9 y) N/ Z* o+ O8 i0 O# U当天，她的日程安排得很紧凑，两句台词，四小时的性爱。星期二试装，然后就去接受每月一次的体检。宝碧每一天都要工作15个小时。 0 K5 E/ T# [6 F# X W! Z$ O' U 4 L' u# I( ?5 z$ l0 ]8 d* y; Y2 R& R我说，“你一定很累吧”？她微笑着回答说，“习惯了”。/ u, i$ D( R! t
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我接着问，“那么，健康风险呢？你经常被感染吗”？7 D1 X. ]( |5 t! W" @+ w
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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。”7 [* Q |5 `7 X- [& D
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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。8 a; q. _% @4 y9 H5 y5 g) W. V
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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。 # S1 `5 S4 g% @; ]: k- Z不戴安全套的权利 ' U# ^/ O. p0 e( ?+ \7 {1 s5 O9 ], g) K) u+ v
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。; ^: {5 }' }* u0 f# _
3 f/ i5 l7 X7 q$ M9 y( M5 r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”？ ' n; D- j) e: c% B7 _ 7 e+ Z1 y# R: @0 ~% e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。# ?8 N; J& J+ o# F: L, W
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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？ 0 L& C' k$ k e! \$ P4 T0 ~% z2 U% I/ o
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。 y0 ^1 G: ?' A, c
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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。/ S. ], f$ Q8 Q9 @
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一些演员私下告诉我，他们盼着立法赶快生效。 ' M5 f: S2 O1 W5 e7 K% g! k$ i' i6 {( j* y+ e
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。 0 d$ K& i3 E) c/ X, W4 W; w5 @4 h) ?" s1 n: M
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- I3 B' V& Y- ^' g& |. ?1 u8 X* l% ^
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……. % V( W4 q- _: [( C# X- N& ]2 @9 ~; T, x3 u* T# w L; o: M+ n; x
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Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles 8 i- n& |/ f6 i
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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. 7 F D9 t/ y s2 |6 D 3 n9 ?7 }' a# I* u( a0 I" z5 _Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles. $ w2 T2 q" Q8 j2 r' Z6 U3 P8 X% F
I had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things.% R" n+ s8 [* R, B* d+ y
9 R1 m$ A1 d: Q/ S% R' eWhat I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect.9 c8 Q3 u3 P1 p& N6 c3 o1 s% O
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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. k$ c' T8 g! b4 e6 P
J- T! I5 B$ E9 g1 M }; N& GPerformers 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 ?8 G$ q0 {, M; {7 n5 A" F% L' C# d: D9 j
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.. h- H2 v9 C& s/ O
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Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed. 8 v9 |2 D Z' h" P& j+ d: X& W0 K& F, m/ [! A
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5 s0 M% C2 U. hThe 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. , k, Q- d' A; Z ^; k: L8 c! V. L8 I# M0 I
The problem, increasingly, is revenue.- X$ B( ? A& r
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Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch.) x' Y' O( Q, W. S8 d
$ M) ]; d$ J& r9 B# H4 yDVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free. 8 o1 H, m( I6 S) S* ]. } 6 V( @8 J$ X7 h/ ^) k! SAnd the economic downturn does not help. + x# s9 p: X4 ^" H! W1 Y+ r) S" Z, S$ @0 s. f+ M+ Q2 i
"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully.+ N! m$ t( W/ W
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The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations.1 [+ E' Q* U0 U6 y
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For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms. 8 A! M; `1 f1 t8 e . l0 e% L7 `/ o0 b+ a3 y _Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set.3 z( V+ a8 H/ B3 L0 C0 L
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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. * f& e% G* b. c" D8 v/ g: H# L+ h+ E; b4 p" r( |
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Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. 7 Q' H0 }! t$ t0 t5 K2 A" j' U' k 9 N* f H; v: T9 [ H0 J$ rA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years.3 b. s- q$ n# L% f/ s# [! d
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She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. 9 Q9 W3 f- b* ] R& f2 L " S: B% Q1 H0 V4 z3 I"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?"' e& j5 E+ M% L
. T; @4 ^7 ?" ~! v6 fHer 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.: S/ ?7 c$ Y+ B' |8 L
% u; l* C" d1 \# eEach day would be 15 hours long. u. F# A! C- p* X" U
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"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. - t" b5 r/ Q- J4 ~, e5 Y. J' d( q* e! T. c
"You get used to it," she smiled., D( s$ \0 ^* l; |
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"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" 4 q) m( h: L7 O6 w9 y" j0 c8 Q( w. X- ~0 y9 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."4 X! Z2 l1 q& `0 c
: L4 b# _5 N: L; i7 `1 ], P7 c) p1 Y% bThere was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. 7 Q* o. o% _# a9 q. S# C5 O6 V2 T3 \, U, v
Expensive lawsuits1 P$ Z$ \4 F: i% A
7 R1 S1 ^0 P( _/ t4 \In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business.' b) t, X. m y6 w6 x) o$ h$ {
- Y9 k" t* n0 k! OA combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it. - T4 b1 R: `: P1 T: b* y' X# j/ f/ G$ p, |/ J
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.& i6 {; L% b, J" Q
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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., R a5 w% J9 o" b" i' j
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"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?" * z8 \2 }* d: _8 g/ m: v% E9 |4 P& V/ Z* ~
I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment.1 s {! x7 r! E3 \6 n
0 d& Z8 s! I( B @0 |$ vBut 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? v4 y! N n/ a7 M) {' S4 m8 u* S9 e( ?
The authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection. ' d: s# N' u/ Z6 a: v& v8 O* l8 @. {1 l, q. ~$ i; E
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. * F9 ^$ v, P! z; y1 P* R, Y3 O7 w* g: ^' J+ ?4 K2 v- p
A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them.7 _3 `) y" H9 Q' N5 Q3 ^/ B6 g
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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.5 ~2 p3 t0 G" y( h
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That view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene.. f( L B) k$ l$ `. q) z
' G, ^' N" X f/ x0 i0 {I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain." w/ H) W) I. g8 d- L
% @ Y0 \! L/ a1 ^5 M3 I 8 Q; `. O; ^; J- h+ c6 ]5 g+ b- t! b8 \! l+ Y( e ) i* Q7 l; y$ U6 i5 _3 F5 {( [Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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