, [- O2 @/ @$ E2 G0 G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”?3 s7 l: [+ B- _$ U, M+ L
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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。+ K+ k/ m; V2 A* G- Q- m; E
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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? b, J" W# f5 k y2 P1 p; c& F1 |# a1 b
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。$ @ O4 ]/ _) U+ H k
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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。 / {: U: w% [" r6 \9 M+ b" X2 _, w% e8 V
一些演员私下告诉我,他们盼着立法赶快生效。' w3 r* X! n+ f0 r* i
* Z- E# h/ M c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。$ M/ O! j; _" E4 o
5 f2 M' X' z+ `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 C; L2 R1 C8 K4 T# N0 g/ [% {; O% B5 R9 F c- ?6 B4 ]* H
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…….+ ~ y# y+ A$ j6 M# Y. |
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Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles # j" C) `1 v- W* r / A( l' I k1 J! ICalifornia'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. + L# @/ `9 k5 \5 A ( ^# |5 I6 I) qLight drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.& d4 V1 X6 N" s. m u( I
6 l$ e" f7 l4 }7 p1 ]" SI had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things.' k$ ]3 p# d3 l1 h( u( t
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What I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect. \$ q) c; `9 O2 u ' r# [$ q- i" U3 N" A& L d, FThe porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga. T: x0 h2 \+ X$ s $ b! G; q/ I# r/ j: F3 V% MPerformers 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. * g/ j3 [) X* d0 k- @+ w) L. f4 h 3 q6 d6 w# ^3 a/ V! H/ lThis 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. * i; \ k8 s1 f+ I : N2 d$ X, C, N% x: ROnly 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed.% B1 ?5 L! z4 M. g* ?; b
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Fantasy 0 |6 O% D$ l+ l: N+ L! C1 ?5 k, U0 E0 @ S4 Z t
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.4 @& ~" _! r$ y' E* b9 h
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The problem, increasingly, is revenue. . h: _$ V- M# I" N0 Y* Z0 K4 s. u; I8 a
Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch." f+ n0 f1 a% ?3 a! ]4 [# {
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DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free. / \$ I/ y6 v; W4 J 2 w- h9 l6 v! gAnd the economic downturn does not help.( H& F" Y2 [0 L1 m' `4 X* E
% y! Y T6 G, X, \5 a( S8 T"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully.3 y; @( D4 J4 ~5 k
2 h$ T n' ?% w8 Z2 I/ n: NThe economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations., V& E. y6 {% j+ Y( M; w4 b
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For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms. 0 w; E$ ?. C4 @8 S9 X& ~# C1 ^( O! j, G6 [! @
Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set. . D9 b/ Q/ I0 `$ y$ y $ U3 {0 S9 U" x% Z$ X$ @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. . T1 z2 r& t, P3 I , }; N& e' y: O" y; tGonorrhoea4 D% c7 q- B6 w+ c: P: m
) R* T6 M) ^/ o6 m1 q9 _Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. 6 F) h% l% I) @5 X c" {5 J+ m 7 I3 R2 }% u" p& \: Z' ?A college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years. 7 a7 X1 U# C* v! @+ L& D# N# g8 K3 l5 J: t& g
She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. . V! @# V6 X. }! n v& d3 ^; J f9 }. a! N! o
"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?". r3 R' O8 z4 Q
6 b0 z3 {; a3 THer 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.: X6 s6 v- p! I- y/ e
. K7 r! x# b6 o8 A8 OEach day would be 15 hours long./ C# n+ S$ _1 ?! i/ S
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"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested." J, @+ Q6 [6 ~- U8 g |+ [
5 x) g& Z1 }* F+ a% Z"You get used to it," she smiled.* ~) w ]" k5 a
, Z8 z$ N. `* d"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?"8 Z4 i6 H& z5 |8 ~3 o# D
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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." ^% g6 C$ L+ `4 z) q$ w8 W& V" P8 p0 g1 D
There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. 1 q$ ~7 m' ]3 M- k4 B( `0 E/ c: |) _$ i- r% k7 |% ~0 b
Expensive lawsuits& G, b0 r' W3 S0 a4 x4 o- ?9 A
- e& o: N# y$ }) w; J S1 ?In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business.8 t0 C- l2 F2 ~3 `% l
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A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it. 8 R6 r/ j2 i; V# y2 ^7 B4 h . V4 u7 n. n6 G! u6 J2 TIt 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.4 l- ]$ _4 X/ ?
4 u# {7 s. E! HNow, 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.- Z) L! ? r+ D) P$ I4 q
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"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?"7 p$ X% t( @$ K
! ~: N* N p# ~4 i& n6 _# OI struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment.4 I8 @/ A! Z0 N; j' f
9 `9 S! R a$ i/ XBut 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?8 q, B$ m3 O: Z, @
2 s* w- d: y% d3 _# lThe authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection. ) n0 G$ c7 V8 F3 j( c9 [9 I: E! Z O; t ]+ m
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 `1 E; H& g# d4 f8 {) c
2 a0 _/ }0 ~5 x6 G: O% @A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them.- [( r9 P) i0 V" ^3 Q- ?7 ~! Z8 y! s0 X
8 T7 o: `% Z9 l! k) XThe producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants.! }& t. i4 y D% q
" R1 {9 G; ]3 E0 {( J7 hThat view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene.( s4 ~9 T% `5 J, c
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I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. + {, B/ W4 @+ z# h ; U1 L* ]2 p# [3 {9 B, D C1 N$ \4 V% ?) w
& M/ }* l \9 A* D $ \7 T( C. D- ^Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004