; C3 z0 N, N6 X* [$ ?! _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…….' X$ G( z5 D- d
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, a2 o5 j# K. OCalifornian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles & E$ x8 q: E+ y: b4 e- L% n
! h+ [ w0 X0 @7 t% X. j2 RCalifornia'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.3 b5 l2 Q4 p2 O
; @8 R) I8 v+ E4 s* q3 |Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles. # _" L& u8 J# D3 Q1 I) c- [ # E" }1 T# R9 Q' ~& Z) b. EI had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things.) |0 S4 G# B+ A. X+ @! ?) D: i
" @1 n, A( q. ?6 r( T U* |. XWhat I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect. % {! Q; s2 {5 M; {3 n+ K6 i. L4 d/ N+ O# Z
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 j5 R1 j0 L o( D# x 6 L* d5 _: n& b2 L( A# aPerformers 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.- b; B7 m# c* o7 j9 m
0 l9 `) r. J- {3 jThis 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.# g1 J& v8 B7 x" U( G
8 I5 E2 v ^$ m( X- O, N! u/ KOnly 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed. & E6 T3 A" F1 k( e; z# X ' X( n* s% b' l M4 W5 z" AFantasy2 ]/ T4 V- _" W; a+ Y+ x% P2 E
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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. - Q1 h' R+ ]/ i3 { ~3 I2 G8 U! B$ h$ jThe problem, increasingly, is revenue. 6 h& L8 k$ {, Z/ G$ N+ w' Z% t9 k/ ?
Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch.: Z) G6 I2 y7 F* x: G* a; v
$ ]* ]+ K. a7 I! s% z) [DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free.$ S4 t) n0 S" @, O. B2 G
; ]( N- c' ]/ G z# bAnd the economic downturn does not help.+ ?( r, s: ]4 j7 c# N; k1 }9 t3 q0 w
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"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. $ A" \( U8 h* W 4 ~8 l9 I# B7 m3 Z7 yThe economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations.' n- t; k$ P1 J; B9 v d9 I U
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For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms." W5 }/ O u( w. X% |$ _
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Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set.* a- W! y" n. G1 _% D
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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. - W$ J9 Y4 ]2 }# N$ X , ^" W6 U( a4 wGonorrhoea 8 s& I& S6 U y5 j. i ( J2 a9 E, o" }Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. , P$ K; W0 \% } W2 Q- k0 Q2 i/ N4 ]) o2 v, Q
A college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years. ( u3 F9 H" z. k/ @ : R; K9 A7 K1 L' iShe turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. , P* s' H4 u. @7 i5 z) C8 e# \9 I& X- V. M, e
"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?"* ?. {, d! @4 n; @3 d
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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. & E4 @6 y2 \% m! ~. \4 D6 s/ Q# m! | 1 l. [/ b- T" C/ sEach day would be 15 hours long.+ v! |9 g% k7 ]- C& I: z& ?
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"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested.5 b% R- }! S9 W
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"You get used to it," she smiled. , ?4 n! X2 l5 s& u' g! c 5 L4 z0 Y$ o$ P7 ~9 ] \9 v, ]"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" . {8 c! c6 X8 E8 l: D / L, F2 O( b5 w"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." 9 o6 @2 m1 G+ R& u: I9 Y % |& @+ N: e+ R A4 fThere was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. 0 {1 K% t7 M( w' B: k# k6 d9 b; O' z; T) h7 [
Expensive lawsuits : g1 c0 |% d& P9 D4 o+ y# j% Z1 O5 U; g& M: J
In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. 6 W; x! i3 M% w8 k2 k' I' v2 Q& V8 Y& b, e4 l. a6 ]( u
A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it. 9 s% \5 f9 Q+ e# c& V7 _ - p8 z" }' [, }" s) VIt 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. 0 s! d' R% H: X G5 O+ Y! R0 f5 W. F
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. 6 ]6 n, C% H4 j1 X9 S) P: [$ S4 _$ W# _6 y1 v8 l
"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?"% ~8 j" I1 P+ y6 N
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I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment. + g3 [6 I* d$ i2 ]6 s O9 L ' [, `& v* }, i2 c% @" d# oBut 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? f2 Q. t( n1 I2 C
/ {0 t: J2 J2 t: c8 _1 aThe authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection.3 _6 I$ H+ g* z& M+ H( x2 U7 T$ z
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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.( a. n4 W7 r5 T+ z9 w5 x3 L
1 T1 l+ y) q7 o3 P* mA number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them. . o* _4 {/ }4 Q5 S7 ^ u" V5 p
The producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants.5 R$ _) A8 F v! I
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That view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene. % ^9 C3 C2 D" |* P% N9 T& ?, j" T( {# d5 ]
I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. % L5 R; K6 G$ L$ v* p8 q' y/ L* b) q 0 r; j. U# s( T) s6 B$ Y
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Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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