! D# ~) D7 U' H! U5 y s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……. + t; V6 ?' r( Y+ ?; P& a1 N. @ + b% r2 Z( _3 u. v7 D0 @) i, R& A) t5 i
Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles # X( U/ g7 S% {- x
" h& x6 Z! C- x. q" m" J/ d% _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. . y: `6 \" z+ I6 r) B4 ]! e/ ^ 5 Y1 z+ e; z' j/ c8 r9 wLight drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.' q8 X2 M: t; x. W, N: c, g
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I had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things.2 @/ }0 N! _& X
5 @; Q( E& x8 w& [7 YWhat I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect.) v1 W7 L% m0 F8 n# O7 @2 H
/ H, M$ G0 M8 UThe porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga. ) _* M, q1 S9 Y5 E . r/ U+ }8 R5 n! `; ^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." @. N$ S* J: P& L
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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. 2 L5 a$ w4 U* l- ^/ \4 m# t8 [ `, a5 q- j" E8 K
Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed.3 y5 F: ^/ }5 F% C, T5 h; {
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Fantasy. ~; w4 Q& q: K$ p" l+ Q+ p* P
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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.5 G1 \0 e, ^7 s* C- m
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The problem, increasingly, is revenue. - Q" |1 |3 @3 z- E& u2 Z1 F 5 j( v% z* C) n. F0 d% d2 zLike the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch.% {2 G: z& S$ N$ i- d& d
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DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free. , F! j' `. k9 I; Y ' ^- O6 p8 i7 k, Y D& [5 uAnd the economic downturn does not help.0 Q- \+ |3 G& i# U+ f
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"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. , [1 V. x1 m* S7 r7 \1 l; q + \) i z$ D9 \- `+ @8 a1 r- D; X) YThe economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations.. X, l8 Y/ X$ v' }
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For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms.* b& A4 F7 ~8 [" ?
/ k: C/ B/ j2 x6 qHealth scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set. % L/ Q+ Z, z4 |8 P. K" E9 H ( q ~: h$ W: l6 }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. ! {. h% L8 T/ `* T, a( W" X1 O% P6 G. x! k$ f; i- W) X
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9 m9 z. p! J( v5 G, h* Z- xBack on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers.3 ?; y. L% I. i$ b$ J+ `
% |6 O& `/ q/ T0 n! L% P! H. U+ U0 mA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years.( a' P; N% |( d1 s9 ]9 M1 \7 I
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She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure.# f; z" x& ^9 \% P
* b( W/ T1 U$ A"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?"0 d" ?( O- M/ |( M6 D6 j
% r6 u% Z7 Z% T4 }$ J2 Q; ^ hHer 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 l( H# d1 p: P0 Y# y; y
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Each day would be 15 hours long. & h: H* z5 U! O' m * g. J% d9 j# s. i$ K$ O"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. 2 d7 f5 Y' S0 v! T0 X: c8 s, U3 m- j. u0 k
"You get used to it," she smiled.3 `& U5 i% U' X" n
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"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?"& I9 U8 A `5 u, M q T
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"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."" V, Y0 ~& _! T! H+ H
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There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided.- m; H' ^9 n2 o1 n7 m s( s( e
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Expensive lawsuits ' _( |# {- J$ r! ]% C , u9 S0 A" Q) T; `4 TIn fact there was something very Californian about the entire business.& |2 r {* z' w
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A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it.6 J% }' e' N$ _
4 f/ K, w+ c8 PIt 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.. _! j7 ] j% }) m1 W
+ ^! u; o0 `+ x' z; }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.' I" w% Y- z. a; T+ c4 d }
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"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?" ) g7 X$ K7 m4 a7 B( J( `( H6 f) L K- E + h# B r- e3 P4 o+ y lI struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment. X l' f( C5 U, p% d' h& C ( X! j* d+ W3 y5 s, P- x5 N2 cBut 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? 9 f, Y1 u+ Q' s" N8 L1 i8 v ~ 8 v+ y. C U7 T- k, NThe authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection.% o/ d$ e! c; n. V; x
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It 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. + r* g, l# w+ v9 c! D- o! x1 Q 1 c2 v* [' ]. C r7 @# n7 BA number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them.7 i3 ^9 f5 ]! T7 G- }3 D- j5 u1 {
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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.: c( I# _! f# i$ \8 H! \! s
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That view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene. 2 D7 i# w+ x0 y2 z7 b; w0 b: N) q- M+ r! H" k8 |- _3 U% r
I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain.# c# p; y" \, |) M) f
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; M% j: n! y7 {2 G' H 4 U9 Y9 m( `% Y2 j2 }Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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