# m9 C7 ?7 i2 s% K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……. % k; w, y, v' n1 z8 A% ]. {* r# G: }; l8 k2 o% S
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Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles % p# S7 p2 k, U: R# `" Q , U' U8 N/ l0 T" L" l7 zCalifornia'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. - V; Y& J) ]( r, m9 s$ O ( M' _" T' c! d" }+ w$ aLight drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles. $ d. }& w$ f+ U* t$ q+ a8 [) Y7 O3 F
I had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things. & ^5 ?) j' q: j5 Z & e+ R3 n8 U- u: EWhat I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect.9 o2 r5 g% t8 v- h( j
3 V# U. r# @# I3 V) EThe porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga. - W. p E6 G% u! X 6 |/ e0 n- X! Q: D) _! M o) VPerformers 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.# |! B6 a% h+ U! N% [. ]
6 Z: v7 a% n* p8 G( W2 cThis 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." V# f% Y+ b% R
9 h5 K; T) b8 K1 |" qOnly 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed. ) @4 \6 d5 L8 i& \- d; `! c* X9 r. ?$ J' n \& l3 I
Fantasy" I6 E3 W. z6 [4 ^1 e) B5 u
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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.# J+ t* f. v5 R/ G6 [ G1 }
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The problem, increasingly, is revenue. 7 \+ x: E! }, | 9 S: q) g2 ?$ N+ R6 U4 I0 LLike the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch. Z# v0 L0 ?3 f8 A- X $ @8 J( m; I0 S+ U- \; TDVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free.1 i. A3 N' X; K7 W7 G
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And the economic downturn does not help.; h1 @# M; z2 G, N. m$ J) u
; K- V6 u6 H& @% ~- b( a4 Z( v( Z"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully.) J- x" e4 a3 Q2 n
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The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations.4 ~4 t" |# Y% u$ a# g( r9 _4 Y7 c
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For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms.4 B% v0 q# T' I, @0 _+ O# D4 Q
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Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set. # O- S ~' R1 ^9 y F K 9 E' c! e# ~. V) ]! n$ f$ b! RBut the industry says wearing condoms on-screen is a turn-off. The public do not want it, it will kill the fantasy, they say.' n3 E9 r( X* m1 U4 V4 g
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Gonorrhoea f4 t, X3 M) U2 L+ C5 s- \8 `
" u* f5 [5 F: X5 A/ YBack on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. 5 Y1 |& N5 @. i$ W7 m: c% f2 M; s9 |! S! _3 X
A college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years.$ e! z6 e9 ]3 B% o: ~
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She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure.* k( P2 g I6 V8 x n
6 a' _9 L! A. R/ q( P"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" % ~; A1 m3 v$ K2 }0 `; m4 R' O9 t ! l3 p1 B) w9 e0 ?; w% K# V1 ^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. 5 e# h `0 A6 }9 C* Q5 l1 j6 \: o$ U " Y; Z/ R/ y" B9 K4 oEach day would be 15 hours long." g4 X/ }, Z* R( N6 K
S& K8 Y. F, e* `"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. " { F( g6 \+ c9 N4 W: w9 d5 U P) e; m3 P7 @# x8 o
"You get used to it," she smiled. & w) P. H1 V X" K# _1 Z1 {; ~1 p2 O
"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?"% q7 v; r0 a6 }9 w! ?2 s0 j
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"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." + X4 o0 h0 h+ _6 f( \' j6 S8 w+ i X4 |$ P1 H" z
There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided." D, B3 t# b! X* [
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Expensive lawsuits. S1 _7 i1 A) z6 ]4 k) k
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In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. : Q- J$ { R/ N+ I : |2 l: v0 E- D: a+ o6 AA combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it.6 K' N" P' l! n1 J2 O
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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., @+ o. F- h' }+ W! @+ Z
1 m/ j1 G3 p: v: u( i9 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.8 z0 C* i3 A4 ~! V) r
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"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?"9 s. l, @2 ^) O& N$ b8 ^5 H( m- z
0 f( L& o$ D5 t# ~. N6 kI struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment. & D6 [; T+ i7 o/ t& U1 B. T( r. q- x, c( Q9 I
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?) q7 o4 u+ g( {9 Q
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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.! t% n% ^# x% M; {* e( s- x
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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." |; Q* N% l! g% d# {5 A$ j: s
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A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them.2 P9 @3 g* T8 r8 o/ L7 y
7 ` @" o- N$ l- K# QThe producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants. " [3 A" y* g7 ~3 ] ; {0 M: u9 H* FThat view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene. % d) A$ V1 Y% \4 P5 i- q( a5 j3 R0 o 6 f3 W! B6 }6 @( j5 K+ EI decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain.+ \. [* S; v. t3 A& J$ V9 Y
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Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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