. H
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For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms. $ t$ o6 K" Y" g6 {, O1 g4 C6 x" q
Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set.* \- f8 ]4 ?! E
' g2 e, c9 o8 D# h, s1 tBut the industry says wearing condoms on-screen is a turn-off. The public do not want it, it will kill the fantasy, they say.3 ]" T1 p/ ?1 Q) m/ w: m8 i
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Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers.0 W! e% q$ ?* [6 [0 }
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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. 7 I% L9 g* u/ |7 u" Y3 X! _2 q: J/ p8 p
She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure.. O* Y8 ^5 @2 e4 J
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"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?"9 i% i6 V( ^' f) O
: Y% N. E8 j7 H" M- {; A- ~) aHer 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.0 T6 W) H0 p7 U
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Each day would be 15 hours long. 8 |# u; a+ _. I+ ~ 0 F1 s& d! ^" d% L7 Z8 K"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. 5 [- o0 I5 M; G# H' W6 ]9 L% n7 o6 ~" i4 n
"You get used to it," she smiled. n5 `1 L9 I8 Z& V; q" ?8 Q
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"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" 6 _, [4 @9 U; y) E# [1 p7 B9 c
"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."6 @7 b7 X( J* N0 j
) _& [# Y# {% C! u* U2 xThere was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. & M8 \( j" W' Y9 ` 2 o" C* v% `: m2 T3 G! vExpensive lawsuits ! w, O* s% n8 n7 k& M6 t* F4 `7 y* F4 ]0 r4 X
In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business.0 }6 |8 E, g! M. T* p% L) X
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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.0 G0 E' v# l5 c7 B9 ]) t6 h
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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. 9 \1 o5 E; m3 _. ~# x/ K5 _% w& ^ " P9 u" Z U% ^5 s4 ENow, 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.+ O x. Z7 j1 b; z3 a- g- c/ A
$ C. [' [5 H: g% _: b"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?") I8 E& y: F5 B$ s0 i) A+ v
$ h8 C1 y/ E, JI struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment." z3 n) B0 \/ |+ |" q
$ f& M% X8 w% P' @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? * b! `0 o1 z9 M' P$ D ' W4 i" M- m8 B% y7 d; jThe authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection. 8 u( r1 A* S! ^3 s: D8 f ! V7 ]: w+ ? L4 K0 `- gIt 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. ( a8 I; p9 ~/ }& ]: V# o' u# i% e5 i5 z. O2 a" Q/ E5 D: _0 ~; `
A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them.; j$ A s4 z0 k f: l
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The producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants.& c6 C7 D* L9 L& Z
2 U- }0 X4 d7 L. EThat view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene.6 Q3 A$ d. @' h/ c7 S
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I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain.+ J1 x, ~/ ?. Q/ [& y9 L9 h+ ]
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Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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