9 B- Y3 |" y9 {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。+ K! _9 E0 r$ U; T$ m
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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？ , ]# |! D8 k) w3 P 4 c1 E& ~6 m& C2 U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。 & t& q% [0 k( C1 q! t' w+ Z7 z4 j# j% S
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。7 m8 B: M8 Z4 e- j( X
h% k8 S! X& m& A6 }% h5 v一些演员私下告诉我，他们盼着立法赶快生效。( H! G3 X1 A' | U8 C3 I9 F8 G
# S( Q' B5 @+ D1 q7 R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。 % V% @ X& F6 _0 H: t4 A( t , i/ [, S! d% }" b2 Y- 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。 $ q+ J' W* \& C# c& I6 h( S% N6 W! e4 y8 F" [1 d" v$ v) @
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……. : }3 j, {/ e5 a% s" {- V+ m5 e& D% {$ X
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Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles 3 O2 i+ `- z, r& x2 |( O& z: t% H1 U6 y9 ^
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.+ ~; T% o' A/ [4 b$ D
' v; e+ H' e/ G0 N: v+ _8 BLight drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.+ s, m3 t0 E* s* a$ ~0 Y# 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. ) V" g3 {% t" d! {* G5 W5 `8 e2 H2 o+ ~# |- Q7 w7 t
What I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect. 3 A8 V/ T- N' L- A6 U* d( T \ 5 B5 h F6 C' H5 Z' D4 c& RThe porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga. G5 C c4 C# H [" o0 Z; j+ E% Y, v& k5 ~# e
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.2 L) p: L: A+ ?8 F \
7 P# M# F+ w2 V( i9 u# VThis 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.' L, J7 y" R! J$ j+ a
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Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed. 9 J' R+ |% Z, ] r! S) W7 r! ^ 3 c; Q7 ^0 J$ S5 H2 m% T* E2 nFantasy 8 S% Z0 B' ^0 B9 f* `! w" b 2 B0 N- ^% k% v5 @; i& i5 \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.+ b; R6 |9 l+ K+ ~% X9 |
& Y. n& N+ ~$ N/ |9 C; G+ vThe problem, increasingly, is revenue. 8 t" a, k& A1 A, I2 K" B" t) h7 l ; d/ w6 ^" a8 s3 |( ]Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch. & O' S l: y: S9 U* i+ x % q2 `8 w3 X2 l0 i9 r8 yDVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free. 3 O: }/ [# V$ a) S . N5 b, {7 ]2 \7 }9 IAnd the economic downturn does not help., E/ B6 |) Q+ L, {+ t% o
5 E' e. L' I; C a( Y( \"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. 9 j4 M, B. f' Z+ n4 W 3 X/ ~# A- h2 b! `" n% N. r2 eThe economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. / A; l* H5 k. O2 V9 t+ a! c5 h* }4 Y" P4 w
For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms./ f% N, e( ]% g7 e M; E, r
* s. h. X9 v5 A- \) aHealth scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set. ^- O+ l& D4 K3 q4 n3 S, C
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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.8 C) j# s9 {' W
& A7 s z( U2 `2 DGonorrhoea. H# O$ ^: p" _& J+ ~/ @$ O$ d) {
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Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers.4 t/ h3 @' f; V
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A college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years.* f5 ~7 m+ ^- Q8 w
1 B: l* M0 [$ O$ V4 SShe turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure.& f0 m3 z/ `: l1 L( E: b6 ]: a
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"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?"! f: T3 ?. U' c4 J- }" E
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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. - \+ ^, P/ T" H% G1 j1 p2 t2 a% M; m) G$ t6 g; t7 X
Each day would be 15 hours long.6 I Z$ O& y7 J! G2 E' X
( R: A: s& B# @5 [# u"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested.; |! j% i) V9 V' v
" f, q7 `! p3 @, V' k"You get used to it," she smiled.( h( Z) G& n2 t
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"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?"; V3 |: R2 D5 p2 n
+ G5 x4 ]& Q1 ]. y, d# g; X i, Z"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." : d. m% |5 \% |; x- U) V9 h2 ?8 w: ?3 t/ n/ t: {; R0 i' m0 |( T
There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. % t4 Y5 U4 r/ I# ] T* _. k% K
Expensive lawsuits* [2 z& P( z8 s3 V/ P- h. A0 C+ x8 J
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In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. 9 V. L0 ]! ^3 E5 \: k$ k. r3 i3 Q9 L9 Z1 q0 Y+ j N% F
A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it.3 ~# d$ G+ F7 d, ~' P: M
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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. % a+ l' x: m' I9 E0 e% A" L4 K- `% ^ 9 ^. R# h. p6 X- QNow, 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. $ J1 z @5 X4 u2 C 9 ?2 d6 P" n; O: K) w7 Y c"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?"1 q1 i( e3 U# O* O
9 S5 y9 T! R; TI struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment.% q }# h$ h- E3 R
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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? % U- k4 e) \* x! O' A$ F# O- B 7 X& B% T4 |$ a! f7 e" ~! }" n4 uThe authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection. 8 r2 M$ z/ \, B' u0 T # ` E: p5 w5 J. o1 {. YIt 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: C* A4 Z, W- P _4 V
. Q$ ~: q, I, ^A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them. $ n" g, g+ U+ h& T 4 z0 L( c8 ^1 Y# i5 W7 B5 lThe producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants. J0 D { E8 w n" V0 s7 `+ j6 O! e! B3 n8 B
That view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene. 2 t% O% R6 u4 V% T- R & H7 J8 P2 h& h w. _* n! wI decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. / q; X9 V! i j7 V4 N 6 G; d4 E" t8 t; B _* y ! [! \# E j4 K" L7 E $ v7 T+ y& m, Y, t- X! h ?4 x4 a" P6 x
Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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