" d l2 b. @: M/ a4 g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？ ; w% s0 _7 q t$ S* {0 l# F 1 ?9 z; p/ G: {; C/ P( H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。 / E/ d0 V4 a% Y. B) u# r* X' V7 @, B9 P' F6 W" Z, N
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。8 e' S6 r0 _+ w
( J+ G/ T' Z' W! T$ W" l9 s" g
一些演员私下告诉我，他们盼着立法赶快生效。 $ u) w7 j+ K& K" s) G) H" X& `* _: i
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。 z& M) T6 j* F* @) V5 s' U
+ P9 E" s7 q7 K! A7 s
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。 & p" p+ y. B6 H H+ E0 a# p' }7 x0 }3 x4 G/ r3 |$ M
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…….) t' R: z. s. b8 |
8 o/ f, A' e, K5 M& S6 @
; [; X! @8 Q# ]5 ]9 c9 LCalifornian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles ; D( j3 v8 K" b8 i$ z: N2 R, r7 {8 I$ x: H: Q2 x
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.% @5 Q$ w+ m$ I$ C& |( Q
7 Y6 t: m. T/ |/ c6 L# D0 O+ i5 A q
Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.( p$ R6 j m6 d' e
4 J4 Q) _' ^+ p/ Z1 l
I had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things.0 Z& ]8 f3 C/ [0 @
. H$ n. b! T, EWhat I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect.# O' o* f `- l; m+ N$ k0 r
" A' L) v0 Q% A3 k
The porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga.; ^ i! O+ X8 w) C! l
+ b- w6 A/ Q/ b/ e- n
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. . N T5 l% C2 G1 o- A# z8 U9 T% |3 i/ Q2 |' _! c/ [
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. 5 s. u% R. B) n4 j0 `& ?5 o0 |5 [& W. ]6 D
Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed./ H# K* G9 B- s4 p
% e( R( h0 `, n4 n$ F' {Fantasy9 V$ W: e0 h. V+ \% ]% L1 V
7 _. \) s5 e0 l) H1 |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.# B9 i) w- ^$ r" g. ]# U; `! `5 g8 f
% j0 ]" E7 y, z6 ]$ n
The problem, increasingly, is revenue. 6 M u3 r2 A' E, l8 g - W5 Z! g+ H7 Z0 ~( ELike the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch. - y2 H) z8 H( f/ w, ?- j 2 H O8 u. Z8 R7 R" Y' mDVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free.# X9 E- g) l7 a# E
" o) p: l' Q3 u2 I, W; |# R2 FAnd the economic downturn does not help.* Z. g4 d/ p0 e) {
5 b* x$ s! v1 t% V* s" g6 c( `0 F"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. 7 T9 A$ N c5 Z5 a7 Q& X h0 _. R) g: P2 T2 [The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations.% O' P/ t0 p5 E. q/ B1 ?) B! Z
8 K( t7 h% _/ y& c1 K7 O3 d' t1 sFor years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms. . ]& E$ a' ~! A! ~1 t$ ?8 K. P% h& m K3 j9 c
Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set.3 T7 J1 {# {3 Z7 C8 M" m
- B3 |* l% U3 s
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. - L8 R: _: f2 W 5 T! e8 H% p# Y, @4 T5 x$ V' YGonorrhoea 0 y' T5 j/ _* m. Z6 M - q. x. ^! W1 c. e3 e- _Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. 7 z7 E" c a* F6 S5 D) L& A/ T! L [ U) E, K
A college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years. : f. H$ v; z; a: m0 @+ _9 v9 V. r$ R8 `3 m2 j: [
She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. , M7 J5 z# X- \5 V7 ~ 5 l) P% L1 r, ]: j( M- k+ f"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?"# e( p. S2 H% W# i( Y
% D9 v8 N; _% ]( 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.4 S) g, D! s) q% y+ g) b
4 P! W5 J" {; n" Q. l2 F3 I
Each day would be 15 hours long. ( L" } ^5 Q$ ?4 s" \ % a M0 K/ M+ o5 Y"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested.3 O" W2 ~* @2 I! K
9 e1 q4 K8 F' Y$ B2 B6 }"You get used to it," she smiled.7 ~) t7 q; v6 x% H
, t! x, f0 L9 X4 O7 Z- w( m"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" ! ^$ O+ T) Q4 R( q* h $ N i* Z9 f3 |; z; k6 @"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." . M- D" h0 ^7 x( Y8 q$ ` * M5 u! P% j% v3 GThere was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided.' }0 X) Y, `0 J3 `8 O, b+ H
$ o1 @5 p X1 Q+ b8 P) r9 @
Expensive lawsuits) D% ?0 [8 u$ s( a- @
) M. m/ Y6 s, w4 V$ ?! l. Z
In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business.3 Z. R2 p' Z0 |3 _) c
4 [4 Y. I* Z) ^6 g5 q: }
A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it." r7 l' g; |, \0 ^6 L8 t
6 F6 \1 e7 R8 \# I# H& c2 S4 A) ~4 U& `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 c: ]( J4 f; I1 E( q
+ t5 _" ~, [9 Z( J# p, H/ cNow, 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.& a2 i5 D& h3 h: [& y# {
- N+ {* u. W9 C1 K5 i" ~
"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?" 6 E$ a, y0 t- p, z) F* |7 u) O( @) V x4 {0 f* h2 B
I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment.& U0 ~3 G* ^2 J& J; \: k4 r0 t
( b6 ~9 v+ m- A0 ]* ^, jBut 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?1 o' `& u2 ]# L
0 n7 @# {/ @ ]$ s# q! O' D
The authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection.1 l: X2 A. m) [: P" @
6 r0 B& s/ E G( A" B. J' n3 `* N5 {2 ?" BIt 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.1 C% |5 }# p9 U. L; [5 V& j9 G' g- R/ n
& T! f0 Q+ d- Z2 J1 g
A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them.0 p2 {2 {& W1 j( {/ G( O' J
( G1 ^% \; p: IThe producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants., ?6 r3 c3 v# P
& l1 ~% {6 g* ~# F* \: L5 u
That view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene.5 }$ P& w: r0 B; _
' p+ p( w7 }$ iI decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain.; F$ w2 K7 j" g4 M" n: ?% Q
3 D+ L" J, V. u% |/ A 2 J' t' v/ p- o/ m6 D* E, M2 @; g7 b5 }% P) z0 h' H3 T5 x3 M 0 o% j1 `2 c1 \) k5 P9 DCalls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
8 x. h; p: T- z3 `
