# ^$ Q! l. r; k# X; V7 x* ]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。 1 r; g5 \( I8 O6 x" i k ) k. L$ r1 d( @* M5 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。! L+ @2 @4 E! I4 b. x8 L
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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…….- n% u- ]9 x; V; K* c
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- Y$ W. l( V/ ]: m4 e8 B3 ~Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles 3 k# ~) v# l4 T6 V
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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. ; I' L z/ g( T; p1 t & P4 A5 `0 z2 ]3 [2 {Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.. E7 [+ o* F9 x2 I: t
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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. 4 l+ {# K% J8 q. W1 F/ v8 @$ m |' {, @
What I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect. . N0 {$ t8 n8 p. l% b* Y& A# o0 r+ u+ S R
The porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga.0 s, v* c$ y5 T; }* q3 D
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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. 8 v1 u2 ?* Z3 X- p) V2 [# @) z% q: |6 N
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. ' d& O9 [+ u |7 e( [$ s) L7 U ' ^/ t/ @% _ SOnly 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed. 5 O& q+ P& V& C4 L" r0 O0 @ 8 X5 L7 T, n' [* }) [& bFantasy; s, q3 ?; B) ~6 I' q2 O' s9 t' I
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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. % W+ ]8 u! H% e* l * h B) M4 g1 r3 G; y1 [The problem, increasingly, is revenue. g# n9 F% @. N( K& P
6 g* Y% C. u9 F# b, rLike the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch.) W$ } J; N9 h
/ |+ ^6 ]4 e( L8 U- q) WDVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free.$ _5 Y( S0 `9 w' W% |: B
, U8 s+ Z R% z6 o& j" y& {0 S& RAnd the economic downturn does not help. ( ]% q* t4 A8 l9 j1 \ h7 d- K$ @: E W
"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. 2 {2 h' ~$ X: b0 K3 B 5 d6 ]* j- F* _1 f, M) v: S6 C: V# DThe economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations.( x: r2 _1 R. B) Y$ m! A9 S. u( n) s
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For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms. . s* d+ @+ m" V% S% U/ l5 S! \0 W6 @0 w
Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set.3 y* i+ S4 J" `" z+ q
( ^7 Q" N" _3 y$ D% \2 y5 P7 dBut the industry says wearing condoms on-screen is a turn-off. The public do not want it, it will kill the fantasy, they say.% o3 w. G7 I S6 X! U% S+ O
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Gonorrhoea g$ D# X9 o/ }. ^5 X2 S& }4 d . O- p& Z7 p) s2 b7 q0 \Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. V9 O0 x* m3 Y% m) w* `
8 W7 i" C5 I' P, z* x4 PA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years./ k! a; e4 a G% w% T
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She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure., F x7 H2 y$ g8 P
% U" j7 Q) G2 G. m* z/ k"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" % d/ _! v6 }$ Q; m( y7 s, b4 ]" r8 G7 ]# F( X( ]0 h
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. + y H" c/ @3 M) k5 l 0 _6 y9 w$ M+ _8 l9 VEach day would be 15 hours long. ! W# p, K" z. p+ \, d& `& u % x7 b& E! i) [* W7 `- a* r"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested.1 P* A' h8 w- |7 w; ~
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"You get used to it," she smiled. , Z3 n( _( u* e5 L/ Y $ c, k5 \" E) t5 R( M; x"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?"6 _4 I: r, B/ r0 f: Z+ e5 A
" _, Q5 ^) m& i9 `- g1 G& v"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." ; ^. i7 X' A2 I0 p* g, ]- D5 I- a- ?9 I+ m* l
There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided.; }; a1 F D9 ^8 S6 _. m5 \/ R
, v6 L y1 W2 r6 r: VExpensive lawsuits! X4 Y9 R$ x$ C4 m: c( H
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In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business.8 [1 d5 n5 o- u! [ ]
9 Y. Y. X$ b8 aA combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it., d. q/ Z( }0 s+ _) T" @3 g
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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. 5 j7 e! n! J: U( \ & e$ L8 u$ Y$ y- k6 [6 F$ ^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./ K* n, ^2 \3 P7 D1 k
2 ~+ l, z- F, ?"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?" 3 ]$ o5 _; `# ~- Y " D7 a: b5 C. F3 I/ h7 GI struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment.4 Y9 `+ g$ Q! c4 A' i3 N( n: e
, _- C6 L" B& U7 c" }: eBut 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?# j& T/ j1 A6 t0 n
% y5 q; p6 Q# c3 ^( n, i. f/ _The authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection.- {( L* V: a2 }% J/ M
j+ c1 c' W( ^; }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.& B; t- T8 {) k9 ^& }7 Y
. p7 U9 e' y( F2 hA number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them.5 B2 t( L5 c9 k9 J5 }; G, T$ {4 a
6 R. t2 `% O5 J1 P2 l, fThe producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants. $ o) h% n: H5 W j9 `. ]5 u" u: B; x4 j- v) v
That view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene.6 h/ L8 a* S4 b3 |+ N
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I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain.$ X) l4 H" z0 d! h
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Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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