' @4 a( z# s% K8 v: g8 L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。 / ^$ E$ H7 M( `7 Z 8 N- D1 }' V8 O9 }# ~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……. + S b8 E: Q3 N+ z, r1 y* ?: w# e1 n: q+ h% Z5 _, ^
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Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles 9 T% M3 y @* n * D3 Z; L0 M& H" q) VCalifornia'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.6 f4 m) Y% r& T. M( k+ k
- b. n* L( d6 n- {. ?4 h. xLight drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles. ; n" R4 @, D" ^3 C7 [ , J8 p( c, ~) o& b m( m" W( N2 CI had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things. 4 B- A3 w4 F1 [" P3 h1 @& s& h- ?% Y$ z5 w5 N8 P' N7 k
What I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect.! H0 L% s. k# J( ^$ E5 ^
0 L. K1 C. m9 r4 bThe porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga., r+ R: T4 ?5 ~ t1 B9 E* P+ `! b
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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.2 Y( [. b' P: i# L9 X. T4 V
7 C# N* \% o8 @4 aThis 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.% j/ `/ M, G& a3 G7 B; a% X+ ]
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Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed. 0 {! w2 R c. a# @) W* t/ z \2 Z
Fantasy. ~ Y* X4 j- v4 k! J
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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. 8 B6 j A, B! [* y, ^6 A0 z$ H# v' h
The problem, increasingly, is revenue.9 E% ?0 }! r8 J" U' o" H
2 S! {; `/ l1 ^* G5 j3 z% uLike the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch. b" d* \! ~4 t! W2 B4 E1 ]8 Y: ^6 R! E% f# a" Y2 ]. m* R% ^
DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free.$ g' P, m" u3 p0 e. n6 D6 p
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And the economic downturn does not help.! L$ E. ?6 ]1 t& T
X1 k1 |7 v3 ^" A; N3 @"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully.3 Z% p- x) S9 U) U. V
+ F8 M* a2 N2 f) H" F& i6 VThe economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations.) J. w# r/ X3 T
1 E8 O' L. w* x$ ZFor years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms.* w& q! w3 y% @" @/ T
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Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set. + @) {$ z0 w; ]$ H$ o& Y" w2 S/ W! O9 D: |
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. : k& |) i) d2 {/ l. I; V7 w8 Y0 e, ~, H# F% e% I. V1 R1 J1 u0 {
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Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. v% Z$ |' |: p+ u- ]: `+ v- P
( T$ t: F' D# G3 RA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years.$ m# {+ S0 b( S% c
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She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. n& i* \2 T B% r* | + G* ?& O. I m( e7 `! o/ D* C" D"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?"' i2 F3 D" G. A! y& K% v3 L
" V; l5 B" u5 h1 ?8 x2 v: iHer 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. $ J$ c, `6 Z* j4 R/ X' b* P {: q5 Z! `0 W. V$ O3 F
Each day would be 15 hours long. 0 t. m: m. ~" U& W( O8 N) h. Q# P5 e9 `. K( W# s2 Y1 [
"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested.0 _ F, ]" Y& W w1 v( t
! f1 C' h m) q; f: {& H" C/ O2 f"You get used to it," she smiled.$ g6 _5 j V5 I$ T4 x- c* `4 F0 k6 T: D
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"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" 7 R" p: I0 [' A6 c6 u7 H: Y+ u# }% z% U# G0 x
"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." + R3 E3 W: F. u* E) B4 l) A; F# ` 8 x; f0 [1 p L4 R6 i1 G ~4 h8 \There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided.. z: \5 h8 o6 }
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Expensive lawsuits$ \ e. X( d/ m4 q( x+ G, B/ Q& N6 x
4 _5 U3 v% I% ?3 T. ~. [In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. . u( Z- M+ O, K4 s/ Y# R/ h) Y" R 4 b; n4 {: B! w1 v/ c# v, K) zA combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it.+ v- z- J! w% q9 ?& c" }9 e2 y
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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. $ P2 u: |5 u, D. M* o' ]$ z& l0 z% H& i" i, ?
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.) M* i! d& c, x$ ?; U. `
2 n- W; { x- M% E* U- j"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?"2 b2 ~ W8 g2 z, E1 s- l
}( \1 @7 c# d+ _1 r" VI struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment. : R3 Q* z$ m8 {) c/ {4 S6 ?+ j. f9 g9 s. H' |" ?& {$ ~1 n
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?0 {* {) ]* \# `
; `$ s% z. p/ O9 F. v% ]The authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection. - Y& D. g6 E0 ?, `5 Y & g3 T3 \+ c8 pIt 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.- Q$ [' Z# q! W$ I) f" `
, O" @. y% v% T' ~0 E- [, E7 |, y+ pA number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them.' u1 h3 z% ^. y
1 |& \7 ~6 K/ N! |. ~3 d) eThe producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants.) G4 S# A9 M* R! i) N# T9 ?
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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. - Y! _; Z6 ^- s$ P4 ?% B3 \. S- A: k
I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. " Z* }3 d' j3 ?9 Q* ]5 a; X5 n! g9 C2 `% M+ ? 2 _3 c$ a, `! A s% A) c0 X
4 k e# W- \' h3 y/ `/ \# ^4 o: F! K" r # I$ f3 g6 O) h, I( F! VCalls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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