$ `5 V# z& e5 r3 @0 o! n$ T9 K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。 # A* ]4 B, Z1 ?% E. m( f: r n2 s- E3 T1 Z, p
一些演员私下告诉我，他们盼着立法赶快生效。 + v( G2 f' L8 j4 \' u+ [6 C% x& X( 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。- G$ e$ @8 g1 @3 i+ Z L) X
+ r: K! A' j' a9 a7 s/ A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。 ' j6 m i1 N7 y5 @+ v/ n7 {2 ^ T0 L2 k) ^
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…….2 }; `! ?: X% Y
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Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles . [1 T7 S4 L7 H4 o
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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. 8 Q. {1 J1 ?8 Q' P [4 u& }3 }9 ~& \3 ?9 q: e( h$ I
Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles. ( }0 O- Q1 R6 X ; \. V2 z( } x3 e* F; S6 vI had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things.+ w6 W5 Q7 t7 ~# M- ?, N
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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.3 y7 I8 J3 i R2 X. c) D, j
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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. / r# d' }5 x9 s/ w. h! Z; N* k8 b. a$ Y% A5 u. G2 }
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. ' V# L: r" M; V) V% m5 t- o ) P: U* y3 ~& D7 l3 x9 ZThis 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.4 p8 l c: q% h) Y$ \3 J1 ~
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Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed.2 `* U3 d4 v# {
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Fantasy ; x# B O" h/ b' Q * ^& a, M6 n% nThe 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. 0 S) @- I5 X6 c9 | " b9 e3 I l0 i! [The problem, increasingly, is revenue. + @( s# w/ v) J7 v& l( B * Q0 q! a5 S' t9 \8 J2 ULike the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch. 8 s9 J+ A7 h( S2 q9 E# f+ ~ 7 J _! j) j5 i P. v& pDVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free. 4 x9 R8 n$ Z$ F% p* c( x2 J) t9 G+ R3 q, t9 [! p6 @2 ~! ~
And the economic downturn does not help. ( k$ a+ x, h0 [( h" x , m r& s6 w& D( t0 ?3 _6 ^" G3 {* b"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully.3 @% a' B! J" L. \) i: R. q6 j3 ^
$ Q8 C! ~% l, w& m) W$ d( ~The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations.6 [' `$ _9 |9 V1 F9 j
# r- \( T9 ~+ u% `: \, @. j( g- u+ K& eFor years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms.& }; l- ]0 Z K; z1 E
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Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set. ' h% W# A* B/ X * ^# I% V1 r; Q) ?- zBut the industry says wearing condoms on-screen is a turn-off. The public do not want it, it will kill the fantasy, they say., f% n5 V, v; Z
, ? p2 D( U u$ d N1 `: K4 uGonorrhoea: Z" v$ l/ Z! L7 T
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Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. 6 j$ q p" g0 \6 |5 d/ W; `$ y* K4 Z$ P% U7 M6 f+ D: H& \
A college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years.' v1 `, Q' s. i. [, L6 d5 E
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She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure.1 t7 T7 |" X, v: B
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"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?"0 P/ O2 E5 ~. X0 I) A- n4 r' @
@5 Z- p/ C2 {8 b0 J' G0 h- J( @! @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. 5 W! X4 i, x: V! f2 X, G$ Y2 b) s; I1 N2 v* q' J1 [" r& T2 _; ^7 x
Each day would be 15 hours long. * w& x. I: V, Y, \0 u& r0 [+ e- a4 h
"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. 8 @) O z! @4 Q. m$ S# i- T/ V; N! s) j) T# h# ?/ x
"You get used to it," she smiled. 6 T# W1 A, J! c0 i$ m7 ]5 F 7 Y. v' [+ I( F, p- d"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" / |5 p+ T" w0 l$ Q. X$ c% o W# n+ t V5 b( ` S
"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." ; l' w, p1 B( |5 H# V6 R# x! {; ~4 n" }& A- D& H; J) \
There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided.# w- \$ ~5 Y$ I, n+ A1 D
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Expensive lawsuits 8 u T0 E6 v' s; Y2 O4 J% l. |( l2 X: Y; t& T# J2 e0 J
In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. 7 E6 I- x* C5 b3 z$ B2 x5 U a" i: ?, m' H9 |
A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it., X7 `6 ^0 { H. U5 ^
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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. 3 w- R- _4 C8 O* o# ~7 L4 L, B% n8 F2 H( {2 X
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.0 }) B; F- e2 M7 A- }6 d' h$ W1 B
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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?" * S- B, u* n, h. V" j6 J" l7 v' [/ s2 I$ P8 i* a" P6 |3 {4 o
I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment.( A3 r' n( j' x i8 ]
4 \9 x' y/ R4 P2 y! NBut 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? 0 y5 ]% F x9 {# r% r- A6 i ! M- m7 n, r7 k" [+ eThe authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection. 5 `% b! e6 W. j- }2 T/ c+ ~6 l1 N( [
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." }5 d0 G& n: @% I. E
* h' G" a5 W+ l+ @A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them.2 h. C. R) D/ E( q
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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.' Y" l) e9 x( ~. W* F1 @ g
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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. 8 N6 ]( D* d/ S; C3 I9 i$ U# V, d* D* F! J8 o7 K* Q
I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain.. s; k4 V- K3 }$ _# W, E) \5 J6 d
4 A% K- P0 u3 l r+ I- r. n; z. A% ` + t' u: R8 F) {' z 0 J2 f7 a: x& g% H' q6 r- W ( i7 d3 t+ Z, l( oCalls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
