# O+ m ]: p L5 Y一些演员私下告诉我，他们盼着立法赶快生效。 4 I) p. q1 C9 E8 j7 e2 D6 \. i! M$ f$ Z
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。 9 a* W1 K. g# n" G , {7 Q7 K+ U9 Y6 {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。 6 U9 m4 c# x( K 5 J4 d9 e+ M1 W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…….1 ^6 g* l4 N" v% K
. Y6 x6 }' v6 |. K* I% E) p " p, q) b0 e" I4 e: L$ y* X1 t5 }Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles - t4 X7 e+ ~/ n : I8 ~9 a3 e; NCalifornia'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. s( u$ w! B5 e, U5 `
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Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles. 7 j+ C8 f, Q/ N, E) L+ ^1 e5 i1 ^
I had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things.' u, N% M2 F+ U7 ~
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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." l/ P& A/ N1 n* z4 m
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The porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga.2 e$ a- P& e# Q3 y
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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.$ u9 \' \$ ]4 ~( m5 m. W
2 q; w6 |1 B1 U! Q' u' X$ p& k! mThis 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. 1 _, C" v6 t9 j; g# G1 a D: ~; n ]3 s. @! Q$ S: C, c* O9 SOnly 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed. 0 v1 h; D& w; N3 a0 s6 w$ J [+ Z7 s 9 @) O$ X) J# \% T9 v! u+ g1 [. W) HFantasy ! B: q' z% b9 `1 i0 K) F2 Q$ A' D ) O/ P( q- h7 ]9 V: p$ q8 |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; O' l6 q8 S, u# v2 H; c/ ?
The problem, increasingly, is revenue. $ e+ V7 h( d) o 8 m+ X1 t p4 MLike the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch.; w& S% f1 L) H# Z( ?' r/ z2 E. `3 ~
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DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free. 1 B! ~9 c$ L6 [5 B' S # h6 m/ k1 h2 X9 b, \6 ^# Z( `" U3 v. tAnd the economic downturn does not help.8 s7 j. h- X+ N# ^7 S* q
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"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. 9 Q4 o4 r! U! H" n+ @/ N5 o& V9 i: G- i6 _3 f) S8 U) p' a
The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. 7 g. V. ^- l0 `; N ; M- a$ }) a0 j, u K8 FFor years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms.5 R% l) v! Z. r( I i7 A/ @! W8 e
5 _! s& w4 i3 V( sHealth scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set.6 k) l2 D! z5 z* D8 X8 b
; D. m& O) ~8 X, SBut the industry says wearing condoms on-screen is a turn-off. The public do not want it, it will kill the fantasy, they say.9 q% }+ f2 }# @! h: l
! G4 P" n' ~# B$ n; O! RBack on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers./ y% M' G1 k' a8 r* Z* D4 F4 f
" |3 O, a5 F ]+ UA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years.- r4 m+ H0 x; D* x; V; b7 I& i4 U
1 |* b* }+ }, ~: }She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure.; Q' K! O# d! T, t* [ O( a: R" j! U) s
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"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" 5 [# P4 H4 ]$ Y2 y0 G% J( g# O! L
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.& w1 G {6 P6 [5 @- ~$ O
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Each day would be 15 hours long.. a' s" D) J; _$ n
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"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. 0 s& q: ]9 u: O1 O5 p8 F. Q: J9 T( ?' H
"You get used to it," she smiled.: r+ p- i) l& q+ d; T) G
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"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" : l3 q2 v0 B8 o8 o* G3 t) A9 N' Z2 s' Z1 T: l5 e
"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."7 [; ?6 r$ f: i/ V- E8 w1 j
! V r/ s+ p! c% o0 f+ kThere was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided.3 V2 B! B. m: L F. M# e: H0 z
3 c0 M4 {& y( X0 ^/ ]3 A* JExpensive lawsuits ! j S9 K% q( m L # M- C% B! @$ g& g S8 b$ HIn fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. $ k5 ?0 E z$ N9 w; r/ f+ R8 ]* j& i4 v- |7 Z
A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it. ' j) F: B. R( W" Y7 D) f 7 W9 a; }) X: Y) \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. " W1 ~3 {7 x6 D/ L! x6 c. ~3 O1 @9 P( v
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. 1 G, C8 C, V" J5 a& }6 U6 q" h& S1 @: p
"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?"* g4 R; ^# | u$ G
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I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment.( n' `- j( l$ }4 v
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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?. C+ p) P1 C3 ^# y2 {, c
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The authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection. # I( H3 _) a+ y) n8 D3 [ 2 a: l% e5 g: A0 H" xIt 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. 3 k2 a) O' t. L- L( G$ Q* T 4 T& h% `/ S$ B3 }; o5 [7 c @9 IA number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them.: Z" }8 F$ \( c2 y% B
) l5 i) Y6 n5 W& p0 O2 K/ iThe producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants. 1 e4 V: g3 c. J7 j/ ], _, B2 j , D+ s) {3 P$ {/ C$ ]7 k0 h0 W3 l! ~That view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene. $ ]9 Q: D7 C0 z% ]. S+ [: k' L3 V7 L2 M# w/ d$ @2 a) J: n% _, k
I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain.9 Z1 U6 V+ T8 |: a
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Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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