5 t" W2 ]7 D2 ?! P' O% q- u& D但是,电影业坚持说,演员带安全套会扫观众的兴。他们说,观众不愿意看,安全套等于扼杀观众的幻想。 7 O0 Q6 A" i, q5 j6 A% M4 r“没什么大不了的” 5 V- k3 z5 }; u' h: v! [' I5 O9 n, n9 b T9 P7 p
重返《星际迷航》的拍摄现场,我和主要演员之一宝碧·斯塔尔聊了起来。宝碧是大学毕业生,以前是国家级游泳运动员,专业的双簧管手。短短的27年,她的一生真可是阅历丰富。& V+ b% ~3 a7 m* F4 Z
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宝碧说,改行做色情电影演员,主要是为了追求性探险。她说,“这是找乐趣。身边的人都高高兴兴,你有什么可烦的呢”?- U b4 y1 ^. W$ k6 }/ s" N. i
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当天,她的日程安排得很紧凑,两句台词,四小时的性爱。星期二试装,然后就去接受每月一次的体检。宝碧每一天都要工作15个小时。 ! [# a; {4 c& X# O* |# R% Z 7 s( \4 M- u* @/ o我说,“你一定很累吧”?她微笑着回答说,“习惯了”。: _4 Y5 D2 n6 h
" p: p, D W3 v" F我接着问,“那么,健康风险呢?你经常被感染吗”? 9 @ X( x6 z9 w+ D' R# I: d5 W9 f# A7 Q+ B4 Z0 y' a: B
她说,“也就是染上过一两次衣原体,还有淋病,除此之外,没什么大不了的。我们每个月都体检,得了病,赶紧吃药,然后就又能回去上班了。没问题。” 4 N% \2 T7 P2 Z* z5 C0 J' n- Z$ w$ H; v$ L6 i6 h
我看,宝碧人很“加州”。进一步说,整个色情电影业都有点“很加州”的意思。有执著的热情、反叛的心态,还有一点点自由主义者反抗压力的顽强。 0 l1 Z$ G0 ^, `0 b: ]' W) Y) s* p' f! g7 `( h1 e+ I; y# g
1980年代,官司一直打到高等法院,色情电影在加州才得到了合法化的地位,正式与普通意义上的嫖娼卖淫划清了界限。: c- ^$ V3 }& S' I* W
不戴安全套的权利 , p$ V) r6 M% r; X0 V. p+ o& z9 b( y/ m8 G' q4 u
现在,我遇到的许多人都说,不戴安全套的权利是宪法赋予的言论自由权利的一个关键部分,正如美国的立国之父指出的那样。2 i2 @; h, ~$ o' f$ C& ~1 d
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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”?; g' j1 e9 s$ w' N2 i: Q7 ?) d
) z% |+ g* z+ Z/ [$ c' u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。1 F j+ @ J7 n: K' h5 R
3 z& E$ I) U; Q; H2 z, I, n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? . w" y: r! p k" a5 w( n* J- [! Y+ b: D% A
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。 ! N( A. S) i+ J, D # r% e$ _, {3 b4 x: a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。 ) @& s; _$ p: p8 g4 F0 h4 V2 q2 `( B2 G& i. s; S6 R2 ^2 z) y: D3 s
一些演员私下告诉我,他们盼着立法赶快生效。6 l4 y0 r+ \5 Q# j) s0 u' k* f
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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。 , q, t; C( e% u- @) ]! W# }" b 2 N3 ?( u/ K s1 t" M) X. W# O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。 9 K; M' ?9 g2 J2 u% B6 X9 c3 k+ z
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…….) u( v. A( w# F; F
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Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles # X, s9 {% U+ S 3 C5 b2 y6 ]4 u# J5 o! k2 gCalifornia'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. 0 { b- }/ y) x- J6 L" u/ N' G$ X+ L+ V @# Z
Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.2 `; z( r! V( w5 w. M3 b- u& F
: b: ?2 h: H- L* YI had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things. 1 J* j! |/ W! @7 d) D* U ~6 x* U/ @& O# A! T3 N) a* y
What I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect.' J) k& d" S, j z: c3 t* w5 X
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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.7 _4 o a5 [- A8 K
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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.3 M; O+ I$ o S: q
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This 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.% B) `) |: U" e) u8 y: {
* P* g$ H& d2 q6 w# bOnly 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed.; N" `* T* x/ r
. d( P; R: n- KFantasy# b; m5 H3 i* _; f
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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. # I z; b$ D* J1 R. ^ 1 J/ S8 m% S6 N0 eThe problem, increasingly, is revenue.1 u% M7 J; u: X" V4 E- d) P+ ^5 |+ {
8 h8 j1 x5 }4 Z% ^Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch.- ?* s+ E% T: v: R4 w
6 Q9 F' |% a/ e( X% y. o. ]/ v: vDVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free.& U- r6 c- u. M7 n) y; g$ U6 G; K
