% ~$ Q n4 N1 r% k9 n& h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。 ; F7 B0 ]0 H. y' Y" q* t 3 l& k. n7 Z0 J9 O9 `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。( ]0 l! ?, k4 ?9 l
+ H4 Z: e. r8 f$ |* A一些演员私下告诉我,他们盼着立法赶快生效。 + T% J, e8 }2 U1 n& F- T1 a" u8 b, H6 D5 M/ }4 d) B
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。 , m' l; o5 w: z% z % [+ s& D% s6 Z t3 u# [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 c2 ~) O$ F$ ^" i # j- v/ r9 g! ]' e4 k) ~, [+ P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……. & k" K g( B9 R" z, [5 F/ p0 U8 K y$ R$ _8 G) v$ P" D# g
" C4 `) L- @7 T1 }3 JCalifornian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles 4 ]$ w0 Y6 A2 c& @* h* T5 } * s' T& r* p" r! VCalifornia'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.; x- C( G/ `/ q7 `
$ @! R7 B0 q4 a2 ~0 _7 h' aLight drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles." n' ^. M; c$ R: H5 V! q* C
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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.- }! _9 o* \8 p
% o% N: T/ k4 M/ {# \3 B+ w/ t1 gWhat I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect." X2 C& W, q) }3 J9 J; Q
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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.7 t1 D: K4 P, M; L
! L# d0 T2 E H6 {$ hPerformers 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. _2 i4 i, `# |
) W! j4 a3 E& uThis 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.) @# F6 g8 J# G- x
: O. p8 Q1 H( cOnly 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed.( @& t6 p% l T; O }; N3 U5 F6 M
) Y2 G* a O. C; L4 E( X2 }Fantasy 8 \( @8 u2 c1 m' d/ R ( N2 ~. H. Q8 L: IThe 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." f/ z0 H# r0 m* {
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The problem, increasingly, is revenue./ l( |$ k7 o; R: g1 ?& @* j! N) d4 b
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Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch.4 |( H0 x \3 x3 \
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DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free. ; h6 M2 E' ? `; P; P , U6 T: | P; S: r f! ], GAnd the economic downturn does not help., A2 N. W4 ~6 `' R* a8 p/ E
8 q6 ?) J* O7 T3 e/ N% Y/ {* @( l"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. 1 Q4 L5 X% C. g$ a \. `1 z( m% e2 }6 Y4 g4 ^/ K( Y J2 {
The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations.# T" l* A2 V; |; O) B7 M( M
$ W- Z+ @8 O5 c8 t: kFor years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms. ' {: C7 R2 S3 w6 d i ! Q c' T' C+ _- v# i J: A) t- ?Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set.+ S. w8 H7 P8 [& {: O4 J
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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. ; C* ~7 i6 I! } - n# W: d2 a+ ^2 N8 dGonorrhoea% i% Q5 n8 B3 `7 \4 f7 |
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Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers.2 ]) i. [4 w+ p0 ]7 A r
. @; I2 U; i& c, X9 r) @$ jA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years., m- {' {. X6 H- a, F+ y" P( f
. v4 i+ l! J3 V8 [+ qShe turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure.( M8 i- }6 `3 {2 t
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"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" . Z3 ?0 B- a# Z7 O9 m7 u% g 1 z" g& n+ S5 f) Z) |5 I/ j+ P8 [& bHer 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.: Q. N6 v8 i/ v8 H- s! u' u
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Each day would be 15 hours long. # \; r; X8 C0 m* h5 H% H: F9 N' }9 z4 H& R2 Z D0 f c
"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. 7 z. `3 h" f0 l7 z2 y6 C* Q5 S6 a 5 B% I" k; t1 v. m"You get used to it," she smiled.4 f% b) ^& K f n4 h6 F+ u
8 @5 \2 O1 e) I8 p# S"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?"5 w$ g) X$ s7 ]2 R j8 F
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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." 4 |$ [& @) y: y1 J3 S6 w7 x4 N $ c6 i# k( A6 y( i' O2 V1 ~There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. ! b$ X/ X4 ], h( r% O$ [, k- @2 A L, J
Expensive lawsuits+ \3 { R! X( ?/ O4 q" m# e* C
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In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. # a: Y+ m& b6 J4 n& }" A+ |7 s. ]7 w$ r
A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it.# o1 ^3 U0 S; ]& u
) _3 } }! _- u+ j1 `) tIt 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.% e; c! l, K6 L H* g, j7 v Y7 X
) B+ w" K% ~9 Y% sNow, 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.8 A- j) ?2 {. v. _4 v7 \
3 `! u4 o: n5 p"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?" - @0 H( ~, ]% {) L! Z ; t( t9 {: {% o7 b# @I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment.- h( b. C" ], n7 S* g! ^
4 b( f- X: r5 e' r! l) ~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?: m; ?" [1 G) \4 A9 \
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The authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection. 7 a, U: \8 m) q0 U0 L- j 3 X6 |" q z/ s, y0 R5 a( sIt 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.- ?4 \5 J( t4 A0 R: v
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A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them. g: A1 [& c p+ u- [& h- g, h! d) u8 o ?
The producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants. ) d$ ?. S# X' p: f0 t! ?2 I# }+ V - G0 d' B; D$ \/ |. e2 UThat view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene. Y7 T- _& h* }8 [6 a
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I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain.9 i* S; j. u1 }' B( D
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Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004