7 q7 T' y! V: t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。 # j9 C! R0 \1 \ o8 G6 M- a$ ?0 q* N* ~2 H7 |# A: m
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。2 H# E1 j8 [. `/ x# H2 Y1 l
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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……. $ Y. B/ P2 a' P" x( k6 v2 c $ }/ s6 T# [+ k; S) l: k% D 3 M7 C3 `5 R& Q# [; o$ `0 uCalifornian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles 6 O# B7 g3 t0 ?) o* Z+ x
! a) t4 f1 N, F8 _ u; kCalifornia'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.& X9 d$ j- K" w
3 P$ x5 l1 }: Y* KLight drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles. 7 G2 U [, p+ Y7 |/ T# m e2 y, N4 G9 y8 d3 z8 T# N
I had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things./ M y; | z# Y5 B; d
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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. ' Y( U: k$ J6 q; L5 z: P- b 8 q, C7 l% o1 |The porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga.; v6 s4 T( V4 R6 B) ]% x- w, o
" |! p& z# C6 N# j7 \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.. t! T/ Q, q. k
# e3 E Q z$ M. ~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.. N8 v' Q3 N% t. C; J) _3 e4 w+ ^1 D
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Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed. 5 p' G. P4 O! T9 q( ` ; D& L; h% N3 ]" S( [Fantasy # l5 E& l' g' [$ X, O, t 8 T1 c) |8 d! X& ~7 u% g0 Y3 BThe 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 J+ G0 a6 ^2 Q3 i5 J5 Y & I/ f, [; r) a M: g, \2 bThe problem, increasingly, is revenue. / n$ o* E& |( Z5 x& \+ k+ ]! L& D& k7 ^7 _; e' E, S, N
Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch.4 a. |: s6 g, {3 ]
3 _4 P- K3 A8 l3 t1 ^DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free. $ B8 i0 u) P$ s 6 F& K9 [- h" u+ k0 D: YAnd the economic downturn does not help.6 \0 y6 S+ L# B/ m) B
3 H# m$ ]$ B& D' B& s"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. " X. R' M! M) [; r: @. h6 t: s0 M5 P9 Y- t! Q7 @
The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. . \1 G* a4 }3 u' c6 D( E! n, p l6 o
For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms./ }4 H- r. W% p$ I' R
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Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set.6 ~, J8 h% i0 W* I, c/ }
( c& ^- n( p6 b$ CBut the industry says wearing condoms on-screen is a turn-off. The public do not want it, it will kill the fantasy, they say. 1 ]( L& L$ W, a" D8 @! @ % x2 d3 s, K$ R8 r* UGonorrhoea& B9 \& ]$ q* Q }+ r
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Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. p! ?/ J! |& ?( C1 f b
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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.0 i' i9 D( ~( m1 E0 W* ?
! B( Y; J4 V: Z1 f, {, o8 X% PShe turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure.0 a, m5 z; r! J) p% {$ s0 a
7 h9 F1 y/ c: j* g4 P- {"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?"# E7 K% l U$ s" G2 `# t- E
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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. ( K8 {7 H+ ~, v- z' x9 Q8 Q, ?/ b F! H
Each day would be 15 hours long. $ ?$ y* z" r4 I. w, Z2 J2 i# A* N1 i; X! L& Z
"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. ) u( ^" p. |2 }% o9 P 6 r( [5 W6 p: Q5 T"You get used to it," she smiled.7 r. a1 n0 k2 s. V9 @
+ u$ q/ x* d. `! S: W8 u"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" . z/ C7 d9 g/ X6 x7 g & a# g0 E F, ]7 r2 f$ Q"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." . i/ I# Q/ d4 i9 D h. t d. O" g# @! J
There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. , g! v7 O" `" J' U/ O7 H) y$ p/ b7 w- `# e* D
Expensive lawsuits ) s1 c& M- [+ s" z' m7 c6 A6 S) V7 y H4 |9 C3 N5 y, C |1 W/ E
In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. 3 c$ o' n7 ?& t* j* f $ a. ? A) P8 u7 @5 |A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it.) i* [: }, i+ [0 ~4 e" v8 r& v4 j
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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.1 W. U3 e# E5 b3 q) P7 q# n
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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./ R; Y+ w+ G! }6 p
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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?" 2 z$ F+ ]% Q- J, ^3 N. X & M) ]' l& x$ l3 ~: } xI struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment.0 ?4 L& I5 @- b
( R# Z* A. I( p3 A9 ?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?. c6 y1 u. j: ^# `& f, Q* B
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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.1 [/ x: ]* b$ x8 j+ U8 W/ v
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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.- U9 j' ?7 ]: {+ Z
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A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them. 8 n M3 }2 j/ x7 G& R/ w P& `- k2 S. x4 `+ [$ j. e m b
The producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants.4 b: f% ?* H4 j5 ^( {, ^# z
3 S0 X/ ]! x% m! sThat view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene.# p" |4 O9 q6 d9 J6 x, S2 b/ w
8 m9 [( S$ C p$ @! E8 YI decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. h- [$ d! K4 H/ u ~
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4 F. C0 l$ k# W# t& H1 e , i- j- s, z9 n& cCalls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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