L6 Z0 B7 C; b/ n5 z# r$ J9 a一些演员私下告诉我，他们盼着立法赶快生效。 k# x+ N. m: A
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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。 1 G+ E- M6 ~: Y: Z( _0 C2 D J" n$ o8 X8 `8 X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。2 x% g& ]8 O2 C; Q! A" y3 b
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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……. + B3 c/ q* K9 Z' a 2 e* O0 m6 G9 `, k1 I9 g+ c0 l5 Q7 n3 z
Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles 8 b5 @( l% |! V4 t' P. Z; v# _' S4 h4 W. V8 |; Q& _
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.' G8 N6 T& P8 H' a7 M* Z
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Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.$ K4 u# M0 Y) ~) C T
) L z2 s' G: S$ @2 M& h0 hI had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things. ) o7 x% O4 D# P- T ) V" z, Z0 T, h1 |8 rWhat I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect.2 | v- L& j8 w" U# v9 n
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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.7 P" D, l$ ?+ X
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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. 1 r5 J: i! L) q: L* Y; {$ _ + G5 {* } r1 a8 u1 `: `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. ' L; Y5 | s) K, h' f9 c* o" x4 Y- b, O" a9 `3 `- T8 W
Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed. - j) r( F! z+ d* A' M1 b; Y( A1 ?- ~# q+ e% L
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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. * X7 E5 V9 B. Y3 q0 k6 Q/ K6 g2 A n( ^" P* s
The problem, increasingly, is revenue. 4 B S* Z( A% j/ s " g' U, [8 o3 PLike the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch. + n% z5 @: P; m/ ` - v, `6 n5 G: V& l" U* GDVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free.# ~4 C- N# C4 q' |/ j$ h9 }
! \3 M0 V' O! l* v8 VAnd the economic downturn does not help. v% t J6 i+ c
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"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. 5 P4 u. S. ?2 }7 k' b* Y1 ~( {) p, r: m7 `8 b% I! U, r
The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. ! {/ j3 L: t2 x( F% q% G3 R$ N: N `( h9 h+ |/ k/ G
For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms. ) T3 H) N, j3 [1 S' n1 R7 p& U8 g# p
Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set.+ v& }3 I. E0 a1 Z. X
* B) F; Z' Z. J }3 @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./ ^- W3 e# g& R0 |
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Gonorrhoea & a+ U+ V; E& d1 X . `+ K* [, |4 {/ DBack on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers.' p, @. n0 x; I- n
) y1 _* Q J: F4 X# iA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years.' e S6 c7 l' N! g# m
7 | M% ]3 ^4 tShe turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. 5 |3 Q+ r2 O+ \* i$ U& d# ^7 s: {7 g1 F E- x( K
"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?"+ `1 F1 d1 L9 I/ A3 w& i: n% n
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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. : F* P- J; G: p7 {! ~ " k& q, s8 s2 D; r! y$ \Each day would be 15 hours long.+ T3 E& b7 u+ y# [
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"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. / o3 y$ P8 J* l: D/ L0 q- X! H k, C/ L% N. Q7 Y I" w
"You get used to it," she smiled. 6 N. |' e& ?5 g% W4 n3 ^ [ t, x( y3 }1 w7 a# m. b5 a1 Y
"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?"; `, I0 u5 [/ K
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"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/ y" S+ z# n* \& p3 _4 b U) t" p% n5 c/ l R
There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. / A6 y+ g: P2 j/ r) H # l3 g. A, q5 _. k% eExpensive lawsuits0 r1 Q6 M: B. `' X9 g( s5 e; s
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In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. & W2 ^9 o) M- d0 o5 C: g$ v; w ; l4 z0 X5 @! W# }A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it. , D" V: o9 D% h9 f8 T & ~+ o5 v* g4 Y4 EIt 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.! E9 m3 d9 @+ H! i' A: t8 [ c
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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. G2 J: v/ K$ p6 H, S* |
5 {4 n3 s: N$ n1 A2 a$ I"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?") }8 |. _1 N# o0 O/ ]
0 M0 f% ]# y+ v. X' Y6 y" II struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment.) z( t" [' b( |& 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? 5 b% d7 Y% L# E+ ? 5 [8 D q F: |9 ?6 Q6 R0 i, B! dThe authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection.: E' f& {$ B2 Y1 u+ @: f0 a% F1 {
. D& ^( m+ _. q! z7 l- JIt 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.0 q& r- J T$ ]& E- l- @! V
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A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them. 3 m9 \ R8 U. \6 ?4 z" f1 | W0 i) L. M g/ M2 r' k
The producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants. ' ?9 V1 M# t. I4 S9 l# Y7 o- J: X 0 }' ]+ @& j( O0 b' }% IThat view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene. , a% \* C$ Z9 a' Z. @% A9 n4 s % E& Z! _. g* L( O& ~% `I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. 2 O1 v4 O0 Q( H2 I( o* t& C' C3 r! g4 }5 u+ e # M$ p: `8 y2 J, k* o( O' \! W7 f. t9 i( {. L+ v V1 m" G$ r% hCalls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
