" e1 g3 m, l% o: V( L0 s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。 * ?& E5 ]; @/ U l; y' Z+ L 8 D2 O* G& U9 M5 n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。 / c& x+ o X3 ?% J6 x4 L5 G+ O* `% u5 o$ C' L: A6 q
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……. ( C* Z* D8 |0 I9 l. A ?* q5 D7 X9 v5 @% Y
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Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles , n @: ]0 D+ O6 S7 d6 [( T
. p6 p! {) C1 Z z! L' Y W. ~# R4 ACalifornia'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., t( l$ D! }3 |" I/ f& N" Y! N
$ L) |5 c# x/ J: I4 z$ eLight drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles. # N3 u8 ~# `- c2 H' v8 W5 D+ h! s) d# b. P9 p; L; u: v
I had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things. & I: |" r3 X" l3 k3 l7 I* c 9 @1 c9 g5 R/ P t. IWhat I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect. $ a6 ]% y5 B, m3 x ! V4 w- v7 C: g7 X7 ]: L1 ?+ J- K1 y# sThe porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga. + c& ]: `" m. U# E7 |) d# b1 ^5 w$ j9 p" c6 Q" E& S
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." x& X. D+ e: c0 [( d* x
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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.0 r5 h! J" x/ q/ w5 [ L
3 E! H. v$ g! ]. a. Y7 jOnly 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed.8 Q/ N( P j1 b% O
0 a! o7 C7 \" Y2 K8 G3 V7 VFantasy % p. w. j4 A( S# I* @6 c: ^ i) C( Q( w* j1 e3 t
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. ! N0 |% p7 T, ]& [$ l3 R4 K+ T! ?( b( l7 B% E* O; u/ p* v
The problem, increasingly, is revenue.( z6 s' f- h2 P
+ B9 O& m7 @- U- ]( j2 z! `6 qLike the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch.0 ?) z L% k8 n$ _
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DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free.2 E4 Q, K9 H+ c0 P* X# _
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And the economic downturn does not help. I3 j% L2 V; m. B% H) Q8 R
# ], `* `2 ?& n+ D) G0 L"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. # v% | }$ g' ` : L4 G3 |( L" [: i7 D1 r8 UThe economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. 1 }1 h& f+ v- N, F. u4 ]. ]! H& d/ m % L9 R9 n$ i: ^2 k5 rFor years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms.- t3 W; ]( |6 M; Q8 ^) w
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Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set.7 I( x: V" p1 q u1 Q. N
5 w2 C, a$ c5 X1 E6 aBut the industry says wearing condoms on-screen is a turn-off. The public do not want it, it will kill the fantasy, they say.+ v3 Z5 O3 `7 o; R( J% U _
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Gonorrhoea ; S. `8 H1 K+ |7 B5 Q& |0 r: ~1 E o* c$ d. c# t
Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. * H& g2 z8 s7 o1 ` 2 A, M! V; r @( Y3 rA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years. % H: q6 T1 a; [: x/ \ E5 P6 c5 w, v- c2 I O
She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. 4 E& A9 ]8 m( U6 D; B8 B ( Z: I8 H0 ~6 w/ t2 `"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" - N7 t* _' w: y& u* k$ K+ f & s0 S; C) |3 i$ rHer 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. 7 o6 i& b* D6 {% y: Y, T8 K/ Z+ ]# t
Each day would be 15 hours long. ! d: V# N0 d8 ?' P9 j + H, i0 B8 N4 l7 l3 k X2 ]+ U' h"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. 9 P8 G3 M0 q8 |4 R' {3 V$ l* _4 j( `) {: s
"You get used to it," she smiled. 8 u+ T& i* Q7 a " E! P3 o- v$ ?2 k- p# B- c"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" `# m3 f) _* X% ] u J& A, V, D0 X
"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." 0 E) X, F( c1 h/ B" Q1 {& { t' p: X
There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. ( c& b: E* B; f . L3 m0 j2 [4 \Expensive lawsuits 1 R2 K$ H3 J! N$ Y9 i 2 f1 \5 a) |9 O% x4 E0 o. eIn fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. ; T d4 P' L; e' ] 5 }3 T h- V; F9 [ pA combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it.: B, \1 y V1 t
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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. 1 b/ `6 Z' L! l0 p% l3 a, X : d# ^& M5 L0 \: m0 v2 Q. k. u: 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. 9 j& I) A" G9 [4 ?( B. x8 L ! d5 Y* @' U3 I& m0 ~, A0 y8 D"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?" ( J0 S! a. q0 T, @ 6 U& w: W& u1 A/ d" h5 h2 {I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment.$ y# G4 `7 q" Y$ p1 n$ }9 K% _
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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? + z3 m! ~( H; i$ g c9 ^ 9 \8 r# y$ h( [3 XThe authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection.2 f5 j0 u$ c# ^/ \7 t7 _
, B/ V F: I2 kIt 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. ' `) q: O! I0 a- c* F# D( @. t& z! w$ [; \' ~# j4 m$ H
A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them.( E7 `% S0 S0 R' W9 q1 S5 v) @
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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. 7 Q- |% H6 M' K3 i- O! m- m9 e. {% A) F
That view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene. # q3 {9 H1 R4 U+ X% h$ u + e, x4 U/ k9 U* h! c8 P. n! R! dI decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain.: W, ?0 U, I y5 S
2 a9 b5 u8 O: P) b- x( ^8 e6 | - ^0 _/ y x5 p& X. f( Q0 o . s/ a3 Z$ a) ?- Q, c# t1 Z 0 @) d8 ~- x: Y+ N* ^; _& d: wCalls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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