+ p: |7 s \8 b. D$ y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。 8 D M) Y9 ?2 H- w; t , T! d2 H" L5 I$ B8 L* a) ?$ T- Z8 C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。% w! m0 C1 R6 ~
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一些演员私下告诉我,他们盼着立法赶快生效。7 _& v2 ]* U; b$ a
$ ]% F/ z1 X; r$ 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。 . T" D0 @- J/ P R+ E4 w# h' z8 l6 v9 a; Z
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% h( w$ c4 ]6 Z . N4 x6 {6 `' G! j: G8 S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……. B( O# r/ g b7 O, d* X. P
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Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles $ Y& H6 W! i T: T) {
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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. 9 G0 S% I# g( _2 l g2 Q: `, E s( G4 E$ u. E9 W6 s; D/ J! g) L
Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles. - x# p! {- x& H# r: V) M9 [* y( k* y6 F7 f
I had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things.$ {# w- g' C3 y C2 Y. W
# ]. s: h' j/ `; k/ U- TWhat I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect.! `. Z) Y( n6 @0 p! V5 R/ {
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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.# q. D; Z6 d+ H8 t+ v _ G
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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. $ B& L3 K' ~7 b4 i" e; B- Z# E: ~% r' k4 L! L( L8 X' o8 _* B2 O
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.+ Z2 I; d; F9 q. I% W! j
2 @( k& h* N) A: \% p- C* ^Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed. 8 A: X8 n' k" e+ w" \6 Y 4 h2 {; W1 m0 _/ x6 PFantasy; Z# X! d, ?/ S3 b; E- e
/ y1 O- Y0 v+ ]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.7 ~0 u5 y3 W/ k: {# Q; w2 Z- D" J9 c& S* v
+ T; K$ S$ L. u/ k& cThe problem, increasingly, is revenue. % L3 z) F5 B5 \# C& g" U+ F/ U7 z J9 F( b: m$ E+ z ~ v* j
Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch. ( Q. m% I: G& `4 w0 w( Y3 A1 l& c% m) k* [* V
DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free. , G: u" K' S9 ? & M& R, Q$ R* S9 jAnd the economic downturn does not help.7 ?5 x0 b+ p8 b7 g' X
+ m! ]$ B; |/ m' T6 a% R+ l"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully.' R" T) a, ]! P% ~' ~% g1 T: U! Q
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The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations.' P- m8 o) `- J& A3 B; l
, F# n: I, c( zFor years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms. - q- C/ E6 I2 n' E, B3 M" n. ?0 b) O( V' _/ i4 M2 L
Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set.. Z( t7 E7 \$ `1 g4 U
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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.# i- E$ A2 ]* v: n# k2 I
- k; {6 T) o" G# i) f, G/ x1 b# ]Gonorrhoea ' T& _6 P+ @' K0 ~ ' j& T; z$ l: @# YBack on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. + L1 L$ C5 C2 G% n! `& u4 @# Y3 Q- d p+ V+ g! }+ k9 [+ v5 ~
A college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years. * Z& z9 M5 Q8 J9 u t7 l. A5 I- u V* H4 C$ F
She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. 1 n' ^$ d. O* q7 h3 K' x3 O4 h0 a# r, N& e* M. d0 P
"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" ; c+ j* d8 v, _: V5 o( X I4 D* s
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. 7 z+ A) V6 f8 f6 ] w, ]5 ]/ l ; p L; l8 k% s2 JEach day would be 15 hours long.; I9 R- C* a' X7 [; X
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"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested.: t1 H$ Q5 q* {- H
0 p6 H% x: ]' v9 b"You get used to it," she smiled. , Y- ?- F1 g& w) D+ p/ l& J7 I; C+ i) l3 L
"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" . ^2 s7 K, u) t9 g& x. N5 ~ c1 X - l( z/ t) y# r0 Q"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." , ?1 d& R( ? F8 G& @# Q% c! o" ]3 g$ O0 L' H- G; {: I/ @
There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. 5 j8 Y1 s; j$ Y& Q/ ~& @' ^0 t$ t& w7 m, _
Expensive lawsuits7 L* q; l3 X1 o. Q: p1 d
4 @0 B+ O* \/ {2 n: b7 `In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. " ]8 J" e! d4 I- S8 ` A/ B% y- U; Z2 |9 Y/ ]
A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it.; ]& V6 e' _2 C* n: p; B
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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.7 T: M; B) z3 ]
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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. % f, I, D4 J7 g; D1 Z3 I3 J: @2 S' X7 r
"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?" 8 g2 B8 D7 R+ R0 t8 w/ r/ u9 ~( W! N j8 W S( b( g
I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment.: F( [/ ]" G0 g" b2 T, e
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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?( G% D$ ^+ n9 K) E, n/ P Y
( d% F' @2 g8 t4 ~The authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection.% }+ N$ Z& T/ ^9 N' L; G! Z
1 F& D0 U3 `& `- o& qIt 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. ( ^+ D4 ^3 f m7 D/ a. U- B! U 6 L" q' L$ W1 Y) SA number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them.. L% S% }' u+ g- h3 J. ^
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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. ( [0 t2 M) X, u( [$ d/ `6 g) x ; v+ Z4 r( y) Z% `That view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene.- q1 [9 h4 \1 R! ]+ p* m
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I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. ) V v" ?. K1 i! J4 j1 j4 K3 M$ d& L 0 l+ S: ?+ @9 I* F- d$ U
% _. y" K% b/ U" f 3 O( {" ]; j: V* \Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004