# @" C" N9 h) v% N7 u/ o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。 # U) f4 m1 C P' ? 0 q) c. I" t+ e+ j5 m" D% p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? * v% [4 [( b J/ g8 a+ D$ n, @ , Z2 @6 i2 b6 T) p; v8 z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。 ( m0 V( U. `( t# I5 P 6 L, i4 m, P D' r4 D, w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。 o3 r- K3 d: h) P' {3 u7 C# c; Q4 b; I8 e
一些演员私下告诉我,他们盼着立法赶快生效。 $ l# f. U$ @& U G9 X4 B9 e + z5 ?$ ]) f4 m8 f: G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。6 X7 g8 }& u9 y8 h! D) |4 a
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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。 - ~# v3 r. W9 a8 H8 g$ D$ `, l; W7 A7 k3 n% q# @/ D9 \
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…….6 c% O- K) Q+ C, O: }3 u! r8 e
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" t7 z$ f; ?$ a* LCalifornian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles $ x, b% G- {& `6 _& A/ s1 F( a* ~7 K7 N5 S, P, v* ^ M8 `
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. % K. g1 a9 G+ `& w/ D6 E# z" l6 g8 b& |6 B5 s2 i
Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles. 5 b% I! f2 A' n7 o5 k' q4 U0 q; p+ B3 |: K4 a$ p+ {7 R
I had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things. 1 t: _8 o: X5 O; Y" R : d% z/ ?) B' J7 a- OWhat I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect. y: o) v$ M0 B$ S) u$ f" Y2 ?* N% k5 |8 ^5 {& z: j% n& S
The porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga.: h2 k5 i" B: E5 d/ j
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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.' M- a+ \' h1 N( q1 |! I8 S' J
- s/ F% \8 j. u! p& PThis 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. 6 ?* S2 z5 k/ {6 n ) ^* ?* v! E' Q: P P. `Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed. * X# Y6 r" K2 I! Z9 s: m( q' L) x. ]+ ~/ W% }
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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.% K. L5 v8 |( H5 ^- R% B6 Z$ m
9 ^+ \5 n5 D6 WThe problem, increasingly, is revenue. : X0 G) n5 W9 z) c7 G/ L# l. x% G * `# y% F8 @5 J7 d( u" O. {1 B6 l5 k: SLike the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch., }0 Y+ n+ X* D* _1 |7 m
- F; t% M! B( ]2 ]; xDVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free.& z: ^7 G2 K& y% A o
: x# y6 u0 ^9 O$ PAnd the economic downturn does not help. " c, U) s( g" g" x1 C $ ~( L* D& z- h: Q& ^$ ?9 {"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. % j O0 s3 z2 j3 C, Q, Z9 |, p5 [! W/ e, v% G( _, w
The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. 3 x5 z' X5 K7 S/ l : p6 t# c8 H5 }* ]7 [! TFor years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms.2 q& }3 O; J9 N+ R4 p2 E
# T! u; z. S. oHealth scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set.) [$ y1 b6 k6 V( y U! C
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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 i( L% r/ G7 z: u$ R5 O 2 N1 ~/ L5 g6 Y) LGonorrhoea 1 J& q( ], T4 O# Q$ ^) B& E+ z% s# R2 N3 h, y7 c6 r, A9 e
Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. / a- s5 U& O, F7 Y0 v4 J! f # |& [9 {; t, I* H- yA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years. 9 S8 z3 D* N1 j* s0 F! K5 e: U# V) p2 F2 ^+ E$ V3 @ \6 P. H
She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure.) J+ X5 N/ W9 K T
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"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" 5 x5 {- i+ S5 M/ V" v. a7 M* Q5 j5 `4 y
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.6 G& h8 k5 y/ w2 ^" S
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Each day would be 15 hours long.$ V( }0 R2 q# O- M( l4 I& D
$ e) b: R* i3 I9 M+ g) Q"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. ; F7 C z( r4 ^) Y/ ^ # [/ z0 W# G4 V+ Y' u! F, F: z- n/ `"You get used to it," she smiled.9 p0 L$ k0 R: m/ i
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"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" 0 I' `! X! K" P7 V1 o & a: d1 |$ ?0 Z2 v2 H"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." . W( d f0 O) K$ E* r& r' h/ a$ }- }: W$ O! }9 N; b
There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. x) u+ b4 D6 d E3 a1 p6 S6 p- H. O) T3 z" B) X
Expensive lawsuits 2 ]" u: x ?/ Y) E, z3 N( T4 { 2 }/ m5 a. ] o6 sIn fact there was something very Californian about the entire business.9 }9 Y: i$ o, J' Y5 w4 b
+ w' l1 w& W7 k" F4 P9 LA combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it. 3 m) K: J8 S0 G, f' _5 n + O- j& Z v+ VIt 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./ J0 H- N! ?1 W1 I3 W
7 ? a7 U2 g& BNow, 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) W; ~! Y( Z" I
6 `9 p7 |* U9 k$ d( t. L"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?" , B7 A9 x }8 R9 s# r$ b* Y % V+ M# o$ ^. n' }I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment. - |1 T: S( u0 E r7 G/ I! V( s' L9 l' \6 Q& C3 U. e
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? 2 S& U+ F |, v* r$ v0 W( W4 M; w+ n, k. I: S
The authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection.7 v. ^6 ~ C* Q6 l" w- b
! K( y5 L; y- C) a WIt 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. # D) i0 ]2 K( e' \& s+ F( W" w3 s: S0 p/ B: C: Q6 A
A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them.$ P' Y8 ~2 g& [) Y
; L& a( x1 t* J) K5 vThe producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants. r9 X& K- L1 [, z# ~" R
0 r+ h% r# \4 b& X3 s% k$ kThat view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene. * ^/ F1 a4 B( r+ A' V9 { $ w) ?: I/ x. M0 jI decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. 6 R7 V9 }4 J% g! }0 c( ~/ o' S4 d; l; N; P3 I \0 `3 E& ^ , e6 D" ]! u% ?1 g7 j' Q- W& i: {; Z% s- R* w3 F, r 3 }' s6 G6 B. ?' z/ j6 Z3 E QCalls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004