7 Y+ j) i& k, X" n% V5 R6 g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。 ; N" e) a% i% y ]3 R8 ?+ e' ~( [+ |- ? L5 Z
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”？ * N" ~, [) N# R6 E4 H. g- H. j0 z8 ? 0 M: `0 t& e+ F5 R$ A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。: V/ b7 I2 o7 X* R
8 H# U) ?$ F5 Y ? I! W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？ 5 w9 t" X8 [& s ; A l8 c2 a' |! T: ?- |5 D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。 # }# I# P# l2 k - n' O2 K k1 }7 l3 y: X% \# M# C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。; |& \' b% T: A+ |/ h$ T
6 B9 \5 m! G. R5 o4 H' ]; n6 _) M一些演员私下告诉我，他们盼着立法赶快生效。& x. e( U ]# n) K+ z2 ~0 U! N
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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。 - M' G5 k) O4 B/ U8 C; M1 x8 N2 @3 i: s3 N! _7 ?2 y& s2 o- v, M
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。 & z' |$ o: F/ ^$ T2 O" F% j7 V% Y( D4 }
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……. ; P1 W5 W1 \ u0 ^5 m$ j7 i9 Q- C/ v Y8 d2 c9 N) @
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Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles 9 Y7 U( Y+ i5 ?5 i+ a 7 e3 D" d; V5 G( \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.1 U8 K5 f8 O6 d1 `) y) w0 f
) e6 n. r% D; m) s9 oLight drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.+ p% }& [4 ?* o6 Z' `
# [# P3 c" o2 j! E& E. fI had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things., Z3 I# B/ j- L. }6 p# P
' L( [2 k' V) u% e4 h3 z5 _What I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect. " Q; P1 A! i& T6 _ 0 J6 ]# d4 Z0 ^The porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga.9 M0 f! ]' ]( G/ T
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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. 0 O) ]* b" k' F/ h2 s. ^$ Z4 W4 \' [$ l: k) y% t \
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.3 @: a; W$ g6 B' P7 L+ W0 Y
2 A' ?+ @# r# ?8 W. A6 F' H FOnly 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed. 4 ]! b; H" [' y b# p5 r( H4 k% r; x/ l* 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.! I( N2 W3 O8 l( m. D% J3 ~
) j5 U) A' `% F. z0 JThe problem, increasingly, is revenue.3 q2 y4 m! M/ x& A. S/ X
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Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch.( S+ G- K1 p6 k% e9 z
' t% m H. o+ p" uDVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free.) ]! u4 B" N3 G
; |, J& X& R% I( O; j1 UAnd the economic downturn does not help. 6 j% x$ o- T$ F+ c d ; X+ |. @9 Q6 p. P* ?9 C. ]"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully.( b2 p2 [5 P1 ~" { }% Z; p
. I3 M4 H/ p3 m3 B1 n. hThe economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. ! t) b# x2 L) H/ _* ]! e + L( y; J; v3 u$ Z/ TFor years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms.& ?$ w5 N5 j9 E
+ {# W+ _+ q9 Q3 y; `Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set.. c1 t( j8 p1 ]* l$ H8 T4 M* s
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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.& R9 y- ^5 s% Y' ^, f" ^
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Gonorrhoea . Z! }4 Y4 K2 G/ f h7 K" w 4 M d. i; p% u% TBack on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. 4 ~# \5 J% e& @ Z0 C ; O; U% Z# Q+ A4 a' Q& IA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years.2 ]% V2 u/ w g' H7 O j( v8 C
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She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. ; n, t, l' ?( s1 }0 `* @* Q7 D H8 o, w/ _$ i
"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?"/ `' D: K$ A" o) B1 Z6 Z9 ] r
; Z2 U; E _4 V J1 Z4 p x% MHer 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.) K7 _4 ` B3 ~9 r
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Each day would be 15 hours long. ( X. z' U- \& X; \# Y g# @0 B& I5 D
"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested.. ]" c: _2 C1 a' ^
) q' Q% s3 f4 @"You get used to it," she smiled. - S3 L0 G& l6 j3 M) h" |" `( S5 F , o; G+ e7 `1 f"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?"; a( Z$ v# c* n, ^0 ]5 U. |* g: {
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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."! r. W5 T# C9 A% o& ], K( [- I( J
; w4 }+ o- w" E9 h, Y1 d' OThere was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. % ~8 V/ N6 ^5 s9 r4 U0 L7 g* |% @
Expensive lawsuits $ c5 T+ T' o* d4 P( u: |$ `: d$ o6 M5 j
In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. # G. w) ^7 w Y$ n ! T4 b* J( t8 _5 Z+ ~' Q8 b# vA combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it. & B% J) T' {, W; ^% T! w 4 x& o( g" b" j1 c( Y/ d: MIt 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. : o5 L% X K7 f: | ; o7 U5 {$ T) B! U1 FNow, 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.3 x4 `( k2 z: t
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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?" U: G( G% k w3 S5 [8 r s, _( M" o. D" ~! b9 p% g( x
I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment. . U* T* _5 B( y3 a( M2 ? / V9 p- e" I, P2 BBut 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?) T1 Q* Z9 \3 L0 Y5 W
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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. % l3 b: d" U! e* A5 q4 k( K$ D; E8 F/ d( }9 r3 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. $ B! L0 d; a3 R; q4 K% ^8 J ' x- [7 O/ r: `A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them. . K* Q. m" h4 n% d8 p# p / r) [3 c/ i$ Y7 N# D1 M' i& }The producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants. 2 y. y1 C$ M# k( ~) C" O! ^+ f/ s! E3 k. h# D6 A, L* {( c
That view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene.7 ?) f+ A8 i4 ]! b; t# o/ h
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I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. % q ?1 H! o1 E: ^) ]0 I: j) W6 _+ b' `7 p) h8 \* Y , s9 T3 v+ V2 f8 S
8 X, ?! [ ~, G* _, j6 K0 Y 5 m2 e3 I) G4 b L; GCalls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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