# _' L9 i% L, s3 Z6 q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。 2 F/ r( W5 R' j9 b7 |& y/ z, k( q/ d1 ] ?' g+ w
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 P3 O, k8 ?% l& d/ Z% q ' T0 S* f+ m" M l6 T6 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……. 3 Y5 @( _, d- m" U : A! J- b( A3 Q3 i* k% p5 A 4 y* |' c) ]" f8 p6 \# J6 B( v/ p, N oCalifornian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles 3 U8 q7 x9 R6 F: a9 |+ C
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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. $ [. U: P; ` `, m) |7 m/ F! _0 H% T& k0 ]; e3 j9 ]
Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles. : Q3 S( M( b# ]2 E7 e, N1 N6 h9 w$ n8 \' F$ m
I had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things. 7 U' e' f9 F8 o* @% C' u, G* y( z: I5 e
What I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect. $ H9 F% N; [* `; O K $ s0 F5 [( v0 d# U) A5 |The porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga. * Y. ~' L& E6 S D0 V N" o- ]8 ^5 }8 I- F8 a0 a; Q( N
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. % n! d. p/ B- K( k ( A/ P6 Y* d' w+ }3 [; N% v& 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. 9 I& S' V2 \6 b" I! o5 X8 a! p - c, m) }2 p. k2 J# B5 LOnly 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed.8 M8 Z/ G$ N1 }2 v4 D
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Fantasy4 A! e* Q& l$ h. L. u
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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.; C% r! v$ j" W' q1 G
4 f3 q+ U+ f2 V% o! FThe problem, increasingly, is revenue. % k8 m# o/ h2 N' N; P, ^ / k. y: w& r' u; e' E* GLike the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch.# Q2 f: U$ m. R2 h
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DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free. ; Y" f/ T4 R7 D! T3 [ # V0 c$ [. D8 U6 x9 a( T9 d& fAnd the economic downturn does not help.2 \# |4 }; D+ @0 Q
; T+ ~; W2 d, S"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully.9 y; `# W$ w, j+ f& S4 j6 g
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The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. / Z5 T. @* O3 W4 y* s/ ?6 i f0 b6 {
For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms. ) b4 q/ [5 v) l) M1 W2 p7 _0 y. ]4 a( \/ ~# _
Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set.: w2 D5 |; G; N ~
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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. 3 G# Z! b* g9 } ; r) z' i9 K2 n- C6 U* _, YGonorrhoea 9 B8 j- F# g5 U3 j2 l( J- X B. W9 u/ f% S7 b3 B- q# cBack on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers./ G; I( ^ {& c/ a- X" X E9 B
( h' v$ K% r& f0 ~0 lA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years.! x7 I! r; p' P7 R9 ~% L7 R
. L. O$ @& ]& N) t$ j5 lShe turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure.3 r- B& ~' n2 l/ \
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"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" 4 z" B4 A. ?5 m' P4 p! _' |7 @: f+ e# X
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.5 {1 i% K6 i b( T+ M
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Each day would be 15 hours long.6 u7 l- l8 z7 e1 n. U% W F
$ k) y: v5 k5 _+ O, ?8 k"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested.0 }7 w2 M/ u0 d
' a- w& r% _' j, W" B"You get used to it," she smiled.' G% c1 ]8 C/ d/ ~% c- H1 S. p
/ J) f5 z; z6 ?* |; y8 n: j4 \/ X& E"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?"- U" |4 j0 `# X, Z- i3 x6 U
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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."3 P! q% I; }. v3 F
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There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. % V; x7 Y7 \8 i. p; I: b& j& P1 u6 g& f. u! Z! k
Expensive lawsuits: v2 U8 [7 u& F4 Y0 S
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In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business.2 j. Z/ `3 ~$ L! G" y/ K9 s
$ _2 D: I' Y+ {1 q# eA combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it.5 E$ p/ D- n* @! Y6 ?, U
( W% b5 m5 l& C2 aIt 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.! L3 C9 u1 x; K- t# Z, \! K! b& {
. Q' }/ j0 F* ?! c, f# a/ ZNow, 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 M) i- a: ~, I% U k , }3 d7 n8 A! L"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?" # ~5 l! P0 {- c% c* ~$ l6 y! J7 f+ \9 l$ G
I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment.; @1 H7 \: u4 P# P4 w3 W! s! r
# ?4 U$ N! A- C; L4 _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? 6 U# J5 ^4 N2 y, N( q2 Y4 }% a C. [) y: w1 T
The authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection.! ^7 g5 [; x# Y' ~5 ?" M6 f, `
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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. 0 y5 e7 m: G& _/ U" [0 q) Y S" c9 l$ _) i. g4 e0 O& }
A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them.( p4 x2 i; ~# Q* ^& U+ h- X
. q0 n/ ?! I; t& j) \, d, ~The producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants.) f$ }, L2 x0 X- G v7 J& z
4 ]/ y+ Y J; f1 d- K+ @That view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene. 2 q+ C \2 k/ [ ?, L5 M 0 I4 Z7 j* q, u. A. D* l! a# tI decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain., c. D4 ?2 S9 R2 B
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5 a* l& y4 \' f! D" Z. v( p8 Z ( k) U/ {% e& u6 n2 z8 Y& r3 wCalls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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