6 u" w. u1 C. `" R/ B" D5 }" n- sAnd the economic downturn does not help. + a6 H0 M6 U4 E" I! e; G 0 ]0 L" q+ X( x# S/ O& o"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. ! t) D- V, ?3 v 2 I' U) I$ x0 Y/ j8 p/ eThe economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. . _0 n0 x! ?0 q9 \) @; S4 x! E' h2 R. v( W, D! Z
For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms., _4 V N8 f- S5 w: s
% c; i# [4 `' A* P. T Q; \6 _9 U! jHealth scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set. 8 d4 p; y5 j9 E- ?: x ' [; {6 N+ C8 s( u- q1 lBut the industry says wearing condoms on-screen is a turn-off. The public do not want it, it will kill the fantasy, they say.1 C! g# h O0 h" m4 O1 {0 {) V# Q
+ Z0 M# X2 B5 G5 |7 UGonorrhoea - `8 f" G7 c/ t) V& t" r1 d3 i6 }( i. ^: i8 D* _$ w" J
Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers.% O4 I4 X, S4 B$ v
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A college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years. # j- C' x! z9 J# o; K" g ; P. X; ^. {0 L/ e% `' z7 u2 GShe turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure.& I6 @: Y( i3 S F9 t* e; ]
8 ~7 l4 C2 _; u+ t# K4 R r u"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?"+ W6 q, ~; {; { t
# y8 _: y1 ]1 X+ H5 b4 n# x. mHer 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.0 _" {3 r! J% x) |: M
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Each day would be 15 hours long. . G& O# h: f0 `3 `0 g4 N" D8 R ! Q# L) t" e s% N, F"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. 7 j' |% c/ \1 K) l8 T. x. @' d: R0 y3 ]! x
"You get used to it," she smiled. 5 G( r. S! h' E' C % j }# F, Z- ~ P3 U1 k" x"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?"+ A' m0 J l5 y. M0 g, R
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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."9 ?* T& C4 K' X/ u$ m/ r! @
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There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. ! C: Z' t e4 o; c1 b/ J ' o2 ~8 P9 h" B/ {Expensive lawsuits& s5 G8 d! b) o; p; V
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In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. ' B# ^, p! D. Q$ k- q8 D& U9 e. g 3 Y: M' S/ ]8 I- B- _ s9 i/ RA combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it. Y9 x x- H5 l2 X4 G9 g
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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.4 e& H* t z% y% N
* C' F( i5 ^' \+ ^! M, z: ZNow, 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. 7 D4 ]5 O& R8 ^0 Y4 I6 Y0 d* K& Y# W5 z
"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?"' J6 q) I- }! P& _* u! P
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I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment.; V% @7 Z3 [0 g2 `+ W; `
- z% \- l$ @- j# n: x$ C" |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? ) o" p7 o- }% a& v 7 V: W( T6 \, O5 y$ T/ dThe authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection. & c9 _9 Q. z- S9 ?# @2 h. r: z) Z9 w, O7 C( M4 f6 R
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.! O8 g1 I7 v7 m' b$ d
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A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them.) d( m- a9 n* w2 M" H! R/ \* A
3 u1 _3 q) Z! F3 E7 @$ M3 DThe producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants.! M0 ~8 u+ |/ q1 W. C$ ^% x
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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. * T2 Y( `: K; w+ d1 B4 g+ s, S9 y8 H0 {% J! m2 O
I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. 5 m, \5 U7 G/ D6 O # M6 Y% j( z }/ ?! T. n. B; B. W/ @ Z# l y! N1 S- |# w
/ \& d) z& j6 O ' b* ~5 z" h/ b5 s, uCalls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004