6 W. d; q7 U0 s# W! @一些演员私下告诉我，他们盼着立法赶快生效。 - Q/ r+ E' [2 a0 K K3 n8 I: j B' R" e, `9 ?- V2 j
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。1 C- O% \: Q: f# Q& n
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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。 ( [, z( C" P6 _" ? G! J$ ~0 J+ D. K
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…….0 c* I: k" \* F; z! R; B
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Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles ! ~2 r( i+ l- s/ `7 Q
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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.) u2 B8 P: b2 l/ L1 l- t( {0 a! T
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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 ]7 q3 y2 S5 r- X4 w1 i ' {+ w4 K) i2 v1 C, d9 N* P5 u6 kI had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things. 3 H- N3 M. z! D; Y6 A1 y# k4 y v + ~* w7 ] [; r) ^# C5 UWhat I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect. 4 T& Z% M6 U v# D 5 v( p/ s7 G( z3 jThe porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga. 4 {+ h E# _: U9 Y C% ^7 k! b! ~, p. H) P/ o
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. 0 I3 B' z! F, g; m$ J) h2 g% l3 }) v" d' l1 `+ 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. 0 c8 j3 o! s& f4 @! T9 S! T& t; y6 j ) H, d# n) T) B {Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed.* b) W" u7 v2 n- O6 r
; R5 O* Q8 Q$ w- v# OFantasy! S' G0 c8 @" D
_9 H$ V& Q/ \, A$ h) ZThe 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. 1 `! _. V- J4 ?, c; [* D" F" A- X- Z/ F
The problem, increasingly, is revenue.2 q# N1 b) _+ b
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Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch. n: A) r6 f/ a, v, l: t! @- x8 R' d2 Z, y7 ?
DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free.# R* ?' A) w0 X% p. [9 o0 H
# |2 `, V# F% l1 \9 L+ D- qAnd the economic downturn does not help. % C2 Z2 M+ M4 O/ `; g3 ^4 L5 v9 `& O/ t
"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully.1 M' d: b) i3 k/ k7 E% P
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The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations.: P( y! S! }5 K( F: N6 t
- R& ^+ U U" e% @For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms. 2 C6 b. B) F1 C4 F7 ~' k* B 2 r: V6 [5 ?/ A+ _Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set. / S4 h+ ^6 H% f, M % y- q. a/ W9 ~! G# ?9 v4 oBut the industry says wearing condoms on-screen is a turn-off. The public do not want it, it will kill the fantasy, they say.3 B6 M# E# |& m# U
- U ? ^: O6 U2 k) t( P; d6 y) z# E: R% FGonorrhoea ) `2 B7 ?7 I* ?) R) f9 f . U" Q) J( p3 \- p: c+ S0 V' UBack on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers.- e" q* P7 p7 [" ]7 _
; O2 N5 w/ s, yA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years. 5 g6 T2 ^/ |+ n# A0 N7 Q' Q! M8 X& l. u; F6 w
She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure.) {& V2 F5 w9 P
! j: i9 A/ k$ v0 b"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" 1 m8 @* {- ^/ c- `5 i - c* o7 c" ]5 h' [; _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. 9 A9 {2 H& _3 Y, z1 ^) N , m4 v A# p @* }$ A REach day would be 15 hours long. 5 q8 U( v3 P2 X: ~3 R : r3 } c) U7 ^) U. q"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested.+ O' x5 a4 b. j
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"You get used to it," she smiled. 7 Z: N/ h$ h! u8 | / K% W3 C' R$ N& U2 l3 v& t. A& S"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?"9 p! B7 J; Q5 W" ]- E% h% p% @) j
7 D4 X+ ^" o, X% j0 P" v$ x4 l1 E"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." + n6 f) s6 Y$ i- n- C, ]! I9 C+ Z+ X- q
There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided.8 h( N8 S, d; E
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Expensive lawsuits9 Y) x+ ?; X* U/ ]" H( M2 I
_4 ^. T1 J! Y }In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business.7 o5 X s v6 V! j
; R; r- ~# K& D- ?% cA combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it." x% K( Z$ L3 R2 |3 P& F& [# X
& J/ Y/ l' Z0 ]& z5 TIt 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. " J: M& |2 b' W7 n8 G+ s$ c8 Q& f" ^$ B3 [0 D
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, E/ \) _. J' j, y: x5 r4 d( y# d1 X P$ |
"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?" ! L' Z+ o3 u" q! C( W6 G8 G9 A/ V ! B; G3 ~9 F# aI struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment. . g% F$ E: l9 P9 C' E - [ o4 X# A9 x: h) x5 [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?0 j( c1 U* v: L& r$ T
5 i8 c* K& X. J) UThe authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection.9 S9 T" V7 G1 E( L5 ]7 A8 W$ B; w
+ D }6 \" z+ b4 Y5 _4 X* E7 GIt 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 C+ J/ w# f/ Y1 I K9 D% A
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A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them.6 A) d$ R6 R/ f7 c" r
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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.$ Z6 z% L) ]2 u" ^0 x. E M
" s1 r; X/ n+ E/ e& Q* XThat view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene. : [" v" H ]7 |2 G7 U0 Z3 N: Z + u; e; m. d6 hI decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain.' ]5 x5 n8 u2 ~2 l& q
$ d* a5 r a* s! p+ J3 D. X: Y 6 n. }! r7 F. g1 p* ~ 6 T( j: z) G9 [! X' b! M 7 l, ]' c& ?. @9 }! ], `5 ^1 m- WCalls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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