1 p3 Q* z7 R u" E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。 7 b6 j& o8 M7 l+ P; P5 G ( {# N# x* b- A, _9 {5 ?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? C) f. f* Q% Q! D ) E8 g5 O2 t' w3 o f" i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。 ! Q3 L* e5 h% d' D3 _: O 0 l. Q! f: n; w$ m0 `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 U! K, x0 P/ U5 R- i: \! V/ w9 o+ H9 a9 f5 X- V
一些演员私下告诉我,他们盼着立法赶快生效。# |/ ]0 N& x' |' F% m( M4 Y- 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。 , r+ B9 D* H7 ?6 ?- G; Y2 Z& O- ~1 f& N! 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。 . k/ c8 J5 e4 V 2 Y- l( G! C; |3 g% ]8 J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……. $ S: P' K& \9 d: b ? ! b. [9 d0 g4 H2 m! v/ e. Y! Y- }* ^
Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles 1 `* n1 J# p$ H$ N5 J! j7 U
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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." ]2 K3 y S9 ^1 Z1 e% ^8 n9 n4 W! ^" L
1 E* Z5 y% j: bLight drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.; m. u* t& _* m, Q4 Q0 @$ V
, w) x# U" t# u6 R* KI had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things.0 k$ u, P0 B8 d
1 [0 `6 B# J: H EWhat I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect. . `# }9 T' E& k8 R _8 g- Q6 c. I( E$ N! P, X
The porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga. ! x* G8 o8 y( ^! T! P7 _6 E* ^" s6 Z2 V( l5 l8 [4 T: p
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./ }5 `: {, h, J6 `
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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.) z1 ] U# w! I& s( h" l
1 W o( M& u. A6 H4 A& FOnly 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed.1 P5 S7 w: k; U
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# M O* ^2 ^5 cThe 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. : `. z% e n( j; B . b6 a! l+ Z( h3 _5 IThe problem, increasingly, is revenue.% h* r, u! [8 C, f& @. P* ?/ ?
: }" ?$ V7 Z) H% ^* _Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch.* i0 Y9 f$ C) t- e0 }8 I4 @
6 @8 n& `* s3 J6 c& n+ F7 rDVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free. 6 q: e- n: K8 t$ q U2 Q' H" v7 N8 f' g; z1 _% P
And the economic downturn does not help.$ x5 q3 R2 _ |
$ _! e& O7 F8 M% Z: I3 p9 b% F7 b0 k"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. ) r+ \+ J+ }- Y) n! W9 ? " Z$ ?9 @8 ?8 |The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. % P" W, z! [1 C% V. L4 I; U7 U+ S3 P4 C' D
For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms.6 r0 o( z, }" {9 r* ?2 Z+ x
- J! W4 r$ k& v( _3 n7 L4 gHealth scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set." q0 t( P' l- s2 j6 _! e
/ x/ t$ O( [/ L- W" x1 mBut the industry says wearing condoms on-screen is a turn-off. The public do not want it, it will kill the fantasy, they say. ) u9 W+ S) _+ E3 P2 x; \ & r' |+ p" [5 X. {, j+ X9 kGonorrhoea O: V/ K- a1 T; t8 T3 C3 S & c% A- h+ ^0 HBack on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. 3 u" m1 a4 E" K4 z & ]$ l) F$ H6 WA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years. 3 w" q7 h6 n& z9 z6 W- n ! {. Z8 Y0 n# j0 t8 F8 kShe turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure.0 C4 B7 W B, B( K8 A' x! k7 t* J
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"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" 8 A) X! k* e3 F$ _9 \ # J4 f ~ l3 X rHer 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. , M- [& \, P1 n/ Y" Y8 ^( F7 a, q* a& ]* P* y7 o, t( X
Each day would be 15 hours long. & q: l8 g( c2 } ( c9 Q0 u7 |( n- W! T* [! u3 ]! s" A"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. & e1 k% G/ S, r$ ^+ V / \+ E/ X, L8 ^- I+ H9 f3 }"You get used to it," she smiled. $ W* W4 W$ T5 f$ i , J( H1 q- I" B. u: H$ H! \$ c9 X"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" : t( P' }, k8 T( ?3 w " p; q; v( y. b/ i/ r/ x) i$ P"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."/ m: o- G3 i# L& Q+ I
; ~3 c0 k) @1 G' F) I! HThere was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. % H" p, {- B3 p9 `6 f6 X9 N0 `, E# J) ]9 O: B
Expensive lawsuits 7 @( ~2 a9 C- x' M9 d( _- X0 r# ]$ |, F: x1 h# B- u% f" t
In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business./ e7 f6 W" F. A/ o$ _# A- J
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A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it. * H( `$ g: [% R , h9 i5 Z" Z: T/ N/ HIt 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.+ T" P# G( }' r: R
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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. ) n7 ^4 G+ t; n8 M: u2 ~% G+ O9 l( J. N6 `$ I0 A
"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?"; S" |2 {" x. n1 q1 r3 u
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I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment." f5 k0 D* s+ w' q
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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?. C4 N% v2 j* T9 v; k6 F z
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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. 2 O& C6 E7 W% ~3 A6 T1 z$ C. B! w' r( T
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. & f2 V; C D1 U5 X0 i8 _ 9 Z' |' t: y5 `+ `A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them., L+ Q1 b5 J. O8 L' Q l: i
7 N- Y4 t" G0 [0 uThe producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants.0 B- @! k/ _/ f* z$ T# _# s) l
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That view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene.- d. G, w: _4 v7 U
5 a! ~% e6 ?* C: c$ ~9 m5 B# [' WI decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain." a. j1 [1 I) ?5 u% A% p; V
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Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004