1 p) E! J; K H2 a3 c3 m6 h她说,“也就是染上过一两次衣原体,还有淋病,除此之外,没什么大不了的。我们每个月都体检,得了病,赶紧吃药,然后就又能回去上班了。没问题。”7 I& j& Y0 w8 R; m# @
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我看,宝碧人很“加州”。进一步说,整个色情电影业都有点“很加州”的意思。有执著的热情、反叛的心态,还有一点点自由主义者反抗压力的顽强。 + W2 H6 t4 A! u2 P0 B$ H0 J( [' ^ _; c
1980年代,官司一直打到高等法院,色情电影在加州才得到了合法化的地位,正式与普通意义上的嫖娼卖淫划清了界限。/ T7 O. g! g$ W. n! x. q
不戴安全套的权利 2 W1 W. K m8 ]/ n" k7 _" H; s$ |2 } z- d [' i
现在,我遇到的许多人都说,不戴安全套的权利是宪法赋予的言论自由权利的一个关键部分,正如美国的立国之父指出的那样。 1 ^7 H; D6 O$ ` M 3 X( I" N3 ^$ W: F. u一名制片人告诉我,“如果你把我的演员都装在橡胶里面,作为艺术家,我还能怎样表述自我呢”? ' S' x0 P0 w' S2 ^7 s$ x" N6 `. {/ R4 L0 V% s- @$ [
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。 8 x3 ^7 ]. k& O5 C# x5 r" H7 k! i8 E2 N X/ Y
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? ' ]( f& f! ~$ M7 b9 U2 l1 {/ f* a9 X2 X% B3 r6 k
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。 % Z$ C- j4 c" R 7 p/ h* ]$ a& l- k$ i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。% \6 ~% } v2 L1 \! Z4 q5 w# }
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一些演员私下告诉我,他们盼着立法赶快生效。 5 X5 y& u9 Q8 {& A! Y6 L7 n: p ( f( v' v6 t: i5 y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。 . G& o! m$ F; q4 U" s" ? : h! `& }6 k& d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。! ~# f" j5 o6 G* O6 ~
" }0 a$ I1 h6 k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……. % I; T2 d. K/ x' ^8 C * P2 _; A; t% @& q' c+ b: {9 v: c+ x- o- ~" {4 K
Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles - C' W {. ~; `7 ^- H0 C) b! j6 n* A% ~. H
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.' U) h5 O' T( Y! G% V9 ^; W4 V4 _
- Z8 P' J- B% y6 T3 a! _7 ALight drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles. : `* ~) M$ A. H$ v% [* o - v- I8 X, c& L( xI had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things.. J0 e- w& w V% P- W
1 Q ~3 K) o- I5 sWhat I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect.( X3 H: ]/ Q% a. `4 m3 \4 i
J/ D! C4 r5 C) k- a* fThe porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga. ' {# k2 w3 H0 I1 t9 X- _% r9 r5 O1 O, n) v% j% w
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. $ y6 a f2 K" B6 [, q8 e+ W% h8 I2 D) |
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.3 ?- y3 `, e" |$ g
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Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed. ( ~; H4 N+ n6 L / t2 [" d! A! O* @* x- m r. FFantasy - T; m/ U9 i6 m* o1 n5 i 0 q/ Q8 g, i/ E( d4 B+ sThe 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. 7 Z7 v; {) t2 w- W( q5 {) @, C0 `3 u8 ^; T+ u# u j
The problem, increasingly, is revenue. 0 V; }# D2 {' h" X% Z ( G# b& {0 ?7 ~4 HLike the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch.4 Y) x5 c/ i0 d1 [9 \ r3 y/ B% r
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DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free. 0 l/ N: r1 { v7 O3 m/ _# Q3 m* n" |; R8 t1 z
And the economic downturn does not help. 4 i# q9 K" s6 z6 e7 G; _ 8 F1 Q) Y! n- R$ N# t- v- ^"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. ; [7 }0 X: K: d% q6 f6 h1 w/ W* v( x' u ; B+ L6 O' h8 w1 U! k# B eThe economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations.% z9 }2 V7 ^ v" Y5 L* K" r4 k2 _
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For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms.) f% |: A4 D# a# X
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Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set. * k l6 T+ P9 H) f1 {) n1 x7 D/ N+ L# A
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. 8 l5 i8 S/ M8 \& ?& A, c) i* z% T B ~; I
Gonorrhoea 7 @4 r9 x3 D7 {0 h% \' J+ J: h6 `0 x) ]
Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. & t; H" d+ u( B; W" K0 O: }# S ' V; t( a* P mA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years. . ?8 _: d, S" ^; G1 P; t6 W4 S* k2 F$ ~1 ?6 V
She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure.% C/ O& h' q7 L# X4 k7 p3 l
) }, H) ?4 x) t9 }7 E) T"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?"5 P: Z. L1 v; C) P1 M
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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. 5 s$ f y6 f; [9 Z5 N- i5 T # h1 n8 r. G* M( \- J/ Q6 m: [Each day would be 15 hours long. i, g U/ r6 X1 J* e; w
9 v6 Q) I% ~5 m! c. U3 @"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested.! h0 {- j! M$ g! R7 x
* S8 _& e+ A% H8 L$ m"You get used to it," she smiled.* V2 w; o+ G% g
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"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" ) u* _% e7 a6 o* ]4 r 2 c. X/ x T, k"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: V' G$ M2 C6 q ( E' W' X, s% aThere was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. 5 m6 d+ F6 m/ V* l3 N9 f( K# m x' s- j, { k
Expensive lawsuits * ?/ G' k' [+ e* y + E. G3 L1 X) b% n$ {, a6 nIn fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. }: j/ i% ?* t& R" i; l/ P! L2 T0 n; l0 E. l$ i
A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it. 8 ]8 G% Q0 |( c0 x1 p% u r3 r X" J, z; o% m: lIt 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./ g8 X4 B$ V* C0 j, M9 F& _
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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$ Z8 M8 e J n% S A
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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?"3 M0 J6 ^; D3 M. R4 j, M, F
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I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment. * i6 }$ O R7 J' b: v. r t3 v) e5 E# M/ A4 v0 L# V: L1 G% Z# N" g- ?
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?9 `( s/ ^( [* C
4 v3 d9 z" }3 [* T) zThe authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection. ( M! ]7 f3 D2 x0 `# m: `4 i1 C2 u t ; {7 c" {5 p1 c; _; Z+ JIt 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. 9 g/ \( a1 s+ `7 I7 X) m/ U+ i* a$ R5 T# t# i% ^) L
A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them.! V) e4 y: h+ M4 U
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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. 3 w. ^: t, e' \: k / V/ R$ h: Q8 k. o& e# TThat view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene.; r- D' H8 z5 I/ {# D
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I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain.; U) k( C2 a5 \
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& U/ W' v$ K; ^8 t7 g4 V) x 2 t+ g& `$ G f) U: M JCalls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004