# G$ q$ Y0 q' V% R过去许多年,当局一直要求色情影片中的演员在拍摄过程中必须使用安全套。 2 f1 K, T% H8 W) x) k" L7 K * O X" L6 e, X. {演员健康受损害的案例中最著名的一起是在2004年,三名演员感染上艾滋病毒。这凸现出演员中交叉感染十分严重。 % ]! u6 R0 i0 I( H* t7 U+ p8 F1 A! C1 `2 ], `1 W
但是,电影业坚持说,演员带安全套会扫观众的兴。他们说,观众不愿意看,安全套等于扼杀观众的幻想。 O+ F' Y n* m0 J3 x“没什么大不了的” ! F2 a! L( j5 j Z, G8 c+ ` 2 r. \+ |+ A W, S% ]( [* L5 u2 a重返《星际迷航》的拍摄现场,我和主要演员之一宝碧·斯塔尔聊了起来。宝碧是大学毕业生,以前是国家级游泳运动员,专业的双簧管手。短短的27年,她的一生真可是阅历丰富。 . a; o6 ~/ \3 @) V" o1 T , G+ G5 m) f( s# h" o( K宝碧说,改行做色情电影演员,主要是为了追求性探险。她说,“这是找乐趣。身边的人都高高兴兴,你有什么可烦的呢”?& K6 c+ J5 A$ p! p
2 v* }9 c V* D% J; M1 w0 h当天,她的日程安排得很紧凑,两句台词,四小时的性爱。星期二试装,然后就去接受每月一次的体检。宝碧每一天都要工作15个小时。& h: I. r: G6 ~3 ], y
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我说,“你一定很累吧”?她微笑着回答说,“习惯了”。 8 J* u, y1 x$ d+ x) G. O% f: L9 f* n% D$ A( o/ X
我接着问,“那么,健康风险呢?你经常被感染吗”?0 r7 P1 c; U3 f
3 R9 b- _6 s! k$ A9 X. a: n5 w她说,“也就是染上过一两次衣原体,还有淋病,除此之外,没什么大不了的。我们每个月都体检,得了病,赶紧吃药,然后就又能回去上班了。没问题。”+ D! ^& e+ k7 R9 r
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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。 2 f2 i' J! K/ h' R) ^/ z) T/ p7 u1 W
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。 9 @+ n% C9 H% h: {0 ?不戴安全套的权利 ( M! t3 g. n. q( F; G' F% J- q U7 ?" s& s3 M$ e
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。 5 e8 u. y7 }6 }: g( @% B8 F& R- }* I$ b
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”? 2 N+ Y( y0 U' B( i' Z8 L- z 9 r. J' t* i R) [! t6 e0 e- z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。2 B+ k5 d" ?, U3 p( ]0 c' p
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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?1 I7 [3 t/ T; ~& n6 g m
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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。3 s: d1 @" |/ l* B, o! M5 y$ q
$ `7 U: X, J& Q" q( Z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。4 R. Z# k4 j: F6 z6 ]: N
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一些演员私下告诉我,他们盼着立法赶快生效。 r8 X' ?- h5 i, k
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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。 / [& e h0 w, \7 ~; B+ F+ M X4 { }' `
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。/ |6 |) H; L9 o& @0 h3 w" O6 i4 K
! |/ z3 j8 m9 y. O: G+ q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 e0 }5 |9 {9 L( i e- Z. Y
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9 C. Z( [) ?* J! \" B, R# {5 P NCalifornian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles ' [- i7 s$ d/ d6 ~- k& I4 Q
) S, }# L0 ^ I2 bCalifornia'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. + U! l; O+ D$ d# R* _% h, s: I H9 k6 j9 d$ Q6 [& r. [Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.5 n% E2 n, m3 w1 S
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I had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things. : @$ n2 i5 J. Y0 ^7 h! T # f6 x; j% ^2 s6 _5 fWhat I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect.1 `. V& b p, f/ m+ A5 A
% }* I& b1 q' z# E4 v4 sThe porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga.. i* A! N6 x8 x* y& y
9 N( }+ P G& s6 x3 M" Y: OPerformers 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.1 ^" A7 Q' d/ b! O
% q7 q( l m# f4 u; I# LThis 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.- W4 k2 A$ H1 m9 ?
