( K& o: }- z/ p4 ?- G% 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。”) ]8 o$ D; y" E7 e. m
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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。 , d2 q, j4 f4 {& Q: [4 E) i5 w0 w, Z1 E
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。; ~+ P" f5 E! x: R0 C
不戴安全套的权利 0 T( q! c q) h& @0 h, t8 W: z4 q7 f4 d" R
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。! z+ _ R) G* M* j6 D
8 ?$ Y# a! M+ j2 D1 @, M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”? ) D, o3 i1 X" ?% l& J" [/ D' o8 i' N6 O0 Q6 @" Y
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。 u& l$ Y" L r! |* ]# I% }$ j" o
+ c( f, A9 R* c% \9 \& g5 g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? 0 V: d( V, A) q4 e2 ^' q+ A8 q- T% l. S. C' V' Z/ ^- S2 ~8 ]* C7 c
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。; W5 f+ a& g3 x
) M5 V. r) A- Y+ _9 H: ^+ F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。 + t; s4 A$ ^3 L- I% }, }0 r) C# q: y9 [/ |# n: I: g1 N
一些演员私下告诉我,他们盼着立法赶快生效。 7 d1 t M8 `2 r2 b0 r2 N- i. G, @& ?& g D+ L
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。) `# s( N3 r2 w% e: e5 M
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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。9 F7 z3 D- U7 P3 E9 T$ H9 W4 m1 |
7 A% b! i8 s0 W$ _6 _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……. ( o+ G0 l/ n* |+ `# V , h2 S Y2 C2 q( |7 I" U R- x5 T6 t7 Y2 j" e
Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles + w4 T5 z& d5 Y( U6 H4 W
( X7 ?9 M( H V6 y, f* W8 ~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. : r; L- D- J' V0 r+ d' F2 a" T' _, a2 G1 P5 f+ o4 I
Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.$ T2 O( m2 m+ g
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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.1 x u3 j9 [( W ~
/ r: B. @! r# ^( mWhat I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect." O) k4 F" M& }4 ^3 _6 M' ], D
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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. , ^) i- o* b' G- |3 [5 [3 y8 `! J0 ]' G
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.( e6 }0 h7 o4 b2 ^" }! t
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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.1 j6 U5 s, @% l- i4 I5 f5 x
8 }( z7 _+ n. ~% g$ R, yOnly 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed.% q( _' a0 G. a+ [ @4 u
/ S8 A1 m& i% U8 ?0 rFantasy& \, M; z- M# R: d
# U% U1 T( D! p! w% a* n" OThe 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 d- W- g; V: @. N, ~' A1 p
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The problem, increasingly, is revenue.. S; @- l" ^& f) L m
+ S* {& a7 l" P1 S5 v- k# sLike the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch.3 K& K) I( m5 Z2 h" \! f
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DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free." S( m6 @$ x/ s9 ]
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And the economic downturn does not help. & _' h4 A, X0 G8 @6 B% \3 ]5 [& V, L, p
"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully.& ^4 b) e! R: D; X8 U
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The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations.( R$ N. [& G0 g0 h6 `
3 L) O& C0 y+ N' W- N5 GFor years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms.9 t8 R0 {/ Y$ ~% @& q3 e: E
$ R; x& Z" `; }% g" n4 f$ yHealth scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set.3 f1 ?7 F2 T2 _3 L- I
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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 z5 \2 U% S+ `* |
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Gonorrhoea9 Z! | k4 {/ I, W0 V
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Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers.5 Q8 {: i- P" g3 ?4 E: R
# A. O6 E/ s) f3 aA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years.' Q1 T: {& ^5 w. r* s/ L
# |! V* y& |) o" S, u* bShe turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure.( }6 b5 v! k* }& X- o
/ n" A( X1 `; C' K" _# r. b# ["It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?"+ Z9 @/ c& Y$ U, y. J9 E- K- h
/ S2 S2 A/ `8 Z+ x3 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. % R- v, J' ?2 f2 p( A % J# v3 V- S5 { V( iEach day would be 15 hours long." H5 O- e; ~5 q( @- _, J6 d
0 n5 E- I- Q9 C# r5 M9 \9 {"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. z3 ?0 x, b# j+ O6 I8 }' a
3 Y6 A9 c' K: V5 F. [9 A! ^* @"You get used to it," she smiled. r3 [, q! b5 R; e H . Q6 n( s, F$ R"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" " l) C9 y/ n3 ?% u) L( ] # F2 c/ G; w' J9 {% I"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." 0 B/ J% q$ A: R' B( F - Q1 @7 M/ m3 C/ M& i1 XThere was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. 3 T, s6 ]$ l& Q2 {# q# L* \' [: H' e; n' n
Expensive lawsuits 0 Q+ A# C) |6 ]0 w& r; | 7 w& h3 x2 X1 O: z* H! rIn fact there was something very Californian about the entire business.! Y$ N" O! T& I
( o, k' F0 ^4 D2 j/ g1 P0 IA combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it.7 j# Y' _& k- p( u& P
2 N. y/ Z$ O4 O% b4 uIt 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. 2 K7 R. z: M+ |! _' I* B5 ^3 M ) j6 `0 S L m9 dNow, 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. ]) X3 ^( _0 r9 V: m
* X' Z# J( j! H# p"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?"/ L8 _; X9 j l& I' \) W* g+ H
5 l! S* b5 {0 ~I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment.: O* x7 Z. K# p1 p2 b. |9 B8 W# J
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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?9 Y: J& u: n0 f @5 S
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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. ) {+ K+ g4 q3 c q : N8 [2 [9 L% e$ t1 _1 J4 uIt 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. 6 H- }3 q; x8 S" b" a E1 L) C4 d/ w% m% ~" |0 h! k2 `/ d8 J$ P
A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them.: o8 w: x$ i- c5 T* y1 B* N* `: ?1 n
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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. / g3 I0 J% _% A $ G O6 t9 c3 r$ Q) k% P4 k* zThat view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene.0 W3 @& Y3 I' u/ b( g' s7 L8 Q5 a
2 c) V' N% t' yI decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. M* a, l& v7 Q2 ?* A9 @ $ J+ z8 k/ H8 l% E6 Z$ T% E! f% X2 k- E! H
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Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004