( M( }+ d8 ~( m1 }# P$ H: {一些演员私下告诉我,他们盼着立法赶快生效。 7 d3 a% h8 S( S$ `* B1 N9 W ) v; f' R* l9 ^$ J0 U# Q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。8 h5 O* t, K$ {
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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。! J/ v6 `. t# w8 P9 T' p6 z, h
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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…….2 F) {& P: l% K. X; f
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' Q, @8 d# J/ k1 F; H1 ]Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles 0 r' P. B* h- K2 E1 g. w / v8 o9 ]6 ~7 MCalifornia'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.- F, C' g. F# n- B9 n
: G, Y k: f8 F( R& XLight drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles. . f \0 W+ W8 F1 D1 A9 h8 H1 P/ }, a w/ n6 ]4 v
I had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things. * m1 D7 I' V4 B) d" V3 P) A+ |* `/ }" n# ^) f5 S
What I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect.+ M7 a: U# n2 Z4 i
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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. & x, p1 _& L2 F: l ! P6 r! o! D5 z( ?. y8 F1 |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 h1 q; {- M0 ~7 r0 _/ P7 n5 n' E
- Y) P" [! _8 b1 O) ~% D% H. \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.5 |7 j* G! j5 D# E. b+ v4 F
9 L% s! r8 z' UOnly 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed. ! W' c. S1 c9 d7 i" t. E4 f8 G & \7 m) a* e# p2 v+ xFantasy( `( n! ?. r1 E4 \1 \
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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. $ i+ t; s7 C" f1 y + s; C% `2 Z3 {; dThe problem, increasingly, is revenue.: {& V$ F" s1 j
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Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch.! i, }/ g9 B5 A& Z; i# O
( T; B! v \3 i! W# s6 m- a$ GDVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free. + G ^* f8 t* |; O/ G/ N. e' x4 S . g& ^# _$ G% Y# mAnd the economic downturn does not help.4 N! U% ?3 T, Q$ h, |2 i9 _
( G- B4 R) N# k- w"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. , f5 s% M, F$ x8 j4 `% F : F& ]6 y% ~% R: K; e2 `The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. 2 N/ ]: | K: G( _* F1 I8 y3 s" T0 M * z# z/ T% V0 [6 [For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms. ) ^( Q& X+ R; Q( Y. z, S8 i+ _/ n- Y& t! A: s
Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set.+ L% G% v4 {) T" t P
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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. 2 @: L5 Q, n: b& @4 j / {, b7 @& D: k; W9 l: sGonorrhoea+ J; @( ^. s! O1 Y
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Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers.0 D, j4 k7 d+ G' o0 f# E6 V
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A college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years. 4 O- P8 j M* C/ U' K* z/ K, Y' m& E
She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. / p- @8 q( K4 [: e( M3 {) Q4 i F6 B5 r$ a
"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" ' O. a/ \0 [& u N* }0 Q( R% X( \* c; J, x/ v3 Q
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. ' w& E! r5 B3 A/ X2 \) x2 Z3 Z* Y+ E + Y7 M; t% P+ I; h& Z( {6 pEach day would be 15 hours long.1 \) e: |2 S# D5 I! N
4 S) `2 P1 y, r* Z7 @. l8 z"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. * L$ I1 I2 G8 L" F) J, w$ X2 }( w/ O# f1 i
"You get used to it," she smiled. # a% w4 _0 N& d1 \- u% l+ V$ P. {- g ! V6 K1 y) m$ q8 `' } I, u4 o: C"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" 1 [ L9 @4 Y( g. c; {3 v8 r6 o+ @2 M0 W9 |
"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."6 y% S3 k0 C# i' c8 p; l' P3 c
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There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided.0 S; k6 L6 a& X# Q; _
& y, ]& ~; Q3 DExpensive lawsuits ( t6 D: ?) f$ q; f8 X$ k X2 a3 t* W; E: A
In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. . L3 I4 Y3 L2 D) i4 W7 [- K: p6 i7 j% l
A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it./ [0 i" u) U1 z! a* |. n! P
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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. # W; [( b; a. `% i* g& N: g. w/ _/ C1 _9 | 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. T. V- Z4 l) M/ y% p8 X
8 Q; ]! F' f. F; N2 w( F# X" L; U"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?" 7 m7 o) f7 f( W8 ]3 \& s 1 o+ T, G2 @# }, pI struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment.& h7 } k2 C. p1 c0 H5 @5 n
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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? / d; ~/ [+ g* y' L( k ]! ] / k9 Y |1 y. ^# }7 ]# bThe authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection.) z5 G; R" H8 K. d! ^8 j
6 u9 [, X& `3 o& H8 TIt 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. G$ p/ c9 T; T$ ]6 i S$ D7 \& @8 ^ & T0 I9 S5 n, i- I) N2 Y- D9 V& s0 O8 HA number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them.' g2 {* H7 E; a' n' D; y$ g& W
& x8 I" ~1 ]' v8 f+ uThe producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants. # g) i: O. s3 o H& e4 K1 l / A. Y' Y" J( l4 _# aThat view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene./ R9 j1 l+ V, y4 L
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I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain.8 C( O0 v, c- ~0 T: x
: [& C! E9 f, o $ E" s: o, P8 W+ _( z; B& K s" y5 _# r3 N$ @' A; h! J1 D " H( h- d* U9 E* o2 a+ pCalls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004