% {1 p- q% |9 v- V+ c8 o7 ]. m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。% z1 U9 w* F( C6 g5 Z |2 ]
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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。/ z; ^, q/ ?2 [; O- s0 t, h2 V
' p% `5 I3 e' ]7 f7 w& 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…….; S) {7 D: z! p2 t u4 v9 a' i( D0 W$ [1 M
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Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles $ ?" t" P. Y4 M0 d7 V, A5 v! o( ^; l. l2 p9 Z
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.: @6 Y& k+ d# ^
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Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.' X( G8 G, t# f5 X. \6 a
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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., r3 E+ S$ F6 X, |+ @1 w* V8 ^, S
( A% a) F# D( A3 lWhat I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect.; ^4 k% ]2 F5 S" Z
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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.5 Z: \* c, W3 W
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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. 7 `5 S7 B8 [3 r$ M$ ?- h2 e# @! o) V( G/ F
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.& T* u: ~* x$ X) t& r
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Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed.$ m, z9 I `& S' }( g1 d
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Fantasy 3 u* Z0 h6 q5 V1 y 0 S6 Q# g6 g! _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. + T g' j2 K& |1 U - C# n, |. v! @0 N4 n7 K% x) BThe problem, increasingly, is revenue." W/ E5 A+ m$ b( b
- S4 a/ _2 l {; R& E/ `Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch. " [$ x* l5 \, [1 `& g. t4 m% g5 ~ u. a; J6 E$ @DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free.2 p7 F$ C0 Q; {" L
) w, y/ Z& ?; I3 G6 U+ P+ \, uAnd the economic downturn does not help. % z! H3 t* ]5 V/ s) D- X/ E+ p" J/ t- u a" k1 A# J! M, D# O
"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully./ G, P+ F3 \ g8 Y( @
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The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations.8 R. W. l L |" D% _
6 l+ T# W0 |& \+ b4 Z- _% AFor years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms.5 A* v% n0 |5 e" w: N0 }$ n! F
v) g$ o! Y* c6 c- G) ZHealth scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set. ! m8 d0 F+ q x5 S! _% ^4 G( i 9 S1 q i: d* ]& g! zBut the industry says wearing condoms on-screen is a turn-off. The public do not want it, it will kill the fantasy, they say. & [! F8 [0 y; l# z q( x& |/ N) W* |& j- P$ h! {4 A7 g
Gonorrhoea $ |4 n2 V! e' Q4 k) M" q 2 w5 N/ ?4 X. ~2 Y% j; fBack on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers.& S/ d3 E7 P3 Q I- @7 L
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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.# C1 e% M+ t# N, U
- t: H/ E2 D2 @1 ]& P1 ~/ r" LShe turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. ) h; G' ~/ i3 f& i. G3 N3 ?# ` 0 N i9 t: ~1 ^9 j5 x"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" ; v, ?" q; n) M 7 h6 Z3 p2 _; U) H+ ~( r! T2 RHer 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. " W3 a1 f: Z* B1 h% T4 e$ b$ m" S3 {
Each day would be 15 hours long. $ ^1 p# f2 K- E+ w- Y8 a 6 \2 G( E) a0 D* S# u- O4 o"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. 2 @4 G. u/ t) G& G; Q$ R' O' E( R% e" S5 Z
"You get used to it," she smiled.8 {: r! K" l$ a
/ x _8 P4 K- d"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" - S- _% C2 ~! Z& V9 R* ]$ q6 p$ f- f6 P2 r2 h7 x, f- d
"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 y# A3 M( C7 @& s5 Y0 F+ W% Y" W
4 @: ~! s+ ?+ o# `: Q9 p& iThere was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided./ B) T2 H7 v, v# t1 h7 O
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Expensive lawsuits, _& S h; t, C& I5 x8 Q% w
! E+ J( ^7 {. c" s: l4 W2 JIn fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. " D- w5 l0 t( R& | $ _1 Q: {! F$ F1 vA combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it. 9 O( X) j& R& U0 R5 \ $ _1 I6 a- m" \. h; _0 nIt 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. 3 |& b: `* l7 x, M2 ]6 [( d! H) o0 O7 \9 Z9 J" F! W; {
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. # E2 o6 A5 q6 i+ ]8 m6 f& K6 h1 w: \ Y) n# d' ^, B
"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?"' Y/ m7 x b$ B/ G( t- e. i! U" ]
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I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment. - ]5 u- l/ |# g" [( `# `" y0 }/ \8 D! Q0 a4 k: h8 M
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?/ |( q/ M: a D+ x1 l0 V9 ^
6 l3 {# k6 ^, B& g6 J! TThe authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection. 0 j* L" I2 _. Z8 I& h& g0 g% X% X# ~7 r" G
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.1 \! g. u3 r3 d% \6 b- l7 C
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A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them. - J k* c4 g) X D/ m: _- s. y 2 m3 o# S f! O9 a( j4 e9 K# tThe producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants.6 Z! `& d" Y& h' o5 q+ L* L
; n, v5 A- r' \. uThat view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene.; I+ b6 _9 f8 U, |: r
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I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. ) ^/ V) h; G& d6 G) w5 w$ `5 X! Y6 o6 x: [6 u 4 m. r8 a, o+ s6 p" t% g " U4 Z4 q3 f2 s. f" _. ^ ! G- i! y2 C6 rCalls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
