6 R- |; G4 p. n0 B# |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。0 T: r0 n4 f: ~2 D! H* S r
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一些演员私下告诉我，他们盼着立法赶快生效。6 M6 f. u& j' }- ^- X# E7 ]8 _4 J) Z
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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。 6 R3 J) x3 J; r" H) b* r6 p8 Q' u$ P/ x( N0 j- p- u
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。) o# p, y: i3 ^& u$ G% M
* X2 e) _0 M2 s e/ g" I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……. 5 j) W) {; w4 T( ` 8 A8 i& [( p! W1 A U2 j% ?# i5 g2 i. m% u# r) R' b
Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles - k& N4 r" j V% D7 K3 x1 m) L: v
/ P4 {" x' Z2 T8 K6 S$ tCalifornia'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. ( R( ?* o2 e: a# `* [8 D, k5 R4 Y" Q4 y 7 Q6 _: h3 R. l% D) a7 X5 g( g) uLight drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles. 3 C" M+ P6 U: O2 x; Q, Z6 d9 m' q) S2 f2 p
I had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things.! x1 g9 A+ |& ^( N9 t+ }1 x
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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.7 |3 q* M8 {1 ~
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The porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga. ( d D. _8 d, e+ v- s 7 f8 g- A3 ~/ c8 _( f6 qPerformers 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. % i3 @! ?5 X$ R; C: }0 @" P! K
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." {. }* a* |4 z; I5 P9 N: S B! u
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Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed. 9 S2 A% w) }1 i- X 5 @; |7 F* _0 f7 B+ x; qFantasy m. ]! }4 a6 P8 v1 _, `/ Q1 } / z; v3 T6 V) O) t8 IThe 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. 8 O1 C! W6 [+ ^" _/ Q( r$ h# U4 {1 u3 @
The problem, increasingly, is revenue.$ w0 A" y4 z% w2 p8 P2 s
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Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch. N) j7 I5 K& I+ x. @. h6 t + X8 A+ o3 B7 {, u! E% x2 F" t6 mDVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free. 1 d! u4 @- M' [/ I L: j ' w% R: j0 l3 d, IAnd the economic downturn does not help. : _9 E' p, @5 y$ ]5 u+ b8 W0 l! ?/ _. ?9 p
"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully.1 K7 N! ?1 `9 r( C
k8 v& I7 a" c K# e+ d4 |The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations.+ g7 q( n4 v2 W* ~ q
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For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms. 4 ]0 v+ {: `5 P0 X% D, N9 \) s' `3 s
Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set. ( n3 g" h: Z6 G' q( n8 c & K, ~) P6 p: p" jBut the industry says wearing condoms on-screen is a turn-off. The public do not want it, it will kill the fantasy, they say. ( Q( b4 f6 \; e; k# \ 2 O+ R; Q+ v) s( V7 j& P" oGonorrhoea: V, r; V* y& D
3 [# \+ m) o) k; wBack on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers.2 M: v* x1 ?, I& h
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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.. p) U* z! f3 u& ~
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She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. " h5 C# {- Z7 v; P) Z& x# X% ^4 n ' ?2 }5 N, }" w& f"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?"1 G4 h! e/ M1 y4 z: Q
1 h9 c3 W! W7 j: j( i: E \$ M7 IHer 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. " P; I& E+ @8 L# j: ]. n7 F2 A- H( D" O* u
Each day would be 15 hours long.1 ?+ z4 R4 ?8 }
6 S, b; _& d; v. t; O9 |2 q7 ~"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested.' z% ]$ {3 l/ l9 @# a
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"You get used to it," she smiled." @) B( @ S" e
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"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" % `' H$ N' f- j. r. e ' `" {! ?' H! k8 c3 D"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."1 D" `! d t; B9 v+ G9 F
& {4 x0 X! U$ S) v5 UThere was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided.- a! ~9 O+ s2 [8 O, b( g
' a2 p* m( \8 H R+ qExpensive lawsuits f8 Y3 G2 Y& {7 H3 D, ~/ y( u$ _/ v B: s8 J6 k5 L4 [
In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. / M% W. |& T; V' `0 B1 s) j0 H0 z+ R F
A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it., \6 w2 I1 y3 p& ^6 [/ q$ {
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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.$ Y, t8 @3 P9 h- Z6 a
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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.4 T8 A! J8 n: [/ O' D" \
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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?"5 H9 x' K4 S4 x
: ?" M& B2 I- n8 p1 w* W; ~I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment. " ^2 A' S7 h0 ^& k M( \, i# X7 C% `. c' B) ^5 R. G- 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? 1 C1 A6 Y# k8 Y4 d( M8 m/ P0 E3 t" \2 Z; S1 o* [
The authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection. . Q, V5 @, S, O5 S/ W% a 5 |0 r, ]& B$ `1 t- Q' _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. 7 ^( |4 a/ _4 ]) g4 _7 X* H1 N / K8 F: ^$ c# xA number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them. 5 }2 d% u$ l5 Y6 T* s6 h, u! b+ _ $ Q4 V0 v, ^, B; w$ L1 kThe producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants. 9 l7 C7 g& |- z- x, y5 H5 K; w9 p- L; A! I, n
That view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene.+ v+ R! K5 |9 ^/ c" b# B# }3 U
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I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain.6 C) Z% k+ U2 i
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Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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