9 c. n) s( j6 A# J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。# P3 [" [/ h3 e; x9 \ P* w! i
. e( @% c `; y$ t+ r/ ~; D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。 ; U: ~2 S' @0 W2 F# r( [& h3 O $ ` B7 ` m& [: p. |7 r$ @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…….* S9 v! ?- E" ^& O
F M) r- [$ H. g4 K2 w8 L - e9 ^! [% k* Q7 Y+ r3 e/ g M, qCalifornian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles ( K% {8 u# k u4 q
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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.3 n& w8 o: A4 t3 ]& i$ I% q, F
* I5 b8 S: S1 ~1 kLight drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.3 h7 T. d4 z3 X. G) b- I
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I had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things.4 O+ x N6 a7 ^* N3 E2 @
+ A0 \" @1 T% j$ |' f, t1 I8 `What I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect.& ?/ t% Y, K7 `2 R: M
. J: ]! x0 e# U1 s" ^& P& L8 tThe porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga.0 Z& X: G& g& k% ~, R- J
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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.9 X. A7 z$ s0 U" u* z
3 y$ a% ?+ d' S& c* YThis 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 W; m/ i: o% s Z , `; |3 k6 @# G& M) o' tOnly 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed.' J t. M7 v" A+ }
! ]- j, z% B$ i6 O6 ^, G5 XFantasy * u) U0 J$ H+ `; F% O; U5 A# v- W/ x$ X! I2 v2 q8 e6 [; w& l
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. D4 l2 [ o3 E $ P6 a. i6 E+ d" hThe problem, increasingly, is revenue. 9 Y: ]0 @# }, n& h+ o" M; ^4 k4 G4 J2 a
Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch.' x2 g2 r6 D8 q' _/ M8 c$ i! r
1 P! n- W* g5 j3 I3 \$ Y Y- sDVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free.: {9 O) b: B& v0 O6 p5 R
' R% N! n0 \7 fAnd the economic downturn does not help. 2 j* V% r8 x) J : G# d6 ~, _$ R5 z* v/ b"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. , p. t% j$ P+ f9 w6 l % `& T3 S0 l/ c$ X5 BThe economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. $ H) `6 p' l ~2 {/ P i$ {2 D$ S! g( |1 O9 o9 |6 l1 Q* E& c
For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms.& L+ h) n0 n2 J! J7 h: K2 V# \
7 R" R6 Q; N, [3 l' l6 B# j! d5 N$ T- FHealth scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set. , H$ k& q6 Y# Y( x7 R) ^ ! d. S v8 U2 d9 mBut the industry says wearing condoms on-screen is a turn-off. The public do not want it, it will kill the fantasy, they say. 7 Y! y$ E3 ] W, q4 a$ Q' M. x* y. G" `7 N; F1 e
Gonorrhoea 4 H+ Q4 `2 _5 M) |$ x" L! p/ U2 W0 K! [" Y, f. }0 v' G
Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers.0 t9 t D* r+ G, n% \
. H8 Y; }: O) `. YA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years./ C/ R5 M' j9 M0 s! ? e% w1 T! f
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She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure.6 g- U( K# Q6 v P
/ x: @: {1 M7 ?% E3 L9 h6 n9 d"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?"6 v/ `. ]5 O( ]/ v
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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. ' o( c, X( @6 a# W9 p# w9 d; J' A$ r1 N+ @
Each day would be 15 hours long. / j/ s- I* t! b' N6 s+ P # i% g) n7 n% _3 v+ {5 X"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. % [5 j8 H+ w! W1 Q, k' N& ^ ' W& W% o+ c* ^: d2 Y"You get used to it," she smiled. " s5 i" u- J, K5 K' p$ d 1 F5 V# a. J; G2 M"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?"% ^2 Q2 N" s9 z# M1 ^( |
9 d+ y, F& J5 d! Q"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."( G& w. U( a( m
) l! Q! [& w2 n3 ~9 yThere was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided.& B6 @8 X. d; E% _7 ]" e4 r8 |3 S
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Expensive lawsuits- y/ M' V4 R0 B
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In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business.% ^# ]0 S1 C/ I
) ]; x6 Z2 _: W) E7 lA combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it. f' F+ W6 C; n3 i; _& \
n9 a3 l" a. 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. % z2 E9 t* {* Q- X9 b5 d; } 2 y4 \/ c- G- k# F+ Q& LNow, 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.- e7 n% m7 P8 p
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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?"8 j( i; c& D, T1 q3 K Y2 s- d
( C0 G0 ^/ R( \" O5 l8 d# b6 pI struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment.) f' |- `) u( v/ E, e
6 a2 O$ j6 m# d! u2 gBut 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? 1 L3 D+ F* A7 r" Q! f: \6 |' g' C" j q
The authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection. 6 R& I x M. C 1 c- n) x5 o g8 NIt 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.! D e4 D! R8 c f, D
& w9 K% p# ?1 a7 s& OA number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them.+ R/ C! G" X- K, i
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The producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants. 2 i) y" U9 h8 [0 c: | & k4 G) k+ ^, \/ d/ uThat view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene. , E& }# A& }2 {. j, n7 O3 M) P 0 g. I5 [3 T; \2 A& v8 y; _I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. : x8 t) n5 g: u# ~% J" r: m3 Z2 t" ~$ D* c+ B , e# S2 m% W1 _3 {6 D: Y n/ q J( f0 i4 p . Y/ ^1 S5 s: ~: o3 Z
Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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