0 |! h6 _8 R5 L2 H& w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。 ! t+ [5 X; w2 q% D3 x : [% Z) N% b$ U7 U) N我说,“你一定很累吧”?她微笑着回答说,“习惯了”。 2 M& E0 Z* M& a6 f0 p6 Q- ]( U8 s
我接着问,“那么,健康风险呢?你经常被感染吗”? 7 d. K! r) E9 s9 N; c3 R2 ]( O) ~' g9 B; \- b0 p* r! H
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。” 4 y+ _7 w5 j6 V' `/ r+ D9 Z8 ] : P+ A: j( C- Y- R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。$ n" I% Z! x- Q
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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。 9 n8 w3 i1 R/ W0 M不戴安全套的权利1 c% C1 j0 Q+ c9 g+ D& l
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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。 / e# C5 V8 ?1 g4 W5 r/ c2 B- j# b. Q9 U
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”?+ }0 N5 L* f1 }! |5 B: p2 {* b
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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。* G1 \6 {0 U9 k' [: U7 X1 }
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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?) t9 \( q5 {. D. e' I
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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。 . [0 ~( F! I6 y$ ?1 I! j ' Y3 C8 f8 U4 S# x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。 ! _! l& g3 [- |; M 9 V/ J: O( b" n V: e. l3 I一些演员私下告诉我,他们盼着立法赶快生效。 ( z6 T3 N3 A( F4 W/ ?$ c R: G) L& e2 s8 `
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。 ( e( M3 B4 D$ h" T) _3 l: J2 v; B" [4 e) F5 ^/ ^7 @
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。1 ^3 g. X1 S. n1 v+ q$ q
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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……. : D3 }2 T* I0 M% v R6 I1 N& i, }6 g5 v# |
; K! }' [3 ]# cCalifornian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles ) m# {2 B" w3 w U6 Y2 G/ j$ V- M3 Q) r+ E( Q8 Q, X5 y
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. + G5 Q3 N! f4 J7 E# | # f7 r! n+ A! X( k3 A: d% v& pLight drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.6 T/ Z4 v, o3 c& ]% {) |% i
+ E2 I' \6 b7 j; r0 t: y( YI had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things. * ?1 J0 k( S! d9 m& A6 i 2 g* n+ j4 h0 E0 ]1 jWhat I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect. 5 ~, L+ p% J( q B- y# ?5 D d$ L. a9 B
The porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga. 0 E+ k7 F1 E+ x: ]+ E; v7 {7 ^0 w2 ~' C6 o9 Z
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. ( M* |+ f1 p9 r$ d( u. @$ E5 S+ R+ ]: ?% X) w- q
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. - X7 l9 Y+ C {3 z ' I" D3 u/ d8 [# |7 eOnly 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed.9 r6 u9 k% {2 A$ h* q
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Fantasy( I' x4 U8 m' G( I
' A' {) R3 g) Q( w" {* VThe 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.+ q) A5 [. D n8 ?( i6 ?/ `
) y! x0 e: N. m8 z0 j4 W" dThe problem, increasingly, is revenue.# d0 Z. [5 r ?% n7 J/ }
! Z! c2 C. k4 k, ^Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch.* R2 d, G* N6 |: y- I; k* l
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DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free. 4 b! G' }1 N4 ?! ]* e+ }, } . r3 e% `( {" ]% M" VAnd the economic downturn does not help. # r3 x: ]% f' ?4 y# V" E. v" `* D0 T, p. o
"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. 2 |" N; L" d! A5 p 3 x3 O5 B1 N" u/ _The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. 4 y% A4 [7 F: G _# l/ m& c1 u( T . b# ~! o* {* `+ vFor years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms. & B% }1 W( J- a5 `; V# N! _' W7 I# N" V% W4 N' F% Q& Y, C
Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set. ) C4 ?' {: `3 k1 W* q% ?9 g$ T7 X o k( u
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. ( l& j5 ?& N! s! z - d4 \7 k- ~7 y# @0 i- n$ YGonorrhoea* H |7 f9 V$ {2 M
& D/ {: I& K) q4 O+ W1 ^7 A2 i1 BBack on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers.4 B% `% [8 m. @( [- v, n& t/ `
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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. ! M" E! k5 [1 k3 S% R 7 m) `$ o* X7 {% {She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure.: i+ P3 N& } T
. |% l f0 a0 k. {" P"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?"! F2 p1 a( @: R. W, r$ C( [
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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. O, q5 ^8 n0 v! B( `2 C: f3 e) G
# Q( u5 U' D1 c' `" }3 `+ mEach day would be 15 hours long.8 F; x9 n/ B5 n) Z, @3 S/ L
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"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested.# N, Z' K* d# h1 K& V- Z
2 B" U7 S/ k; |) _"You get used to it," she smiled.) P/ J+ r5 G8 w- B+ i. P
6 s* M1 `& G$ o Q# @"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?"+ x) i+ n" D; a7 y; |& s+ e
: \+ Y0 j7 w$ X" s1 b- }"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." % g0 L. L5 ^/ Q! _- c h9 D* Z R6 f/ R+ E: T) A% o: k1 V
There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided.& J8 z0 k6 m5 m' T- M5 Y# i
& {9 u( n% D4 C* qExpensive lawsuits , Z: j1 @9 }8 P6 k% u5 M$ V) _ . }5 P; [; R9 r0 h. xIn fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. $ b H" R4 s; ?% x J ; B$ `& \ G% ]1 {A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it. 1 Q/ J3 U% j+ E: T' K t ~% ^ 2 o! @ X% T/ b2 ]8 yIt 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.$ M ^4 O/ S E7 n! \
2 D) v* m3 {7 c# iNow, 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. 3 V& `+ A& f) e' }. e . M/ v7 g5 \1 {5 E9 c2 C"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?" * k: }& s8 [* V7 C4 N/ k6 m2 a6 ?/ R' I( S. A
I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment." x; f$ n5 i/ W& W
" J. K6 o& J; x$ KBut 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? # O& x+ B4 c5 R& N4 ^! F : _. L a2 n2 u( {/ J2 DThe authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection. ' R8 k" w C G6 z7 a9 i1 I % A1 Y; C ~5 E; P: @ `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. : C6 h) l) h |# P- Y6 ? % C6 z* Z9 \4 M5 OA number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them. 6 X: @, G- J7 b0 u& s6 ^9 ^- t* r* ^: w6 R7 r2 v
The producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants. 0 A8 S# v$ x8 x# ~8 ~2 K 1 c! b; `6 g# s3 o% |That view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene. : x4 P: e" p1 p! @) G' L( q9 a 2 a; @* d, f$ m( |/ CI decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. 0 w- G1 b& p. l& C 3 |9 h9 i, ^' a8 C1 V, T8 Y# o/ o4 t4 G$ b/ G8 p. {
/ g. T$ U0 z7 `$ t" ?( c ' Z/ m; @ F& R, Z9 u# P3 QCalls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004