3 T# g: n8 }! F) x% R9 Z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。' M, a; k/ z% q- K6 E/ X
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一些演员私下告诉我,他们盼着立法赶快生效。* D- _+ ^& i* C, `+ q
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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。9 A9 @! B, J8 V+ g9 A
. x8 |) k2 T) U; `9 j5 F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。- h, v B; W7 \( A6 I6 O
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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…….- C h" S) d5 G, k; E
/ t, P+ Q$ l) b7 i3 T 3 d6 F+ \5 R4 f- g5 [7 B" x, eCalifornian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles 1 {- C: k4 ^* g6 ]- j% j& V8 Z0 k+ A3 [' K+ f2 Y
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.0 R/ Y1 c7 i- `0 K8 ^
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Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles. 3 l! K5 A+ w# L6 @ ; i u' F. X+ k* K0 x3 b9 EI had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things.! i. O2 t( x" V0 k% l! D
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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. / l1 @6 l5 ^% Q) |' z 9 z2 }6 b9 `5 q, B. fThe porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga.: H% F1 V! w$ H- z9 d
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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.- c$ F& L# K; t U8 w1 V
. B* k7 j. d {0 Q+ ^; K; M9 PThis 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. ( s# b+ Z# C% ]) Z) M, H 4 A- B. S$ x9 ]8 W# @2 H5 bOnly 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed. % g, `8 C$ r" _6 y ; z# Z/ L. s- i0 b: g' bFantasy ( `% F. S! X: @9 T1 f( w* K- `$ a; A! x- s* p( n/ m
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. 6 K# W/ ]$ h9 {8 V+ x! | + F: s& }3 k' z' i' |The problem, increasingly, is revenue. + l, e$ c# e! u7 Q$ Z% r C/ X1 B% h) }/ W' o# f: r
Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch.* j: w3 V3 p' O% ?$ a/ M- u$ F! n
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DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free.' H9 |; J R, A" k5 R, v
5 D# S* M1 ~0 I' v3 h, U* C; SAnd the economic downturn does not help.' {4 a# V& C! o" M2 ^# k% ]# Q
: n# D! P S# X* m. |"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully.1 i3 w9 R9 q7 @
* C6 v$ }' a$ Z8 LThe economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations.8 n5 {) l* |6 A) j2 W
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For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms.+ U1 G* p* d X) @" u
5 D# y# A, X7 e6 y- NHealth scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set.1 Z& b) B6 N) s& S
0 b$ a, P/ a1 D) M& rBut the industry says wearing condoms on-screen is a turn-off. The public do not want it, it will kill the fantasy, they say.* g( f: A' _) l! H
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Gonorrhoea; O- J3 B% N' `2 G5 }6 Y
- d( L3 z$ K1 { b) yBack on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. # W" `* X* M+ I. c! \" G9 w $ o# h% K8 y \$ k: fA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years. 1 `' j3 n, I) p4 t& Y# Q2 u5 \, J3 F
She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. 9 W4 T4 E, Q3 S- [ J+ c + S' O5 ?; h& ]1 J"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" + u; S( v9 q8 M; F3 M" J% X " K# p+ L$ \& \3 P) @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.7 H& K# y" A8 }/ k$ }# h5 t8 ]$ t
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Each day would be 15 hours long.. j. r* e0 o, X0 Q
7 O+ c; W# j9 Q( G; ^8 z1 G"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. % W. D3 L3 l! \( W1 D - S7 ^) R, T0 R8 b"You get used to it," she smiled. ) Y% J% [3 B; @9 |/ j! s! ~ 8 y& n3 f3 H7 k' H K"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" & n1 u6 x: U2 F5 Q2 _) L/ G' o. e+ R a/ g
"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." ; ]2 D8 f: ?9 B& u6 Q6 z / M2 ^ E* ?# B1 s6 P- m. m$ xThere was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided.0 D9 _7 H, M( e! @
4 a1 s- u0 K1 _, V: v1 ~/ K/ K' KExpensive lawsuits* ~. @- r6 i \( R! z9 y( W/ H
* H3 X- A4 u7 d! s, T8 QIn fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. 6 J5 h: z. s% u) t7 `, E 1 p. J- w7 T: o+ `! ^7 L7 {* H. yA combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it.& s h1 K! |, C7 r* G
# |+ Z5 }1 ?5 v5 ? }* ^" IIt 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.) O+ g/ c! |- C2 X3 `+ X m
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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 B4 u" C1 c& r* E7 R* z# q* J3 h4 H$ t( T _7 t
"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?" ^0 ` e0 r9 W/ ~ ) Z. t1 g! N# r. N- t6 l5 N- h1 m7 RI struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment.! F' p: H- g) m# H1 Q3 Y( \( W
* ~4 x3 V% [, p+ [3 RBut 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? ! H- Q$ q" ^6 h4 q4 t( `, E" O6 F- L! \0 H' P* S) P
The authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection. V8 K5 w1 q8 g) d- J% `$ T" N
( @- a/ X& W( o0 F/ E& oIt 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., Z9 b( E3 P% F! o
+ s7 n0 O" N4 h- Z0 z0 l3 NA number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them. ' x4 \" r$ A/ |6 J- y5 D7 r5 ?; Q1 b% o4 H
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 `2 a( P2 Y# u) G& i5 _
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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.5 V! ~9 U) }7 c* `" X$ }1 p6 g4 j+ y
7 n2 F. G% _6 j3 N' n) e( O3 ]I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. , O& N! X6 `! o+ E+ H8 t3 R, c* D p- M1 I- N0 D5 Q- w5 @" H, m 2 u1 h1 a* @* ?, q* D+ A 7 K9 e- x; i: u( s. o5 Q& @! e# ]6 E
Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004