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Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed.; X! D/ }5 Q: \
8 ?% O/ z8 g" \) _- v) I3 m1 jFantasy 6 |$ z: i ^ ^$ T2 S }' ^$ I" P5 L6 _* L) ]
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.3 G$ \3 ^+ t7 F% w4 C' y$ T. O
1 p1 C$ @( ~8 EThe problem, increasingly, is revenue. ' ~* u+ X4 J s- j5 H& ^2 ?* r) u/ I: Q: B5 m0 p
Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch.0 Q( c* |4 ?! r' r# G
* t. A+ v# k! P6 F+ `DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free.! [. M$ v/ c* D6 Z# x4 _, |7 h
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And the economic downturn does not help.2 w8 n4 b8 P5 a9 F4 {/ e( U4 j
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"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. 4 X6 [- `# Z* w1 P# E; {- j: @" d$ P; O4 a: W* A* Z1 M
The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations.' O" Q% a: N0 j4 C
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For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms.! | v. }# D6 Y
% S) r1 \7 D: {8 S5 B4 sHealth scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set./ g" Y, X% f* W9 Y" |, t
: P" Z+ A. }) A5 s2 p8 X) ABut the industry says wearing condoms on-screen is a turn-off. The public do not want it, it will kill the fantasy, they say. # R* ]. \8 B5 J7 j: w7 Y7 ]+ x8 l5 F9 v2 E
Gonorrhoea" C9 E' q& T0 |! p& Z7 u
n) w; ~' _# u8 d: n3 w1 @Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers.6 [! L! U# ^# t
0 I: v4 q! m8 K' ?, _" SA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years.3 x! x# i: d) Y- \4 g0 O; u
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She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. 1 b. J0 O7 i% v. h - ?( m& v% Y& T0 [& u% s9 u" F"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" ; h2 e# Y: J. U2 Z3 ^- e3 j2 n3 |
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. * W8 ?0 e) ~! r. c9 K* W) m# z9 a 6 |% r# \; a- d6 v' `' x+ x5 U9 i' bEach day would be 15 hours long. ! Y5 \( `7 ^8 ]6 y. F! X4 p/ n( `; k4 j# ^. p* R
"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested.# ]) d$ F7 T& l
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"You get used to it," she smiled. 2 v- k( i3 v0 x ' {; |0 j5 q: G( Y9 z6 Q1 s( ?$ z"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" 4 E; ^6 D7 D: M* H, [9 S* ]/ O8 k0 P( d/ Y( G
"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.") y% H) B% b4 a2 a( t3 I
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There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided.- u% h+ I/ V2 ~2 w" g
6 d, V/ R$ W; }* kIn fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. ) i: a' A, [5 O9 T6 |* T3 O! B. g4 Z; @/ ^) X
A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it.1 d6 j8 k/ L1 U8 ^ D' I; J4 A
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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. 4 `$ R" K/ c. r0 F+ D3 w* \7 @1 r: \% u* f' V$ |* K J
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.! ~1 Q% f/ }8 B8 f
7 W; d9 ] C) X0 j( c& a3 B9 Z- i. r"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?") n5 n+ G2 x3 K6 {9 n
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I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment.6 u8 D# U0 M" b1 Y5 I9 \
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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? 6 |5 o9 i3 S5 F" }2 ?" Y& H" D 6 f6 p* H$ l/ J0 QThe authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection.! L" j% X$ b9 e9 c$ {: `, Z
' g: H5 z0 k& |* h* F" m, F2 O$ kIt 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.( v5 T( g4 U9 B/ t+ X
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A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them.- R9 d7 S8 \/ v" [9 c0 I5 e/ b0 ^
# j8 ~/ u6 C A3 n; Y% a3 G) nThe producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants.% Z/ [0 D" M" s* A( }( y) a
% r0 c5 _$ b: D, k$ v5 p MThat view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene. 2 [( Z/ C, \ }% x! I 6 a% m7 X: v* j2 R4 T$ q z y8 PI decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. 7 C5 e' [/ L0 K a4 Q( h% |, N" _ 1 |( y9 I# S% [4 h L4 n% F8 C" O( N0 O" M3 T
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Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004