' h, A S4 n, Q- s2 |1 [3 I演员健康受损害的案例中最著名的一起是在2004年，三名演员感染上艾滋病毒。这凸现出演员中交叉感染十分严重。' o# M' a8 C, l( n. E
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但是，电影业坚持说，演员带安全套会扫观众的兴。他们说，观众不愿意看，安全套等于扼杀观众的幻想。3 P- v$ T0 o$ \! }
“没什么大不了的”1 C6 }# \2 p2 C3 C4 {( E4 a$ t; \
9 W6 Z3 U% }: F% D5 Y重返《星际迷航》的拍摄现场，我和主要演员之一宝碧·斯塔尔聊了起来。宝碧是大学毕业生，以前是国家级游泳运动员，专业的双簧管手。短短的27年，她的一生真可是阅历丰富。 . V. Q, K w/ {% P) E0 T3 |7 U: \! ?6 p) m$ W
宝碧说，改行做色情电影演员，主要是为了追求性探险。她说，“这是找乐趣。身边的人都高高兴兴，你有什么可烦的呢”？. g2 a4 U+ F6 t2 j* j8 e. _/ y7 E. k
8 x/ F0 ?: |9 k: b当天，她的日程安排得很紧凑，两句台词，四小时的性爱。星期二试装，然后就去接受每月一次的体检。宝碧每一天都要工作15个小时。' U: Z2 c8 U, R! ~! {
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我说，“你一定很累吧”？她微笑着回答说，“习惯了”。- T. ^5 j1 E- @- ~% I/ m
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我接着问，“那么，健康风险呢？你经常被感染吗”？* g/ ^7 A# t( r' ]0 I
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她说，“也就是染上过一两次衣原体，还有淋病，除此之外，没什么大不了的。我们每个月都体检，得了病，赶紧吃药，然后就又能回去上班了。没问题。”2 y9 P1 `' J* \0 R
% L' T/ ~7 A$ M+ ]# _2 S: h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。7 Z. \7 Y9 O! d( u, ]8 w
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1980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。 E( {, j) c* G* L不戴安全套的权利 2 {( k/ w% K2 x8 Y0 Z5 I1 H3 O" W
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。 + z/ O, Z! t/ U5 t 5 {$ N$ v4 h4 X/ ]4 m# x- ~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”？9 [* k8 a0 x: F6 l- G* _0 `' f
. v: H+ ^3 l' T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。 . l5 b5 N* c. \7 Y5 N* P/ ]! ~* e" E; Z
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？# i- m1 t b' S
& h# q+ J7 g [& ?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。 1 V7 a4 W5 e: H2 x+ s; u( x- z : I: b# _* H0 L4 A# t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。 4 ^0 d/ r% d3 P9 u# l2 f# i" Z5 r - G q' l& I' _6 i% n7 g一些演员私下告诉我，他们盼着立法赶快生效。 l, w! N9 d, a! }2 I! K- W7 x! E( t% c
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。 : K( R9 K/ e+ O2 q* H( y5 H ) @0 m u0 T8 D! _( t/ a0 t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。/ N" g9 z! V7 ?: _0 D: E
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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……. 6 s) E0 Z$ _, q! V O N- ~6 m2 K* k' v6 u' R, ^% e" M
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Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles / |2 W2 F& B4 W2 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. 5 A& e# o* c8 m / ^" I) E( k3 H5 j: l8 a! w) W: PLight drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles. ) B1 m2 m7 H' a0 s 2 I( F2 C, w8 C2 R% C5 |7 qI had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things. , R( H$ n) M8 g0 Z, N2 \* h. f
What I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect. 3 V6 U% v; B0 v6 V- E A8 y2 K8 B" u6 E8 g
The porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga.$ x( P, w: n& A$ O7 O+ I
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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.4 ~. k+ b. j3 _1 [
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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. " u; b$ |+ k0 \; J1 r, y# j2 D- y1 ^% _& h
Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed.9 a, D* I- j# K, a
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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.0 L2 H" c1 @2 {% h
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The problem, increasingly, is revenue. 3 D- Q' x5 Q& |7 M% b7 C- v+ s4 G( O
Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch.% r0 [8 _2 q( E$ t
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DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free. 3 ~% g5 x/ a- x3 K8 U6 U : j- S7 i4 \, Y% ^( xAnd the economic downturn does not help.* G/ `2 {' _- o7 G+ f0 Z
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"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. : X! V0 Y p: O$ V/ |, ~2 L# u: ^2 Z$ u1 @ V/ o
The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. + O/ B% g( h; {2 \" w* S4 B2 l1 `3 `# V8 C9 f
For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms. 4 h9 l1 x. v. p; d% W $ M6 {6 _+ \( `& g' pHealth scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set.& r; d8 h7 J1 ^3 U3 d. G, B: s% O
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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.* a! t: w1 c$ ?0 I6 e
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Gonorrhoea , V% H o. K# I7 d7 ?/ U ( ^. ^, ~4 u$ u9 w$ tBack on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers.* J1 C+ W" n- R) O; h$ Q
; T! d& R, }) ]A college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years.* Z# w) I/ J/ b9 f1 ]* o
3 [. O; ]+ w7 i) z* r( _She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure.* G2 \/ t+ `8 Y6 c$ d7 M! j
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"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" U; s1 w3 v' D2 m3 d- Q+ q0 T# U" |: f: ]
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.6 D- r# x9 I! H! ]6 N
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Each day would be 15 hours long. 6 g0 k. P( n: K% C4 Y5 A( _+ Q1 Y4 U- `, a3 ~/ }: S- J4 O7 e$ P
"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested.% d4 }* X; u' w7 O# ^& `
: O( ] p; X( N8 I"You get used to it," she smiled.; S8 u& c8 W& |" f2 F) j& q
% G6 [- J" A. s"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" s) Z* d% i& A2 C: K* u( x Q+ k
5 r# J6 R6 O( E+ _4 k"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." 9 _! n" F9 E8 P ) o8 B9 I2 s2 yThere was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided.1 t) Y5 H' K7 }+ R! E$ K
, m- H; A; `" k/ M* Z* u. A AExpensive lawsuits3 |5 [3 F# E5 V! {; H; X# Z$ z
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In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. 8 f/ H" |- Y' S1 G. ]7 H+ ~* T+ f* G& J( S3 ?1 b
A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it.$ p- q. q; R; M; \
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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. 5 O+ g) w* |1 M3 J9 U6 w. s- O4 f1 E/ ^: W( x9 p( _8 f
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. ) Y# J" F) N ]" K/ ^0 S 3 j0 a( r5 q/ h. V2 s+ x x"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?"0 O" V; W) p. W5 w) Z$ h- Y0 G* p
; d! v- W) H7 dI struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment. # l) g3 r) Q1 u o5 r$ ]* S* l C! S2 t4 `0 p2 Z; }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? ) j. s7 L s$ O4 C6 {! H) _8 q! | t) I- ]4 g' _6 U8 S' U
The authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection. ) k' q2 ~0 R' d" Z, h4 [; e, ~ - U, l. o |- y/ O# G0 |* lIt 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.# A# @( S- x, k
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A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them.! V3 `: W' s& ?) b1 S
' j" |; Q4 l7 g" g: A/ ~. D4 qThe producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants. . u- a) y$ @2 y. {" ?- c& P, k' \, g
That view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene. % R$ G( u8 J3 F6 C1 X) s0 f4 c/ s! p7 z' N- P, U! E
I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain.- r. f5 u, h5 D9 J' I
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2 ^0 R( a; a) Y* [2 V1 c4 N G * B0 ~/ e5 L4 }- O, C( D4 f" |Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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