Q% V- J% L+ F0 B% 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。 3 H' }/ K9 B; S4 v. l" z# x' b. V/ k% y1 g: A
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。0 U4 P+ n' y: C! Y
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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…….& \* w, ~" ]* s9 X* `' w3 L
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Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles # g' R& X* n6 s6 n8 b3 \ ( H W; {2 K4 m( G- YCalifornia'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.5 T) R- u: N/ v- K, F5 h
0 Y" \! u2 a; d. ^3 C6 GLight drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.0 i5 m- w$ ^$ `- p' Q& 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.# Q# f4 V: L+ |; `" P1 J. A1 W2 X2 z% N
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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.2 z0 \$ T1 ]+ G
* j. x% L( l0 kThe porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga.' r t' C3 S0 _# P4 Q
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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.- T! V- W5 m! t7 V# r5 O
: i+ X( {6 z0 u' E& a0 e7 PThis 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.7 d% D8 v! ?, F: M$ ?. y, ~
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Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed. * N! h' @2 {7 p9 K5 i9 R: s s6 j: J! D, Q5 J
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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. C8 s. T. f+ F- B9 ^# v; O( s3 T
The problem, increasingly, is revenue." X# a# y u' A; ?& N& s
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Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch. B/ [+ k9 }& r& q& a" A% {, A , u& h: x% u3 E" K3 VDVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free. a, K" o/ Z9 m3 W: W0 N* {5 Y' E
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And the economic downturn does not help. : _) o6 ]2 c! G + a1 z* @5 X: \"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. # O4 L! w6 v w$ ^ $ S6 I" p* [# [9 C' T7 K6 |: r8 F ZThe economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. 1 H4 o8 r% D/ W6 ^) A8 I2 F+ X; }$ m& U- m
For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms. ' C4 D6 K/ ~! O% B: Q U' t# W/ l6 K* \7 b$ O% a
Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set., W* [9 G# M9 R) M) C' Q
S& Y, H f' a, q) |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. % M+ x0 v y' `7 p8 e) W3 M ?" l& J; W8 q' `0 U3 K
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Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers.5 F1 z" r: h3 l" |. d' h7 g1 Y: h
* K8 |5 `3 a4 cA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years. : n# ~; w6 Y) S2 x: O- } 7 ?$ m( r) b j9 a& d) A( W" tShe turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure.1 q9 E* a' ~ e, Q i& ^
+ \5 i5 Q' F/ b/ e" O"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?"; [, F! C3 `/ d
- X/ o' U: L6 R* Q8 O9 }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.4 g9 ] W+ \. b: O
2 \4 `) S0 N' v9 d% M# R3 uEach day would be 15 hours long. l7 L; K: E. |# l& d 4 ?# o2 ^$ Q" P( ~"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. " W6 a4 ?: _4 F% `$ I1 c# X7 a: O/ |# c
"You get used to it," she smiled. 1 k$ }" v2 b1 P3 r: M' d: @+ e, p' [# A
"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" - K, @0 `( ^! i+ l7 ?" A0 R! P 0 Q. ?- A6 R$ j! T! C: h. n& y* U) _"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." 3 k" D+ V# _2 Y- s* F; B' N$ ?. v0 b- U/ _% x
There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. - {- v+ q C m! h- r$ t2 ~5 U# N # R5 h) y1 c8 R8 S4 S7 IExpensive lawsuits 0 S6 O" M% E$ k ' C- W! G, e) r% u# n$ b+ KIn fact there was something very Californian about the entire business.6 c. X" q; o$ L, ?3 E; i
! i4 z9 F: Y. c1 q! Y SA combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it.6 d, {9 E% L1 X
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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.& G- k8 P& Z; L: y7 n& z' p
* P2 C( }, z7 xNow, 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.4 I a- e. O9 R: j5 ?, @7 [! ^
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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?" . ?0 S% C! j( ~% w) t3 g. ~6 k8 f
I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment.+ y) u, j/ j, Y7 G
* G; U8 Q1 r. x3 U. tBut 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? , d C7 y d3 x) V9 S8 ]7 S% s' `* B- g- |' w- u/ ?$ c) w: j
The authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection. 6 n$ f# d8 l D* \ 9 K2 c3 M" H) b0 b) {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.7 h0 O! \" |9 \9 n: }0 \
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A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them.) A3 D5 P4 \! U, Q
" }: F& \& n2 d' X+ JThe producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants. ( a1 K& z4 J! A$ q 6 i2 D5 I- X$ EThat view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene. 6 w0 P2 ]/ F1 O7 v# Z( @: j: c q; C* ~# F" E# I
I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain." q/ G* a1 M Y7 S% Q7 j
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Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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