/ y& r* Z/ B3 d P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。8 M( {( L9 A0 Y
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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。 2 X: |1 I. D' ]3 `1 O7 M- A. K- s" o0 y" k7 F3 o( j: F
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……. * [& h9 K3 b8 ?0 M8 _* Q$ { . c9 V8 Z4 D' b6 n0 a0 x # H/ o' j _- X0 W$ r& P4 [6 r$ fCalifornian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles }1 |7 y2 N5 r# v* y
4 R( b/ W: H# j0 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. 6 [; N& |# Q5 K! O, _% i! e* Y3 G/ d2 h1 N
Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles. % g+ ^1 \0 i) D Z9 O% v H# A# X" f1 L" q' O
I had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things. & N/ S: i$ x+ z 8 N( H5 ]- x7 d K+ o; ?What I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect. , D+ Z9 d% x" e3 Z [) w2 n5 J% o: \6 _) L
The porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga.. H; O+ r$ h; i1 S" v2 V
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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.: @$ J8 Y: l( h' m7 ^6 l. E
7 G f8 i& J% r" p& X; G7 Z) n. I3 sThis 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.) B/ p7 n" L* b/ C5 @* Y B4 U1 E& p2 o
2 o O, S+ P. [( BOnly 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed. 5 M1 R1 ?" O M" c ! f9 G! K. I h7 \# e0 `: O8 g# sFantasy : j1 g# K, C; i" v * m# c1 Y/ e2 O" t p0 FThe 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. # {6 C" o/ b5 i: V) X8 l, X; I7 V1 T5 I: _
The problem, increasingly, is revenue. 5 x8 {3 K5 N+ R9 U) h4 {+ V$ F5 y
Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch. _* y0 A" k8 R% f- q; d7 {% Y3 N7 m- ^/ w7 m% \
DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free.: y ^- U& J' n
D& l9 e7 X2 NAnd the economic downturn does not help. 4 p( r% Q4 e6 L( h" Y6 Q # B0 d& b" n- s"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. 6 y. T) V6 S& X : f5 L1 _- g9 f) k5 \5 v" d& UThe economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations.' j( c/ }' O9 r: [) |( f- v7 O
' I/ J% M) F6 i( QFor years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms.* S# z( p M5 W5 p$ t. R1 I% Z
3 T# w; t3 G6 @& a6 wHealth scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set. 4 m$ u) } M8 P1 d$ O # c6 h# m* m( L! oBut the industry says wearing condoms on-screen is a turn-off. The public do not want it, it will kill the fantasy, they say./ [! `2 ^5 v \3 }9 L2 X) w7 o
" d D: s( G, ]1 [Gonorrhoea' ]+ C/ E7 ^$ i3 \. e/ x
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Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. * r! J @+ I' K: y I% t" P1 u" a " a' ]; F0 _$ k% j& U+ ZA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years.( s8 |" R9 c* _9 \) c
8 h$ N8 \$ D; @0 c; b% { K( sShe turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure.5 m5 \3 n$ F! i# Z0 B5 }
t/ s0 [# y$ |; W"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" ' Z- L4 t. e; x* i6 w " F( l& ^1 w6 Y7 C, O/ ~( nHer 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.) [+ w9 }) G$ W& R
2 Y V4 ~; {7 n G1 zEach day would be 15 hours long.; b3 @9 I; i4 v+ C, I8 j' x1 A
5 X- k" c1 s/ \1 J* f' Q8 v"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. R1 R( o4 t+ j# g
( r+ L1 T6 @$ h* @0 o"You get used to it," she smiled.7 R3 s/ r% U" ~! l0 B& k9 j" ~; K
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"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" 1 B# D/ u6 }, j1 ~! N0 v+ P ! B+ B% a# K- `3 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."0 C5 Y, C" E) ^) u
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There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. ) Y1 J* T6 H; [" F2 |0 ?8 d- I* _0 `7 g; l
Expensive lawsuits' ~; r3 O* s" Y! N4 U
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In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business.8 g+ F8 r8 Y) Z( q
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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.& G$ t6 [+ N$ ~& z( E3 V) Y
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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.9 B# D L( L2 E/ S# S, n# b- Q' g7 `
3 \" z1 f3 r+ d1 p: G6 F i/ m o) 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. + c7 ~0 k0 m: @7 K3 d# E: O9 R6 w8 P P
"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?"" J2 \' V* Y& e/ ?$ Q' K
8 f$ |$ ?) G5 \- {3 ~I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment. 4 t8 I$ e5 \1 w8 [3 j) G+ j Z0 Y- W) J- p
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? / x; b: M0 ?1 ]& ~ b/ U6 N; l! z% ~5 J6 p D+ f3 k F
The authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection." F0 E' I+ T/ o
9 U3 w6 T7 h# j. `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. 6 n3 ^- [( m* W / c& a& [7 h: r6 I' HA number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them." @3 P, S5 p- E5 W, p- w
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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.9 S& Z3 V) {9 Y4 z* U- @9 h( \8 q
, A% q5 I4 ~# _( C/ LThat view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene.- f$ p' r4 O% z( j" {8 L8 B
0 b+ S) w3 w5 H9 g- |- XI decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain./ [/ N y+ d0 Q% }& N/ o7 o3 M
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Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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