- y& V. g/ Z0 Y1 V! d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…….) I! [/ \1 w: y Y0 E8 {5 E( d' e4 u
' X3 k$ @4 P; s( W. T! s, A
# [' `! M9 a- k! @1 p/ E7 o
Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles " a( Z1 f: g4 L ( B. h& ^0 c- A* A* I# g( tCalifornia'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. % m% Z% d( L; l W7 B ^! v) _( c, ^$ H# w" `* @
Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.6 r! i. c9 C0 A* i
' A. q6 t' O) V( t- V+ L8 ]I had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things." a6 E! C! I0 e
2 Y X6 @. l5 P4 g, n
What I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect.# A: _* a/ L* j: b/ b
# T) m: |. Q' B5 h l5 {, I. q
The porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga. * @& t" ?1 I, x- U- a$ l! S% E4 \# \ 0 q7 F% e0 K! CPerformers 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 N# s; E! p$ v- r' b2 O# F2 S% B' S6 F, W# N( C* D
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. + m- E1 E; N8 v* f- C . }+ X9 e4 ?9 i5 l) _- fOnly 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed. ( r$ i0 g& e S" V " h# ^0 \ o1 [& N, pFantasy ' D6 F% r, H4 \6 e- X ; a% i9 C! P. L5 ^, lThe 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" l6 [) A5 _( F1 w& m+ I, D% s , X/ n7 i9 A* H5 t! R3 w: KThe problem, increasingly, is revenue." s- q$ O1 D0 l6 Y4 \
& I4 V2 t" L2 @4 `
Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch. 5 n. O/ g: i, a) ~* n+ c% O( S 7 |3 ?& D; A$ ]4 k" Z* d, QDVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free.6 `, }7 P) Z! l9 Q# l2 a
1 i! j) [! ~1 K( E. W
And the economic downturn does not help. : \& Z) @& [; k5 n% b* G5 y0 v7 V9 n3 T4 o+ `+ s# w
"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. 5 a& Q& M2 H/ Y J, I 3 E$ X4 K& G# H( `6 S# IThe economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. # V+ J2 ^% C. B8 v* C6 g. m$ j
For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms.2 @9 `; B7 P* X" g
$ N' G' b' N# W) H3 k6 {8 q
Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set. " K% l% J1 p3 y* w2 K+ P6 R) d) h' O: F; W: Z
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.4 o$ Y) @: ~9 ~! A8 t9 A0 G
" [0 {5 M% _& q1 \7 G( ]: M; Q% Q
Gonorrhoea; |" G9 B$ V4 w I1 f/ k% |3 y
- `' ?, n& o8 i* M5 ?: l0 k, O" H
Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. 1 U( B: b! I5 P R, h7 S2 O% m- B: G+ A% `
A college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years. 1 K( N! V) c9 a: n( f# _* h. z" L9 F% @4 }/ Q- w4 Z I1 k
She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. 2 ~7 W7 g+ k4 M, B( f" K6 F: s& N& v5 F% M: Z8 w) Z
"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?"9 k9 R, s5 E- N0 b% q0 {
% Y+ K" G. ~# N7 b1 w9 G
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. % u4 L- w* [% b, [ # t/ b: @5 J: r$ N. c6 ?Each day would be 15 hours long.3 m3 Z1 X% d c. @% S, @* u
6 c* }& K9 y6 `/ O! o" q"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested.* A3 z( s- ]5 @ C1 F
# X5 Q7 K4 D$ u2 U! _% S
"You get used to it," she smiled. 2 \) Q+ c4 C: H7 n/ M# P3 w: J+ S8 _ }' \' k
"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?"3 l4 h+ f0 C% D _4 s2 I
4 E4 K# c p6 e3 v* x0 j' P$ ?
"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." # c% \& a3 n+ o; [* G- Q2 E3 j3 Z, t6 A: w
There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. + ~, g. \- j/ i4 S: d- s7 b7 J" u* [. H
Expensive lawsuits" ^" k, H4 s+ v8 ~: m+ F
6 I7 W( x( R2 @5 `9 v9 M, r+ _
In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business., p, c) h, M# v7 d
( a, l8 i0 w# o9 N# f: l- qA combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it., P; `$ O1 n$ ^! R& F
4 t$ }9 u8 ~! @, u+ R/ }
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.. u _- r6 e/ C- a) p5 d# T
4 S! W1 E: |/ k: z* |- a
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.7 q2 T7 W! g5 n! ?# r
9 u3 l i0 U7 {4 Q% b( }
"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?": G( \+ @- p# S
2 `* |& |4 U1 }6 ]I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment.( l6 h2 I( U, W+ g" t C5 a
- `. Y0 l' A" x! f5 d+ lBut 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?2 }- ^# A3 d2 r, [7 n
3 A5 I, A/ D& D( q v/ k
The authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection. 3 q5 `7 U$ D6 A3 V/ K6 |) }6 S w4 [5 S) ? t
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. P0 o" W3 U" ?2 C4 g) n6 F
( L7 O% p3 |3 L* A% i* o0 w
A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them. - C8 _3 ?, |! C2 I9 k, T3 `/ C) f5 r* q9 I- k
The producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants. , C% H% h6 e# d- a , ^7 y( y+ j8 s, M+ WThat view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene.* d, r/ P+ b, f ~( ?
4 C2 M4 a* W- k
I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain.! m- O9 E, j1 ]0 _0 G% O
) \/ h) G) X z * G% H0 z. M' b8 f) z
6 V6 E" _0 \- ]: @! o8 ^0 X 4 Y6 F, _8 A. c5 Y* GCalls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
1 t. W, F# l' O0 `7 @
* G% H0 z. M' b8 f) z