. }! D; s F8 i; X Y% P) _( z/ N/ q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…….. z# y8 p7 q6 D' C& S
) a& @6 _. \( |+ _% [2 h7 m " h7 U4 J4 p) yCalifornian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles ; E" A2 u$ r" m( j2 ~, `8 r) T N 6 n9 t/ \' n! W9 w, ZCalifornia'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. : C9 h; K, P6 d4 }( R2 j9 W 5 B$ Z- }) Z8 L# lLight drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.9 ?0 N' H% W1 \ n0 l$ V
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I had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things. - K0 b g6 {) u# q0 U+ R: T# [1 D0 q3 f" I% ~
What I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect. ! a! p; C( [- Q& e % U) x/ X1 v. W# D1 yThe porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga. ) ~2 x9 V% ~2 b4 t- x$ N8 V 1 t, ? A( x5 p. D: [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.! y3 E* F" c9 S
1 l8 f+ S! ]1 _4 O2 B0 W: O' @/ z4 B# RThis 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. . b* [' j" P$ k5 R. m! B: T- K$ d) w& w
Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed.% h7 j2 A! d/ B, E
; z, r( ^( U. tFantasy $ e" @9 E' `" g8 m" s$ C) C l) F9 I
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.- S. _! H( ~9 b% e
. M; ~, h; { |2 V& E# kThe problem, increasingly, is revenue.& X% C$ H$ w7 W- r# h9 c
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Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch.9 f0 P2 q, H6 z* \& C) r% b/ _
$ m& V, u& e. \( I- XDVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free. & S; w- H8 S2 V: } 6 M% m# ]5 {$ k4 J1 c1 uAnd the economic downturn does not help.6 u Q x P9 C1 I
2 V) j) ]9 x+ p) o# Q! H( {"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. 9 W: M) S, m" Z; x( u; e( y8 S ) e4 _6 P* I) wThe economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations.. C$ y/ D$ Q0 O, c7 E& M6 n
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For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms. 1 q( D# G+ o( Z# t- V$ P) I 9 T+ b& S$ W' ?2 {2 `. ]Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set. & z- s8 H0 B1 R+ S: i7 e9 l, i+ G8 j# Z6 a8 e N0 [
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.0 a/ f+ z( x8 v* d
) `; w( P* p6 ?5 J' M" X" X& V+ kGonorrhoea" S" d. b- C+ V8 j/ o1 |. L
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Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. " s* A& T R8 t4 }0 R: w0 Z+ Z6 P5 v, j' U/ l/ b
A college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years. % M0 v& j% n5 B7 P. \ + n3 C; q% [# s' I+ r# L% DShe turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. 2 z. q3 A0 _9 Z% ~) k1 [ 2 c$ E& i& a: E; k [8 D! V( }"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?"' N# h# c. p5 {
3 ?, [6 A' }0 {6 mHer 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.0 Y1 j6 s4 Q" ~3 h# p
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Each day would be 15 hours long.# Q" Z2 y- e& H. q; ]; T3 }
6 D5 B! X. s1 I% R) Q"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. * W) L6 A5 y& S ! {' ~( j* O2 ^ g0 r"You get used to it," she smiled. ' ~, g4 L) p- d' ]3 B( D6 Y . e- {9 _3 {3 W"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?"5 k. c6 i% Q( O! i5 m# N3 W- q
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"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.") N$ P1 x" I: }0 a7 y
1 ]9 X x* _+ E. }6 b3 X8 z) ?There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided.6 ]# p Y. a" ], ^' x8 k
' T' M4 d8 u" c0 v- n) ]6 ?Expensive lawsuits8 g) ~& ~3 k* k4 w; q1 t& j) E
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In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. 5 G3 Y9 q: U0 W3 ?8 J t / ?: v: ]1 {! B' `3 [" k" kA combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it.2 b& |$ u" B, O" h
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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.- g9 T; Y( U J9 Z ^% ?$ j: j
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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. , p+ g, \% I3 ?7 }' k" E ' ?+ s# O4 L) b4 c3 M' |"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?" & b# `" j1 p* N4 G' n3 \/ P" O' {/ y! H2 g. A9 Y6 V& H* W
I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment. ( n; G1 n& }1 K f: h. r) C # l: n/ C* i( }+ d) v- t7 aBut 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 V! u" o: F& f3 m- y; E" B7 i5 R" J$ m$ T0 Y/ p+ Q# M7 P
The authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection. . U. s) q: }2 v& P4 N. O* U2 @' s) d
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.: `/ E, b Z5 {+ w; p4 j
- o6 U7 t& Y& N9 aA number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them.4 W, z( q" ?0 j
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The producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants. + d& `4 M% p" e8 ^& t: u+ Q( X, X7 C
That view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene. " r) n d" u( I2 Z- d2 W" u8 x' s# ^ H) R$ t
I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. 2 Q2 Z0 D$ w$ R) {1 Q0 |$ I3 ?7 q! W8 q # d; N. ~% r6 k
$ f5 }: _+ c9 |9 T$ X5 P % R# U/ M" T" QCalls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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