( t- a# t4 {. M+ n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。 7 G5 H! `0 E* h" i8 } U# o . }+ z1 B4 W* N" t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”? ) \4 l) e8 Y; C B- p. g; s; s/ N) T) W0 b+ n
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。* n8 f- M* U i, Z7 }; V$ f" Z
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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? - B4 x) ^+ O. o+ X; e; m/ w4 V4 b 1 b) ] Z& V3 W+ `+ q8 E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。' w$ B0 k% w. u2 n5 @- T8 K6 i2 _
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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。4 K: J9 j; y2 D% v# r' y1 M
" }1 r2 X% ^5 c. n5 R0 @" U/ l一些演员私下告诉我,他们盼着立法赶快生效。 % z& z8 ~# u \2 D: G 4 {+ Y+ w0 i S6 E3 y4 b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。 # P8 Q8 y' y6 L2 Q& {" p0 }1 ~& S
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。 4 q. ^: v6 o. ]8 ? 5 \+ g. A8 t7 n& w" A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……. h& b2 U3 s. H. n O
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Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles % g9 y) {/ g3 O) 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.8 ^8 H8 _( `; V8 {+ t
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Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.! x c1 S u& r I7 [* D
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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. - d/ |$ B1 t; B2 r ' a& O) k0 m8 r; Z4 F& JWhat I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect.8 m# P8 D2 ~* |" G
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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.* Y6 e# n4 u7 U
! R8 v! M% M4 N+ [1 `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.7 c$ h8 `$ {7 u i# q$ `3 T6 \# \: G* B
- t B/ A1 v# \" b6 J2 u' ^: o$ EThis 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. + ^" z; o4 ]0 O5 e# L3 K" ]+ ]# H8 h& C
Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed.! b. ~2 @7 W. u/ }# ]; m
3 {6 I4 q j/ w2 |$ k6 `0 WFantasy ; k9 I' t. t2 p! s" f# A- T $ {- l' Z- L' R p' \, W1 W0 ]9 m4 JThe 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. 9 n4 Y% f F% ?3 i4 v. p$ y. V6 C, A2 ^) x3 N9 D
The problem, increasingly, is revenue.& I! u, G& i1 R( }
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Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch., g0 \8 g* F; G0 O) R1 O* s' I o
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DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free. ; Q; N6 i# N2 q b0 f6 B ; ?+ s; m# ~# t6 NAnd the economic downturn does not help. 9 F5 Y, u0 |2 g9 o+ q; j: y: {3 v9 B( y
"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. * ^! Z2 \- Z# r% K) K: t4 u9 o* q2 @! ^7 K& X: b5 Y
The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations.4 p* S$ Q$ H1 e
5 I* }. \3 D0 {5 {( h! O% ~For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms. z! ~- h. O, n4 p
?. t& P+ j- N) q! @& fHealth scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set. & H! B1 Z4 O2 s% F3 w) |% o5 \3 V# Q# v) t$ ~
But the industry says wearing condoms on-screen is a turn-off. The public do not want it, it will kill the fantasy, they say.. T; E( f. o8 [- g' |
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Gonorrhoea # _- J) b7 L* L5 }0 B* l% Q4 `, ]
Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. . ?; l1 w" G" A0 v. f# I! O 0 z4 g# @ N) F6 W- f, aA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years.9 _9 ?7 }3 o) H& ?
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She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure.( n. g) Y. Y4 Y
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"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" 1 T3 G3 M7 W. H8 S; ]5 I8 E" F$ P2 ]" |8 V7 i% ?) w
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.1 ]. J4 M# g. s* K/ E& U; @" g
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Each day would be 15 hours long.* [: e6 o' A1 t" c4 g1 |
" I0 m, J. F4 u) S: z"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested.* M5 m; I( ^& r! i2 [2 x1 ?1 B9 v
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"You get used to it," she smiled.( O: ~* {9 F n. j
O3 p# D5 b: Z9 h/ l"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" 6 {$ i9 h2 f) s5 o4 \, Y; O, n. d7 s; n. ^8 O# F, 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."8 a! R0 e! M( t+ j! v5 @0 h' T( |
. p. K3 R. D+ H+ G8 wThere was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. 8 c% i+ p. f* G# e, I5 j) E, H ! G% A- r* A$ G; dExpensive lawsuits% ^, V9 W; a' l1 n- D
, Z9 c4 A" g, ~* c4 P3 C4 iIn fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. 7 T1 L$ \0 F/ B; k $ f) G E \8 I4 t0 GA combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it. * \& M/ v: f* ` + d; }% V( c4 H3 PIt 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 G: @9 Q1 g7 r5 W8 y' g# I' u0 o* x0 ~" o% J0 y
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.2 y4 _: T/ L: U* J
4 @8 O7 I( F* \( |1 }"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?" + a/ _0 |" Y `) e2 u F+ {% v k O4 D% D) S: Q
I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment. ! I* V8 \/ \( O$ p7 E2 s6 k8 m0 |' K0 _+ T
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?- q3 |4 E, Q& g' ~
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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. $ C& Y/ W$ D c! U- V" Z7 n" J , K& k0 c4 T7 o, G+ q: IIt 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 T2 O, S5 c, _4 n% b" w) O& H x9 n4 A; p, I
A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them.0 p& e7 ~2 k5 E9 ~0 ~( u
1 O3 \ ?8 D; L6 pThe producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants. ' ?. t5 V! z% F: F4 i $ B8 I5 G7 e, R& }, r6 \3 TThat view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene./ |9 \4 q- t* a
+ K, F- w7 U- II decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. # w C7 \: o+ Z8 S3 d/ }$ O) s5 {# }5 s' s8 x 7 D3 O8 ]& w* b- n / `9 H# G1 U0 s0 w# Y7 b 3 L% m ]- Z LCalls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004