H x% f7 ^5 G5 a! o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。, ]0 Y! ~: E: Q6 M Z3 N" V7 z" @
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1980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。" {* _2 u. S2 J$ ~9 n! b
不戴安全套的权利 $ v4 {3 {9 K& p4 b: T 4 u/ ?9 b1 F5 H* X) A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。: x7 l2 v! r/ M# I
" m, h, O+ {! F; v' X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”? 6 g0 F& ?2 l& d# Z/ T+ M1 O% t, c$ {
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。 ; \" z, {# U7 K6 a( E9 k 1 y8 y/ P, A6 x5 f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?# R r _; a5 }* Q! Q/ `/ D+ i
5 r7 a% T) i5 p8 K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。 # x+ A+ K) o7 K) L. i7 k 8 H: v2 B, x5 T, B* W L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。9 H& h; H; d6 G$ m, N3 ^9 Q
4 R( f+ H# g/ H9 H7 w/ z- w一些演员私下告诉我,他们盼着立法赶快生效。 1 o {% ]) \$ V8 C % |& o$ F: J: w4 X1 r# o1 ?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。 ' ^* r( A5 ~; T; Q# a# t. [2 f; M' T: ^
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。 ( C3 U6 ?$ U5 R5 v' ], g: U) d8 {3 C! L u8 w
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…….; Y8 T! n& O! y% i; Y0 ~! k, ]- v
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0 H( A3 @3 a/ X0 E# g- ECalifornian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles ( J }' G5 Q u2 U( N
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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./ r, e" o; k: P% \ H% u# v+ ]+ b
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Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles. M2 w; O# G' @6 Z( a ; n# w/ {' o5 vI had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things. ' ~! J+ B, T- W: [& N, d* C 0 R' Y- u! n* I" x( C( TWhat I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect.- f" t j& G* r9 U* b; v% d7 g
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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./ _: ^' |' U6 x3 S* E( ?
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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. 3 A8 B& j2 n: O. g; A & Z: b% }0 Z. h7 sThis 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.8 N/ P. b/ T- G$ }) I- g
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Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed.1 `: A, H. y( O+ z+ Y2 Z1 { ^0 ^
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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. 5 {! ]) M" W& O1 y6 b) c9 d, h1 z) X4 n0 S6 X& X/ c! c2 [" B V
The problem, increasingly, is revenue. * ^" o) |' d$ L0 c $ P$ {! S |" e/ r# pLike the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch.( s. y% C+ Q0 {8 b( a. t5 Q/ G% z' p# o
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DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free. % g$ n8 _9 q, E7 p2 I$ @/ e 8 R4 d7 i5 r- Z# w7 z& U) [And the economic downturn does not help.9 U) g/ N, K, K2 ]( C/ m
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"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. $ s& Z( a- p) u. j; D5 k+ h# A3 I6 D! E( V0 e$ E9 ^ {! r k6 ~
The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. 4 p. e# r* }3 o' I5 i" [ $ v7 {, o# P+ BFor years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms.1 n% q4 h& Z$ v' Q" e/ {
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Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set. " b) Z' v% ?+ x- D2 U3 ~# g. g& |" u
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. % X0 Y( ?" A3 ?6 H5 k' E: V 4 G# S- {) Z* T8 l2 wGonorrhoea' x D( L; w4 U! @1 D/ u, B
6 [3 E% t; A- ^* `. Z' EBack on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. 2 J) Z" u+ J8 H: e" L9 K) B' ~ 8 G3 a. S5 @6 X- K3 U! z6 }$ l) a* ZA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years. * p1 \; O, `, x4 i" n* {4 y1 e' [8 `& k% H# A6 p) j
She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure.; h) U% [+ C' P! a. t0 m
4 A7 X* F/ v2 D3 j"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" + E; W- f1 i0 R- [: A1 ^0 J, ~: J0 _" t1 l
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. % r+ ?) v1 m. C ' B( m& Y: \$ ?% ~3 {Each day would be 15 hours long. , c/ P$ H/ J+ v. R) O- i) A# u$ j) ?: I3 Q( N) E
"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. ) a2 f T6 h2 R. z- T 8 p1 d. ~6 L3 }' ]% J. E% g1 i"You get used to it," she smiled. " M: u) O. U1 p7 c * m( Q6 R4 ] ]6 H4 g% J"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" " }" w3 x3 [9 u6 N; v# z, p; U + F0 l8 e% j* q9 z4 u"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."8 y, b* `- J9 y3 L/ \) Z
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There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. ' f6 F9 b |# N7 z" E* @* {! G8 V
Expensive lawsuits/ V3 d% w: l8 x) k& G3 F* L
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In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. $ G$ {( k6 _8 E% b7 F( F1 {8 u. C+ v: t$ u . [7 q. j. m) _4 [- HA combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it.1 N! ?0 F* L; s+ Y; e
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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. ) h" R' f: P [ 9 o/ {. D. N# ]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. ( U4 D& m7 J' i3 I9 `5 S& ` X 8 F: [) X* z+ \& F- t1 h"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?"/ P3 S, i9 d5 f( ]' {
" V. @* m6 Z3 E6 [& iI struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment.. O9 U0 Z6 B) |' \8 x7 R; u) }
H* N5 B6 f7 WBut 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?4 `$ d$ i- |" |; ~7 E& p
8 Y! r: ]% n. w* \The authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection. T! n: ?7 D! ^2 Z, Z; y7 M. G 8 k- \# C& \# s; F8 dIt 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.- W) @+ |$ G6 n2 o& q# C& S
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A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them.; E: V' j; l7 @. L" F% b5 y" G( t
6 ~& O F" g) f S- b$ \1 d" p" }The producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants.4 P# `8 ^, k- c- `3 U
* ~7 I5 F' O/ x i* A; aThat view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene.# K" n4 N6 a$ v
$ Z B$ C1 k3 A3 I" A' JI decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. v2 C; g( W6 m; I$ D5 Q+ |
9 e! }. z* d3 p7 N% N( x$ d" A " s8 k4 ~+ o5 v: H# y- q+ V: q. F# e " y2 V s- Y+ a- |+ |+ ? 9 r R+ o: j( {! y, [# HCalls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004