7 `& |1 y/ W D. I' u& F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。 / i& _8 c' u$ w# b; I 7 w( ?' x9 r7 d9 N) d1 n: R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。. p8 ?1 f7 o& s) V R; ?/ L
F+ a/ q5 l8 Z. b8 m
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…….* p% @2 S% t# t
9 Z0 d: A+ p- ]; p. q" o4 a: ~
( b7 B; Z5 _; Z9 v
Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles ; D9 i3 `% R; ~
- }- y; B) f9 q; m3 s
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. + o) t/ }" r3 H% g' O4 O& m( Y, Z / K8 s5 Y' W5 n9 k, C& cLight drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.6 o9 R6 O2 A6 K; \+ ]
& b. t& m- W3 M, ^I had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things.9 ~( r' K( H3 y& T4 Q% [
* J/ t9 |9 H5 J" O- N% b
What I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect. ' g4 P, z- Z$ j" b, c. w$ } 7 U( ~, ^5 L; N& D L/ F/ BThe porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga. `* Z' U4 _/ \' y7 e) @. Y " X& `/ T z9 ^9 ]; N( q9 tPerformers 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.6 N: r X4 j* g
1 u+ d- l: g; D& `2 R+ I7 @ i
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., p+ K W" p% l2 Z5 l Z
/ T3 g8 y, e7 i* uOnly 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed. 7 ?1 L5 C2 I+ n' J1 I% g 6 C' C6 l6 g! gFantasy- j& n) K6 E* H8 j+ p- U
% U# j- e' C9 U$ a! @' H+ p; \
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. " ]' Y7 M# `# A& H7 C . ~+ h. r) V0 ^" LThe problem, increasingly, is revenue.* r# U6 a, t: g' w/ O/ c8 X
/ |2 l7 ^5 N! D0 P3 B
Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch.. l7 _( J' n. o, O
9 v6 g) d2 b1 ]! rDVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free.1 y% `4 Y# ]5 r2 X, _( Y9 p" G
j( b. J2 e+ K2 ^ Q! i, BAnd the economic downturn does not help. * T7 D3 S/ [9 B/ H E$ t' X; M' h& ^+ X5 z: `: O% s( R$ A
"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. 7 Y& e# Q, f& C* S. S' @ N! J# H2 C
The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. # j7 G$ R o1 G5 H! q$ r' z) U* _/ K7 u# I1 w
For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms.$ z$ J. j/ l% i* f, R8 c5 g1 {
; Y- G# v( h+ z% lHealth scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set. 0 X5 T1 ^' Q2 G2 ]3 N5 S# ~3 J- V5 i
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.' ~: E5 E; ?4 I; f3 Q" f
8 V# A* C4 q. g% aGonorrhoea 1 t& l) T O$ u O) }* U+ V! w1 x6 Z( U$ f* y
Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. 2 m0 f9 q4 w7 `/ r- D6 e 4 `+ p4 A! T6 y" eA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years.# E/ C! m _; F0 G) E+ h
0 {8 \5 p3 b; d# @She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. ( g; x6 g7 b }# ]5 B # _# X4 d$ W& ^* Y* p6 G! v. C"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?"" m" J; E$ g- k: e N
) a2 ^2 o# I 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* R, M& n2 \+ P7 R- P; @
5 i5 ~5 @6 K( W) U8 L& o6 F7 q* y" sEach day would be 15 hours long. 6 a/ g: Q4 @9 ?8 J8 f* j4 Q " r0 j, L' p# @+ a4 p9 [) {4 Y"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested.8 r0 E5 D' G2 P5 r; n# C+ T, N
9 M. ~' [( q5 s, L2 J+ O, N"You get used to it," she smiled.- X/ [( ^; o7 d' u/ Y1 C+ X' o9 Y
* L* F, x1 W' O+ S) n
"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?"% q' U7 M) q; {0 N, o
# }( R: S- q% S6 f9 I1 i- [( 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." ! k' Y! Y, C& F8 W% ^' V- P: E 9 Y0 e1 W7 N* Q5 Z7 x! s, L* yThere was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided.4 N* Z' q* F% z9 Y
0 _5 w. a! R5 |8 t3 @% x# X9 m
Expensive lawsuits 8 t+ r" p( ^$ u: d + @ F# n+ v8 X2 j* t. Z% I! [* b& lIn fact there was something very Californian about the entire business.! j# R1 E6 ]3 V8 C* t/ ^2 g
& Y* b+ z1 [! | L. C8 W. m2 C
A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it. : R* | D7 ] j& m7 G" X 5 a/ M+ J6 U' d6 M4 D7 X' E3 C* H% y% yIt 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. ; v6 Z+ Q0 G/ b/ ~# e, g0 G4 @9 f* t6 \ G8 |9 R
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. * U5 d+ z: a- l q; D5 t* G: T i/ M/ Z% |* I1 D, l: G; S
"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?" 0 k3 ?! U5 O% E4 W5 Z9 i9 _$ G4 m
I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment. 4 u4 n8 l$ I, Z2 ~# ^8 w# b, T7 y) E+ c) Z! z1 g% n% c
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? # A( ^" W6 q# H6 L. z/ | * [6 h! a1 J3 m) e5 G- I w# H$ RThe authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection.; m7 e" L4 y+ x1 J0 a
+ B! Y* m( [" ^7 I( U8 Y1 M/ c3 vIt 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. " }% d# A9 S! _$ R2 _2 g2 S: `- x8 c6 ^) u7 X! I. ]. v
A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them.& L) j) O. ?: H
; M, w4 i. U q4 {, F& t- K' A; kThe producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants. R0 g+ \# U P Y
; g% m; y" `3 C, N( }
That view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene.- ?- Y. r# Y6 c M- Y; ~% H; F
* G7 i8 d7 B CI decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. 5 V5 q$ D( C6 |- c7 b- _# i 6 |9 W8 `% m$ s! S 9 z& R: W% ~' }6 N+ } ( m- s# O/ B$ y" @ 3 [/ N& `' i; ]( l5 [Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
/ a+ C M- S- h t: d% Y; S3 O
