% n% s/ \2 N$ R1 V/ C3 ~: _' x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……. ! A2 p( T6 f3 I1 M# g ) r% ?; V; B ]& S3 O% G% D/ B' x1 B* f. {# D y% L: y4 s1 W
Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles 0 q- S. B4 g' V$ L9 Z
' W6 p" M! x4 f! y2 N/ ]( aCalifornia'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. ; |. m4 V; e/ I) h* e: f7 v: F7 F: U5 o0 i9 I
Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles. , P8 K/ q; T2 }( M; n9 c2 z2 c# U' [- y/ b1 Q! a9 U+ f* |9 z
I had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things. $ O. z6 {% C( p% M # r' L% K, N! @0 W$ ?0 g1 y' @What I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect., _$ h5 H5 \. E5 m* ~+ I3 n$ p
# b6 j+ q' a$ }7 hThe porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga.0 q- J* `( B' c/ W
8 M' p+ V1 D, Q$ T6 f6 NPerformers 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.: E% s* ~/ M2 ]1 G
+ U& ^8 |. k# YThis 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. / ^9 {4 T) Y. ~1 m7 k" a- p5 a - I) u8 ^/ r2 m+ K$ \0 sOnly 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed. : [. c( Z3 q1 _1 ^: k6 e, G2 g) {, R; V8 n4 k I/ Z$ f
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: H+ f1 U' ?' l% E- e" MThe 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. * G/ d) N% [1 o) u' E. q2 i4 j% c- N: ?; _& l
The problem, increasingly, is revenue. 0 y( N" W& \/ I2 ?! W! c: H2 O1 ~. @6 l2 g: {
Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch. 7 Y) X2 F" Z5 V* `# q9 C) [: n$ M. D. l5 t
DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free. : ^. c; ^8 ~2 a% {' M( ^5 |4 _" A( h9 A+ R, U$ Q5 X% u
And the economic downturn does not help. \. o4 b0 p9 @1 \) Z
; Y$ I; j. A1 b: U5 ?4 V"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. ( {1 _5 C) a) y+ H3 \% B; G$ v * |1 k- V( W/ J p' h% mThe economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. : D; U2 d( m3 M " l0 W, t: p+ }3 U5 TFor years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms.) p3 O2 h9 G0 Y/ S. k# g( H2 m
; @3 }# w* K1 T: SHealth scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set.' y# \, V2 n( p0 d5 w2 n0 A% n
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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.; L* M; p, }+ a. i U+ Q" W5 _7 s
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Gonorrhoea! W6 X$ I3 Y7 z1 K7 [8 E; t
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Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. 3 c. m9 r9 b: o: V* H 5 J6 @& y7 E9 wA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years.) }9 X: G. ^2 B) b# F
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She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. u" t( ^5 P2 v& k* O5 Z' I4 H3 x$ w0 S
"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?"% O- E0 m7 i# E6 h9 X* C$ v
; X7 g! G" F" j/ 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. S6 f5 Q0 }" { 9 J2 E' `; l+ p% CEach day would be 15 hours long.! B3 J% m9 ~* t2 V# ?
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"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. 8 w! u2 F+ Y' L% z" l/ l9 z5 X, b5 e: e
"You get used to it," she smiled.' q3 W) [) t0 Z+ C$ L
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"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" + b% T3 \1 D3 k. z9 Z) ~1 @- E. m
"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."1 G6 b- j# T" g) V/ j) F
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There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided.7 f" G" }) r' }5 g9 X# B
R* x) m! Y2 y; VExpensive lawsuits * N& b7 `' E( M6 T- |+ C$ i+ R ) G' A( r- z$ D& bIn fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. 2 l _+ F0 A& n1 V& r) E+ {: H2 L+ d' W; j
A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it. 1 J7 }3 D/ L1 e+ ?4 C ) t1 r+ k/ w( l$ f+ NIt 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. ) @ r8 S4 Y, I5 a( ^' a4 E1 G8 x- K & {5 ]: \% b# S. Y3 u: o# X; i4 ANow, 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.$ e# j0 B. Q* u& N5 `3 R
' [% T! h" B4 i& U& ?"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?" 6 `! x3 p) F1 H: G4 o' `2 h- Q 4 m% j: {1 y1 C' {$ n6 BI struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment.7 B7 d! A5 J5 `& k% f3 N- k0 w
9 P7 g0 o7 u {# y; r8 mBut 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? ( L, [7 k! n+ v( P. x. g5 H2 W- n 8 B: |9 J9 ~$ _/ B7 V6 zThe authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection.2 V7 y6 f1 }. ~. d9 Q
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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.! r% o5 C1 G7 ~ A4 s
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A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them.1 e- i7 h2 E6 ?7 b
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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.( t9 L. B7 Q6 k E9 V& Y
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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. e8 [0 j# E- p" |$ w
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I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. + u6 ~( z/ d1 X: ^6 p 2 e# _- Z. W7 a c0 ?& r ) F7 W$ N. B+ [4 j0 t$ ~' r) T5 p: W3 b1 K& C. _+ s / a' H2 |* S. M& \7 h
Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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