" D- ~4 u6 B, D; e9 k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。 * H8 E' q l" |5 u( L2 u 8 E9 k! T" x7 U: J! R p1980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。2 `2 t0 Z+ H+ X) B+ `4 j
不戴安全套的权利 * O3 w3 R- U6 t4 F' i / x3 T* Z, F, a7 M2 Q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。 J1 Q" D, L: m. s& z" c' Z _( f4 J0 O. a; G; u
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”?. \2 ^$ i# w$ B/ T8 @1 O$ C
& k3 H. a& T4 \- S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。 0 h% t0 @3 ]) x4 ]0 Q! k8 G % K# Z( o2 z. j# G. T5 j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 U% Q/ n( U3 R6 f8 I- |# U/ E4 u - F( g( T* A; ?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。 ! \" n. \$ G2 q0 Z0 r5 C& U( l% X; P+ K' Z
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。( u/ K1 s4 C5 K! |9 l
- u1 a' ~' P m( x, A一些演员私下告诉我,他们盼着立法赶快生效。& k# w# a+ _- I4 |
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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。 & z3 e- N# K& E; W 7 R# z1 h1 |3 U- E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。6 F x1 y0 f6 T* L5 F1 Z* J! L
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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…….$ }' M: g2 S/ T6 t d- R
( m# D. S; o8 U5 r6 S# Z 7 O' i" R1 `# W* SCalifornian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles / H& w2 v4 ~% O. p# _$ n8 w + ^. O# |, W$ CCalifornia'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.+ P/ |, p5 v9 o/ P) l- k$ Z# q
2 z& b" |5 b# F+ M8 @+ t* ^Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.4 {# C7 x7 x+ D! E
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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. 0 f7 _! o, L2 P( C7 K5 G9 ]4 ]& {8 }6 y4 X5 F* \8 O8 B/ n' r
What I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect. . t w/ h' C( c" f" N/ Q% @+ h0 R+ y6 S( z
The porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga.7 t( M6 w* F: J' _5 R
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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. 1 h6 b" ?; b6 O" s: ] , t% ]2 d. T w1 ?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.% K+ n8 Y5 v, G% M8 S0 @3 [; R
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Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed. ; [3 _- W; S$ R& R+ l ( }9 D: J: n& y7 p0 DFantasy, {$ c( q( L) c( i! n! V
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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. : v7 n1 }, s1 b y% ]" J& S7 U1 X1 d ( g/ C! y8 \- \" n: e+ e; RThe problem, increasingly, is revenue. C( C( r- q# v3 s" I7 a* P! s
( s8 Y. R2 s1 H4 @, r8 d, vLike the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch./ J& D0 C$ d( j; |
2 ~; _9 N/ q3 P! j4 c3 @4 lDVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free. 6 S) ], k& m& s9 n4 n- h( } % e2 }* K+ L1 A# M9 ZAnd the economic downturn does not help.: N5 b t- M' U! j1 D
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"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. 4 e2 k% Z7 n J5 A$ `0 K+ r( D2 ^: T5 c
The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations.- |4 I; O+ z7 w2 f6 J6 g
3 [# |! |5 K2 E$ ^For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms. ; s% m0 u% X' d# p 8 m& B5 P! v0 S6 w! |/ r5 G$ aHealth scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set.- F* R! h& e( x" G
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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.& N" r$ ^9 O- p# a: D9 F
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Gonorrhoea 5 i! T. @' ~7 M2 ] 3 z0 }5 b% C) F1 c" _, s+ IBack on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. % S" `3 }. b: b+ K% p$ z. ` J8 R* Y9 x4 i( ?/ ]* ~
A college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years.( ]2 t0 f* [8 C4 Z! W$ W
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She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure.4 Y1 i0 l" K1 ?$ m
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"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" e/ K3 {8 a8 j( C 2 q0 [- u' C" Q6 \& }& o7 c/ m% M5 |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. 2 D0 t+ a4 ]4 P * b' u" w0 c* D h8 _( [; E. _1 |3 xEach day would be 15 hours long. 5 m9 B$ S- C, [1 _1 `: z , g, ?9 m* C4 C. Y"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. 8 l4 Z" d' @2 V, \3 k+ K % h" G# l! I, z9 _5 {"You get used to it," she smiled. " b1 U3 e% v6 r1 x s& ^0 l 8 e# s3 n' n) }"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?"2 B& i c- h; R* @0 n
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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.". _8 K% n8 b5 B( h
; P4 l; ?6 W4 Y# v) UThere was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. 8 }6 [( a( ?: W$ B ?& ^( F$ o- ?$ i1 y, n) c& sExpensive lawsuits$ E. ^% S3 A( {& E. C& A: N
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In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business., d# _' U" K+ L% w, i" o5 {
G9 Y1 f4 a" |+ ]A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it. 2 Y+ @$ N. f2 r0 k) n u0 _ , h7 n$ a. e) N7 GIt 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. : L+ K3 L0 ?: n# [6 T2 G. ]8 ^ % Q0 n( K# L0 n9 pNow, 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 _9 p& F3 P/ M* j3 O0 W" ^ {! d
+ b7 @5 F6 M1 h' z6 g"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?" ! v8 K4 H+ i. Q" W% O3 | c 2 m. V/ M) m7 u$ e* n: LI struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment.3 o6 P: i% y9 Q+ y3 d' P. ~
$ w2 x, D4 M+ Q$ W& I! q$ yBut 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? ' W( N, ^' L- G, u" ^, p+ q0 b
The authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection. + y/ D1 V) W; x* U/ e8 z1 j; v- v' s5 |/ F! K
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. + N! G. ]3 L. b/ C8 B+ k1 [# k. K5 v' p5 ]0 b A3 s
A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them. ' x& K' C* K5 _0 P- j. O4 j1 V# X 4 A9 I* j9 U$ X0 i' @2 O0 RThe producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants.9 `/ z3 S& G/ \8 V7 z
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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.$ }& W# d2 I. l3 V- P- m
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I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain.( l* s) a+ w7 a' h6 ~0 \; T t
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Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004