- \5 F& p e0 o8 u! \* N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？8 M! t3 m8 V; M3 m9 R
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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。) p& v4 F6 _' {) l
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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。8 b* g6 U3 F. `: R
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一些演员私下告诉我，他们盼着立法赶快生效。9 i" B( B# ?- [
3 d; v w5 }: a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。 % I1 ~7 ^' X3 S0 y/ P* j8 S 2 J; k5 b; _+ x6 e* u2 q/ R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。 ( J6 f; W( B6 f! x0 K 9 D9 }! g. C; O! v* h& I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…….3 `. P/ l# w0 @' d0 {
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- B! I( w5 x, \$ A0 MCalifornian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles : O; \% L" T5 K
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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. ) u7 G: @7 X+ n+ l . K/ w9 l' z0 @0 JLight drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles. + r1 n5 y3 i8 N! m" e1 z. N9 l9 E! z4 N
I had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things.% C5 D3 @ E2 D3 q- K' W" J
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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.) A/ f" z$ L, l; k( B
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The porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga. , m4 W- y2 a$ d0 H0 F& ]; m9 H4 P4 ]
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, f5 C; Y3 X! o! R
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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. $ C) s6 J) \2 X: o/ u% _. g$ U' r8 ?; Z- c% w. v7 R; C/ P
Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed.% K" \! D! [% o2 w& M/ z
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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. . O2 Q/ b) p. c' H 1 A" W* l+ |9 |# MThe problem, increasingly, is revenue. ; I& [% F/ D4 C( B: L% g1 ^& D) F2 I! t: ]& D
Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch., z- `$ V, d/ p$ g& \5 i
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DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free. Y F! S" r: p- V 1 C5 z, c9 E3 F. F8 _And the economic downturn does not help. * h3 Z0 P# B% G$ b' `# b3 Y1 W6 m6 Z4 b- a) E
"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully.) `5 d5 S3 T, v! w
! f/ B1 B8 j" t9 ?0 ]9 XThe economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations." i7 g& g4 j/ \0 y; ]7 T0 Y
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For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms. 2 p. t3 o9 [# J- H4 G d, T% r7 a. A
Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set. # o2 I- _- O; K' v9 i7 z/ `. e2 @; r3 [' k9 W. g
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.; s0 a/ W2 R" u
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Gonorrhoea! |+ k5 K1 J) C* K( M$ C5 ^5 @
) P5 A3 O7 D% p3 p# l& M& D5 MBack on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers.. J. `( W- c6 w! V' _' i
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A college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years.( a V$ |$ z1 l% G) \% b1 r$ s
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She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. 3 c2 A' }8 J/ n: e) D! t * g X, E0 P" |"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" / K8 R1 x! Q/ o( m' g# o% Y ; Y, X: J, a9 z* M- ~5 m. l6 i. zHer 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.. X6 b: q0 f# J! u2 c
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Each day would be 15 hours long.0 q4 o2 X6 L4 `. [0 h2 d
4 X$ h4 e8 h. O3 X% P8 E"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested.6 V$ T" P- X2 d4 i8 R
+ [4 W7 p5 i3 j# p4 k1 ]- ?"You get used to it," she smiled.0 v9 n/ w# i( X0 h
$ E3 N" T8 x+ J# q- i1 \"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" ( U$ V; [* j! F, R* j8 g 3 g7 p m5 q" V"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." 7 o8 C* e+ ~9 b; d5 M f! s) s' Q8 J7 g
There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided.8 \/ {+ B' R; I8 t( J7 r. H! C$ Y3 x* j
- [0 g# |( G l; H; e; [& VExpensive lawsuits % b7 Z1 Y# n n5 Y3 X0 ?1 x4 t* D! N+ y% O, e4 T+ ~4 m
In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business.0 x$ }4 \! `. O* P
4 x7 \6 a, I, q8 Q- mA combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it.4 o p {8 u( r8 T1 R/ [9 t x6 g
8 ~6 x& D& Q' }4 e W# P, FIt 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. ! `# h3 { @$ g0 q3 m( z$ J( b, D0 o) O0 ~& W1 r, `
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. / Z, T7 w# I# O- \8 {% Y, a% R) F% @" V; y
"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?" & X. ^3 X$ ^/ c" N , Q N, ^4 w, W1 ^( u) j5 C8 oI struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment. # e$ L) o/ v. I0 M1 v: b8 T3 V6 E
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?: d+ h n2 G) Q/ |3 C
* l% i0 V- J; TThe authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection. & z0 x, ~5 a, d* w' g 1 ~! E( P, N Q1 ^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., J% D( M! u3 o6 J5 v/ h
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A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them. 8 X# R! }8 D3 I! u( m; r b) K2 N7 B3 w8 s( g
The producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants. * h. E/ E: |4 a/ ~' ^& } `0 O, t% s
That view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene.; ^4 d! W1 Y$ e+ R
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I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain./ {/ s' \* b: V
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1 a! m# ^2 N' X- T2 B3 \ + g; O% S5 @. S# n7 [( [8 K( LCalls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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