* ^+ t7 O6 t8 U* p4 W# D: x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。 & f. s \% ~2 E. j: |) k c( B. n" \0 }7 N$ t5 y8 {
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？ + l3 @! x7 z: O' W0 o 2 o' ~- o' f/ o$ R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/ Z, O3 A. ~& g5 W
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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。% x9 U! ?: R6 E) c3 A, m* F
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一些演员私下告诉我，他们盼着立法赶快生效。 ! B& x' _* \1 M/ s2 @" ]) C) r2 `! {# [$ v8 c
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。 ' F: l, l6 \8 h / f! b# e z" y4 D) @$ A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。# u: `6 j' s+ ]# F( g$ ]
; \1 J ^ s8 r+ }5 {* L1 B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……. " }; y" _/ m; [* o* E1 b3 ^8 C \" m* X* s
1 \5 F/ U* J9 zCalifornian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles ' z1 V7 D9 c ~. l, K
" r& f5 i% V& u: e: g* iCalifornia'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. , N. k. h& ~8 Q5 p% P0 N* F - H. S3 a2 F* f7 m6 D3 C, K0 oLight drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.) h$ v0 {3 K' s" E5 L: u/ Y
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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.* J; b( F2 z3 B' D: c+ S" Z- 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.- |/ n) z/ V" c
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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.+ v% t: E% H: @- b/ n
; R5 v8 b- z% a# x# c" e4 JPerformers 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./ V& C% y" {* [9 [
. e. N3 l/ U' ^5 J* r7 G- qThis 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.6 ~( J7 ~3 z1 H- p
3 _3 A9 ~" j9 aOnly 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed. " ^$ N: S) \" D. p! T! W# J- n# y1 p2 X+ ]3 Z- U
Fantasy & L2 n" A+ w, j& G : j+ }4 X% t: U# o/ w$ LThe 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.7 R. f7 t1 `" L( r* u
4 @3 F9 Q2 V0 x! |& f* |The problem, increasingly, is revenue. 4 X- l+ a( g( `/ G : G2 j" _- d* t) MLike the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch.1 i8 U9 l3 t- J. t% ?' a# o
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DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free.0 d1 D' u: F& e; O# _
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And the economic downturn does not help.( N; u' m+ M' w5 t' |& n0 |& u
. l- g8 ~, P+ T: d% H"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. 0 } ?# ^, {; j2 n- C1 n$ q. y( p* Y; F9 S/ M* ]) l
The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations.8 X9 g3 ]" Y5 T& _. ]" s2 f
! D( ]9 V( m% n, uFor years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms. / k9 m6 d) u! @8 Q$ X/ F1 v6 ?" b& }. Y' o; x
Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set. m/ r4 V2 V, f8 t
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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. 3 r6 C9 D1 ?/ n+ V3 @. B - C5 x: P1 Q5 Z, K; |5 R. H. dGonorrhoea9 V' C6 G) `7 q
9 m& A. g5 r5 A5 s: w8 HBack on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. : C/ d, f: |6 Z# R( r! w' m 9 n: R; y; g3 ~' j" ^! O* [A college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years. . b' u& V6 S: { + D J+ _4 j8 o) C2 bShe turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. 0 O: i- e3 M8 [, k. F" v; \3 x6 V' H7 y0 I, ~' z
"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" , z/ @6 G/ A. O; p 9 z. f, p4 Z+ @& `! I+ GHer 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. . E4 J, m& n- O- I/ Q, Y, y " J; H8 o% I/ O- E& S" {. aEach day would be 15 hours long.0 t. ^/ L# Y% _% u- A8 V
6 S+ [, ]* \8 I"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested.; [: S& J. A- V
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"You get used to it," she smiled.5 U. W2 W( s4 Z
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"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" : S+ [4 D" N$ u* {2 A( l: E# j4 Z0 c% W
"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."# e& S" o, r& ?8 z3 j$ y' }
" u% K9 ^. m3 \+ W9 BThere was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. : V3 b2 e* F. _: h1 o7 G9 r2 W) z7 s8 y8 A8 E( G# f: O& i/ t
Expensive lawsuits # R' N n: V$ w e 8 B6 o1 ` m1 ^# A5 E4 ~0 X( X' Z, UIn fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. ( b+ t& L) N- l/ o8 n1 Q$ y4 Y/ p: ~* w$ n6 e
A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it.& e3 y/ ]0 |" P# P
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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." r7 \$ r& x5 L* N, O4 m8 t
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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.! X0 b% K5 s& L6 m# r7 J5 w! b
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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 o8 V) n# x! Q7 z- l5 R
" _1 ]- }* Q4 L- c+ Z# hI struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment. ) i9 ]3 k9 S& }1 ?) B- ] 5 I9 }9 n1 q6 a; J( gBut 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 i! Z' N& M6 V, `$ I: W) M! e: }& K: e9 T2 j
The authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection.8 E+ E! P4 m0 y5 B
: o7 }2 G, d6 V3 NIt 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. / M' j c8 G2 m: J6 x5 z( t9 g }/ t" D7 Z% k# I; i+ E
A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them.6 k1 l+ ^6 ]5 Z( d( N( d
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The producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants. q% y1 v% l8 r5 X- Y# t; F# f4 z! L' _$ d5 E
That view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene.- R; q! Q' z/ ^' T6 n9 e- q
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I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. 6 C- O2 {9 S( i3 C2 o6 a3 `% m+ Y0 z' c1 B - }, r7 J/ q$ T( i9 T
8 j5 ~# E5 ^; ~$ @ % F4 E! a6 \( L* n [- \: XCalls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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