. N8 d# l" [1 M; G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。 - ~% g& T8 V' z/ d* i3 h5 J; t- k1 g; n; o) i( U4 ?! m
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。 ; I7 n4 R8 H; l0 H. j% Z4 l* V: a/ X
一些演员私下告诉我,他们盼着立法赶快生效。9 x/ b8 O" s! q; E, e5 b
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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。$ G+ {* C% a5 f/ \
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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。 1 H0 [- m5 A+ T" u6 c& m5 w6 F+ b( V
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…….9 Y& B. D: F6 C4 G; X
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Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles + P* N4 z; E/ ]( ]2 g3 o
7 Q) B. R3 V6 u' C$ N) D. J: SCalifornia'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. ( r- R0 ^$ x' M# A1 o" U7 A" Q8 J5 I- j$ \% x
Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles." q+ @7 J$ S) _& H. k' Q
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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. & M2 p# n( Q. K ! s3 S$ K9 P0 h' W) x- cWhat I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect./ w! o$ O' r& T
: m! d6 i8 m4 S3 U7 D- |The porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga. 3 _7 g8 _3 t4 L; A' {& R7 ?$ v% |- k, Y2 Y. B! V+ [
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. 5 f; J4 b% z5 x% Y6 M; l8 L! J& ^; O" g: F
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., r/ T2 F2 W# p- ]3 O. V
1 B& ?$ q/ w' g( @- _; ^Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed. % F0 ^9 j% Q) x+ W, @& u8 n, K' A1 k$ \5 N& X/ f
Fantasy ; h: u9 b5 Q6 e6 `1 {! H8 w . n5 M6 h3 e" r9 S, o7 ZThe 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.# P! q5 h9 v. e7 R! T
" i$ h, k' k+ q: _& K3 |The problem, increasingly, is revenue.9 U( _- f8 x& `7 V) t0 f, `
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Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch. ( Z3 a# _4 d' g8 e( G" I, z 1 E' L$ x `2 k& W9 S5 F. EDVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free.* c. ^: H Z4 w7 p' ^: |7 E
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And the economic downturn does not help.% k& S% T! h; H0 U7 l2 @; ^
; O) G+ b$ _4 \5 Z3 V"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully.) L: a. z* D1 C" Q& F
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The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations.) w0 b1 n' @3 _2 [
/ ^! s' u; }- ]' r0 a' H- I* TFor years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms.1 c7 u$ G' \$ f
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Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set. ( V' q3 h3 u/ Z- j * t8 _3 y7 ?" y; Y& _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. ; R6 D) E) O2 u1 x" i+ { , m: b: A3 G0 u" s# nGonorrhoea' B+ T" c- x7 q" f) d
% O$ d: V8 n& x- c/ bBack on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers.$ J) y2 n# ^+ i O9 l I
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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.% n- A+ k9 n# {; z; D$ t. l: b5 {( n
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She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. 9 d4 F' C: h7 T4 k- b# b$ k g' \5 d, l
"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?"0 R& r* u* J8 e N; c j8 B
: g; k( Y6 n$ T( m9 hHer 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.: z; P6 e' D) F
$ g" ~# h# ~/ h1 LEach day would be 15 hours long. 4 |( t' A9 `+ m+ L N3 R ' P2 B6 V6 b4 j! g2 R+ i2 q% r"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. 0 g6 ], L% u' h4 r* G/ H ' |3 u' w+ P P/ `2 O1 u8 F2 D: |"You get used to it," she smiled. 7 Q3 g6 I7 { Z' R' \$ y: z# W & h3 s" E8 Q8 R" U& t' {9 [# M"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?"8 ^# J8 S0 e S! v# k$ {4 o
( s" j1 `7 h9 D" t"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." ! A" D" b0 p I$ s/ }0 x; B. G% }1 U$ C3 O5 h+ D- m
There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. # X' b- j- ^& r1 w" J- }4 {: m) ?- _4 c
Expensive lawsuits7 h+ F! t: e- M5 F& m# p
- C0 v0 O& W" vIn fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. & f& g7 k5 i* l. X8 R; M / s- Z5 {1 i/ j9 W4 Q, b4 x- g) ~* SA combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it. 3 k+ ^$ m, c9 E' i 1 F9 E. b/ g9 R9 }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.+ q, h+ v! B: c8 Z4 R8 J
6 v, B. w4 B- ^0 T4 Z' |( HNow, 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.5 c+ o) v0 Q7 O& k# ~2 K
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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?" + W; W( Y6 i$ a . ]. q e3 `: K) }6 s3 j7 WI struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment. ( ]$ w' D0 l/ H6 Y6 J$ M F L9 C1 V e, [5 ^
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? 5 A& f; k5 R) Y, e( _) F; R: }/ I% I8 T# e# E3 w7 Z& H
The authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection." G; c( ~- \- s t* E6 ]) r
! s5 \1 i$ |1 O0 h3 A0 @/ B) KIt 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.0 e. } ^' V: M" {( V
- @" C. n; n* ^# }0 R1 Y! HA number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them. 7 A0 N: k7 ]; M( v& C; R ! {) t* ]" \( R- YThe producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants.- R1 ^! ]4 T% u! K* ]
/ N: u. @- t4 RThat view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene.3 c @* J7 Z- ]2 r$ ^
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I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain.5 ]8 i: H% g% h: \5 {
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Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004