+ ~. w3 g, j* a重返《星际迷航》的拍摄现场,我和主要演员之一宝碧·斯塔尔聊了起来。宝碧是大学毕业生,以前是国家级游泳运动员,专业的双簧管手。短短的27年,她的一生真可是阅历丰富。7 o2 }# a" s) U' A9 o) G. v5 U
0 e3 X1 v* F9 y h宝碧说,改行做色情电影演员,主要是为了追求性探险。她说,“这是找乐趣。身边的人都高高兴兴,你有什么可烦的呢”?0 p; n0 D, d7 F- f9 N
9 `# G+ b; r; c2 F# t! u, u! S r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。 ; z& X: F$ y% s. `1 C5 B3 L2 E# o6 f6 r3 \' N- w9 @
我说,“你一定很累吧”?她微笑着回答说,“习惯了”。. W0 h7 G9 K7 f Q! X. X
. h7 F; h4 W$ M1 h+ G* h我接着问,“那么,健康风险呢?你经常被感染吗”? ( d9 l7 G2 R+ c F* q " G% t* ]+ {* y0 A* {- {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。”/ o" l/ K p& V' `2 {. V. F
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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。- b( M% o! \- m9 ^8 S f& D" Y
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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。4 c6 [- U: N3 a; g Q2 w
不戴安全套的权利9 p: G' O8 q0 I5 B) h8 L
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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。 , [/ D0 t. e; I1 E/ ] . \+ ?5 y1 `. O3 l- B8 ]9 k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”? ) G) T5 t z$ w( i# @& c d9 D. k: M% h+ g1 K
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。 ' V5 g4 I) o: i( R( d: c% u* o, I8 x! E. f% d; e3 t1 O
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 d: P& A. }5 z. ]' C- Y. \
( {0 t7 W% f. 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。& L5 G# s! ?" s: `0 N7 i( D
: z0 G: W* W2 M8 p' Z" w" J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。7 r0 Q% b- u- n0 k: W3 p
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一些演员私下告诉我,他们盼着立法赶快生效。 # M9 g& v. w+ A7 Z' ]0 q5 o% B3 o4 ~$ O: u' g
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。 7 F3 C5 s, t: Z% n* ^7 a; |$ a J( Y
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( V) g% f0 x$ k: L5 |3 M, m
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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…….% c3 `& q/ x0 R5 H
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Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles - L' i9 B W6 v4 t$ a* @) ?" P& d7 y: p9 M. z6 J
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.) H, {, U1 H; i$ l; ^0 `
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Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles. 3 Y: q9 V6 @. ? @. A* s# J/ Q! ?2 E + a9 Z; p! ~9 G$ O( \I had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things." ^- ~1 x. d. _1 w' W
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What I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect. ' ^) \0 A7 _; C9 d 9 k" F5 Q; d0 R3 qThe porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga.& c% [* f9 D4 d/ I5 B
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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. # a+ l ` E0 Z* r3 n# B 7 D7 E* t- y6 I1 b5 F! p, D3 s2 uThis 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., c5 Z! s$ ]* u
! N5 W4 |$ ?0 X2 r' kOnly 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed. % r) O- G" N* v" t 5 Y5 U2 H. R/ V$ a1 B. k" IFantasy . ]) @( T% @* T5 i # Z; y- R, g1 F/ k4 VThe 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. $ J+ O- Q2 `( B. Z1 S6 b' z: G. ~0 c* Q G+ j. I0 j4 I
The problem, increasingly, is revenue. & t& c% A0 w- c8 T/ a ! U- \. Q' G4 [8 I: C& iLike the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch.( f$ \, m* i( Z/ s
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DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free.: X, Z& L K) {) ~/ r. E2 t
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And the economic downturn does not help. # z& \" T$ n! d' L) E1 A , }7 @' N) {" C' v"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully.3 ^9 Q- B' X, p* Z7 x
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The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. ; c4 l# K5 W2 z0 v" G5 Q$ H8 Q" ]# V6 |# O8 Q1 D P% ]3 d
For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms. ' ^7 x8 X0 u( Q6 }7 l5 _6 D ^* r8 C" K& W: ?; I
Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set.4 S& }8 x9 F7 p' q* j
3 n; p' t5 H9 p( K& r7 C( lBut the industry says wearing condoms on-screen is a turn-off. The public do not want it, it will kill the fantasy, they say. ' l) K- g4 C" g9 z" E& l% D ! |" E7 {" z& Q0 p+ SGonorrhoea% r* y3 [4 V% ?, ~' A
9 v1 b, x* D/ S [+ d4 ZBack on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers., _/ b. V* g& G! X1 F* _
: \$ S1 t5 q9 j7 v3 HA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years., w) I4 x) S z# g, G. P
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She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure./ ?+ \# N6 b- F" v8 R
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"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?"4 v4 J) z1 e: e, l7 m9 @9 R( }( a
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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. / Y `' |( s2 x4 B ]9 @; t9 l; _# x/ v
Each day would be 15 hours long. 0 V7 c; K A4 O1 O; h/ ^: E: [ u: d: ]: B) H2 w- g4 Y"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. 8 E7 Q4 E* H! U8 a! I* @ 7 A& E$ [8 |. G: d) m: I" {/ d) D"You get used to it," she smiled. u |: X( k5 T; @
: J3 ]* }5 w! b* {1 ~"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" & C' v) n0 U, ?2 D- r9 [# I9 [6 y5 w& n% p
"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."7 `% L0 \( M5 U: f$ ?0 N
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There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided.( k2 y4 x+ p: e Y7 e4 b; X
4 N: G9 p- c* L; P! [" b; lExpensive lawsuits 1 A& l! S G6 Z' K% l) S* c# c3 d% i) [" t# g" k6 b
In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. 6 |1 z. B" \: k2 u* C% ?& _. o7 S, X, T. P
A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it. : T, f/ s$ C6 y5 J2 F! M3 F0 o; ^! L; s8 p4 K1 ~
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. . T+ K+ i7 U3 @6 Z3 p! W - o+ H0 t3 E! b% M7 ?3 r* _! WNow, 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. ' l" E& L* k: a/ m/ z: P+ Y & q8 v. Q2 p, |0 C: b/ {"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?" q( N& V$ Z; F# |) I# C8 `1 s' {
" X( Q5 K" D0 _, DI struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment. p+ V3 Y. a4 Y3 Q& O! b; P 2 D1 w# S4 F* JBut 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? O4 E2 g" x* ?6 Q
0 z2 I+ Y& R. i7 I) t3 g$ \The authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection. f0 @2 ]2 A3 ] {3 V * z- h3 X! `$ V4 t' p) z8 H" cIt 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.! |9 X4 v7 X) D _( ~
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A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them.1 K; n( d( E4 f' z/ u
" }0 E- e; U& I, C$ m. \The producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants.# @8 w4 k9 M& K3 e" b( o! i
4 W: P$ B. F/ W- i5 qThat view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene.3 b* U/ `! G6 |0 ?/ N) `
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I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. $ V$ q- i9 u5 o1 o [0 ^6 d9 e7 n) E# L $ I+ R; G: N4 D- l* D$ V# K1 S2 H& \ / S4 |9 q2 ?* n4 J" V- W6 J1 \8 KCalls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004