* C/ }3 C% }; }+ J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。 ' ?. R$ a9 R3 @1 d8 f ; v& J9 e7 T* W一些演员私下告诉我，他们盼着立法赶快生效。 * k- s/ I& L" `3 I8 p 5 d6 w. x$ }) B. y. n; J& x! z" F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。% u% B8 H6 j, q0 e9 [
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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。 7 B/ n" Z' v/ Q. _' Z. s ' g6 K! N" ]2 c) r- d; C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…….' B6 o+ @) y6 q5 {7 G
s% b3 f# g0 z% k 2 u1 _ d- X" V" F- dCalifornian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles 2 b7 J: r) w: g* o }; L1 d! T) W: c+ w$ N# j- D& F
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.; P* e3 ?. |# I- w
. i5 x# _4 w* f; S8 rLight drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles. ! u* ]0 O; S- b! i9 Q" C5 K) s* a3 F4 C0 K4 V4 v
I had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things.0 ^. N5 \0 D3 `
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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.- W& g: W6 j: m% z6 T
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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 J! x2 i. U2 o4 m. N1 Y7 Y+ y) K H! u. V) x
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. # w# ~2 e8 I9 Z! I2 M7 _$ I) O* u5 t; F% u* b
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. # }* ` y; y/ P) W3 V' G2 ?6 o' W4 W9 v: V
Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed. * s+ l& {4 ~' | T% t: |. Y3 A2 L
Fantasy 2 I* x# D. i6 d _/ N o6 f+ N ( {2 Q. `; C. ^ V/ |! aThe 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.- X/ d2 [! o& @' h- E5 D$ d
1 y }5 p/ {& H9 ^2 ?! j! s0 PThe problem, increasingly, is revenue. 9 t$ t, {' Y0 J3 R$ Q* N3 O & [- a" i8 U# e5 Z; J8 oLike the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch. g* N D" |, z: r/ T2 _$ L; j* M; m3 U2 R# ^+ p: M. |) i6 `
DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free.( L8 c; m( k% K5 M
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And the economic downturn does not help.& `# L- K9 p0 q* g+ L
6 F; s+ j4 b' Z. a; F% ~"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully.# H+ O8 q* w4 M7 B" s
! _- f' }+ Y8 g$ gThe economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations.0 k0 K# f- |" g* G8 ]2 ~$ C) E
% T" r- [. P5 s2 G) D3 T. ]$ c6 fFor years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms.5 K2 J5 j) H! I# W3 j, T
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Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set. # z' X+ I: D1 ?) K& E0 F Q$ t; U' C& L7 D+ n
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. ' x$ M' c/ r. X 9 |0 @4 A) D* i! F7 |Gonorrhoea1 S2 J/ R. Q4 Y7 t
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Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. ; h% f& a5 ]# \% Q$ \+ q, q 9 M# W/ n" K* G( C) M) w) mA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years.& s& _$ G( O( O+ f/ I" I
; \' ~/ i7 L/ JShe turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure.7 [+ T$ g( N5 g. S8 a9 Q4 ~
1 h/ S5 C; t e# N5 v) U) r"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" 1 S9 t4 L' x) V# L' `& g' S1 ~& V; i- {
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. 2 [! F) P! q8 B' O& \ & p( _% c# G/ T. s7 I$ d4 D- p" HEach day would be 15 hours long. 7 ?. B& ]8 Y; d# D" B3 y + M% ?+ b; [8 @8 E"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. ) D* K0 g& p; @3 d- @- t* I1 H6 P2 y% J: O) `, S& v# f
"You get used to it," she smiled. - o( Y5 W) o" D6 u7 G9 \, H. _9 y/ ^) B
"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?"$ U( e6 ?1 ^2 j
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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."& z/ @% L4 r% E q
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There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided.# Q d8 `* v4 J" Y( @
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Expensive lawsuits & K$ i F& g1 b n % w3 j" I: {1 q+ `In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. 4 n& _9 @- E- Q9 F5 G3 {$ b- _ % `+ k$ C5 N9 m o4 h6 `A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it.% y, _! B# ? Y D- S; c3 `
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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. $ L9 R U* [; i% L5 d) L 1 R& _1 n ?# b' S3 S1 M3 LNow, 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. : F% c1 ?2 w8 z2 ?$ u& x* J$ ?9 `1 A. d0 x. n
"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?" 0 x1 X# A, p- n$ F% k* S m - v. s4 w9 A# S8 L# e# ~9 rI struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment. ; N5 _0 O' @: N' i 4 d! y( i9 b* c' D* R6 j+ EBut 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?% z Y% M$ s7 X7 i
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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.+ |: u- t, i" v+ n m T) b
4 q6 G7 b4 L1 Y& NIt 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. & q7 {) W1 g! \+ o/ _& c% S, H7 ^* k5 @
A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them.' x6 R9 J) C& m0 R
2 S) F. K0 Q: r. ]6 |5 Q5 b/ N3 oThe producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants. ! r3 W; Y! ?/ x- N4 Z" N m$ \$ m+ m! d7 F) L' V! h
That view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene. $ M+ F" }- d8 m! c2 Y0 G) p+ a @$ ~5 X7 k7 ^
I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. & N- }; Q9 ]$ K% A- o" }4 Y: ?* i( |9 U # O, o: s8 ~0 D0 ] 0 t' F7 I& t, f' o 8 O5 W$ O. s3 q5 i9 t& [Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
