; ?* n( R( V* Q5 y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”？ $ V: q2 @$ G. J' A3 U; @! Y; | a8 x
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。 6 I3 g( h- M" K5 w 9 ?5 B3 f$ u n& G% r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？ , g w8 S: L' N5 l8 P8 F) E- y4 ]8 O& E9 x- E0 |
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。 & c# f% G9 j5 z' e3 N: f1 o * L6 l- y5 u Q! I* s, L( e, q3 T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。 - W: h0 X, U. i, q/ y& F1 C6 s% k* `4 e6 s+ }
一些演员私下告诉我，他们盼着立法赶快生效。- |4 k3 N0 V8 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。 " ?! o1 H R' ]2 @" z: U6 w+ @ - N6 r7 z; x# o$ u6 }6 O1 k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 R$ B* n8 I# T) f3 g; ?5 e# | , m; g& `2 M9 s& P: u* j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…….0 w- F1 F$ C" t; b2 b+ C$ g
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Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles . U9 Z/ n$ y3 M4 W |6 N
0 I/ E6 O, d4 V6 W. cCalifornia'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. + {4 r5 w( U7 t6 m! }/ f2 S6 f) |) z+ G& ], S
Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles. " a% K' T* c* I/ V3 f+ b4 f: ^& p2 W5 u# N, D, Y
I had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things.; f6 O" @, E- k# G0 d, J
: T/ ^2 V; h5 xWhat I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect.1 u! b0 q( v5 P/ S! r8 X* L% Z/ M
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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. ( G% T, t2 H1 P, T6 D7 m 4 K" A9 S- @- Q$ o" H1 xPerformers 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./ ~: p2 d5 B5 l) G9 U
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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.% q8 w$ J( J% Y( A2 g/ a, ?
, F8 _$ I- a: K) w* ZOnly 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed.3 A6 V# }/ s8 o' q9 M
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Fantasy, E$ w1 F0 [& [# k, I
6 }, v6 w0 z# }* @& Y* ~) |9 ^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./ ?3 m O+ O! M* }) K
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The problem, increasingly, is revenue.$ [% K0 l5 ]1 t+ T# `- |
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Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch.- t/ C" J8 r6 n( g$ g" H
& a! c/ W0 z- ?DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free. % W- E% ?: E! T# B! A: _* K7 G8 C1 f7 R9 ^7 e! A
And the economic downturn does not help. " W0 G( L% `8 Y- t2 z. J U% g0 r8 ~8 w) K6 c/ n
"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. ) w# n* N7 K1 i+ x; U: N5 l2 s' q 5 I0 I. R# n& O/ w! X5 DThe economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations., G- n( V) D. I2 F
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For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms. ! _$ d3 q- V; z/ k" o, l" z' P2 g% t: g7 q
Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set.' h" f# O. O1 O, }% J/ ^
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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. 7 }4 f- _3 D4 s! O! ^5 U4 v" c1 O# `4 U/ f' z! d/ T) n( {- I/ \
Gonorrhoea 0 @, y. w- n( o, P: _( h- o" r7 ^# N+ ^# g6 ]$ i
Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers.% p/ X- e+ {; D3 ]9 n3 y4 [/ L' X
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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. , y4 d; m+ G, C/ x7 p/ T5 Q, l7 p* t' T0 o2 f# n7 B
She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure.# |( ]" @* x; B0 z9 \5 T
' o- x1 T) i) R& U( q( r"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?"1 H6 R! |: g# j) e4 M+ ]7 ?
& V' n+ w$ I3 P2 u: zHer 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.* [6 o0 b' A: U
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Each day would be 15 hours long.5 Z. D P6 v' k6 Z" u
0 @) u+ W# O3 z( N/ G. ]6 ~& j p"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. # ^$ k9 b O) g1 g5 ?) p8 c . n, v; ?+ e) u1 h/ I% z3 w"You get used to it," she smiled.. L$ c6 t) i( e/ h* u0 f
: h* ^ C6 j- O/ s6 O/ M9 @"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" + V* F: Q* Y% _. V" z1 G9 o& _/ z. b5 Q8 s
"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." / J8 h$ t) R$ j' }; t1 X$ W: O) i; G9 X# a7 `& a% D$ C
There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. 2 v+ p6 q- ?: f' Y0 Q, s5 _" }6 c" `7 Q8 Y M" I7 P/ |) Z
Expensive lawsuits3 \+ d/ @: B5 L1 l1 S3 U
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In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business./ k( t/ d; i* q9 W S, o5 }
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A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it.- o7 L m I& q+ u1 e) E$ ^- u
9 o+ e; ~! K9 L; R5 [7 K1 [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. ! O) Y9 R- Y. b6 x8 x G- l; w6 Y% t( F+ {" T- xNow, 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 x% n$ b/ P v) W. f4 L
4 e6 P' J4 n4 d"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?" . P3 V- }/ U; I% I3 U, U2 s; C8 I8 P- L) t5 _# @# o
I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment.' g& P4 k: u1 N6 ]
2 ~3 \5 H& A) Y7 R5 Q P( u# d( X9 qBut 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?' X: d" P5 `5 b. I' n; H9 p
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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.% k6 k2 g, d$ Z% _- B2 O
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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.# n; B, ?0 u' i$ j" _
& v8 I) N" l1 w' T5 R2 `# W7 O! iA number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them.9 U( N2 v0 |! h3 ~6 G
! K( l' ^& |9 o# fThe producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants. . b9 w: m& j9 M- W* N0 N3 z. h. P8 U; L! O, m
That view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene.9 S( O7 A& Q; [3 L; i! b; b" E
2 M) p8 Q( P: R3 Y8 P f7 tI decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain.$ K) Q8 C% l& M
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Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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