/ k; q4 t3 m/ [9 F8 S& z- P$ A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…….8 L, _1 U! \- c
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Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles + r) [# b" Z! D1 d z5 q
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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.# P! _9 }5 \0 \8 u
, Z, C" p/ s% D. S* ?7 E) _Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles. / G0 h9 D/ O k; q9 ]) m1 ^8 M t7 E6 W3 Q8 O
I had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things.) U S9 G& S: _7 ]
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What I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect. 7 P' ^# r* e5 _9 |, r8 r * x% p% r# Q2 {The porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga.: R4 u {2 A+ t0 R
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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. 5 p- H* m3 h; C& C- `- p . J" j! C% r7 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.5 R8 E2 s. C0 V+ S3 ?1 L8 i3 M
7 ?5 L; v- j5 ]9 J- YOnly 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed. 0 T* ^5 @: \$ y* N; s3 c/ ]9 H1 W0 k) F8 I6 ?9 H
Fantasy ) U/ E0 ^3 s7 H) M0 C* _/ A 3 p# \8 B1 {- R; p8 I' F& bThe 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. 9 J2 {( C3 a+ M& b8 [3 e$ F * r8 j& r, c# B/ sThe problem, increasingly, is revenue. # |/ h) }6 j( W' V1 Y& |$ c , _4 ^# @1 K8 z& nLike the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch. 4 D3 U8 z" r% h+ w% G6 M+ ]+ f$ }8 h- m
DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free.3 n, ?% k" }5 B, Q/ V
* e% m: \/ G; U! f) u x! YAnd the economic downturn does not help.# }' ]+ D9 W# u/ R
2 y1 Q8 t& G/ a# q"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. 1 ^8 ^% m) \1 S$ i5 X , f1 J$ r. r/ l7 ]The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. 9 _0 \7 L+ x. G9 {6 [2 H9 n6 Z0 M# b
For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms.% I& E! H+ Z: i0 E1 C' L: E, {# Y
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Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set. : H; b5 w4 W4 V; Y. q( ~/ ~, _6 X$ @ z% ?. R) x% Z; e
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.' A7 z4 D' T6 ]
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Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers.& E4 J+ |) \, W1 x8 ^0 G
5 k3 k4 T* o$ Q3 X8 _6 iA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years. + j& r1 _2 Q9 S$ _1 B3 i - V! z$ d+ M6 |3 \3 Q4 A% I# hShe turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. + X/ W/ w4 O% u" k& p0 P; Q" [; b( f& j" {
"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?"8 u0 q2 `7 ?( M% w( b% V/ g7 r3 Y
' ]3 h# X& E$ lHer 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. ! L; ~8 Q+ b7 }) i5 e, S % V# I/ H& P- |% GEach day would be 15 hours long.# D% y h3 x) z8 [& }" m) k2 D
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"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested.+ M# p* m( j. z/ ~# R$ C
! C1 V: C7 C6 @2 T Q% a2 a1 D: `"You get used to it," she smiled. 9 d3 g# S" T/ A1 Q; x7 p* v4 R6 U3 h; H: F7 g
"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" - n6 o- J( K; r- e- W" _" Q/ G- o. K7 L
"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."/ q: R0 o0 \# `
: j) _. `2 d* L3 y& i, i' fThere was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. ! ? D' a7 d9 T/ Y & w9 j6 D# I+ H7 qExpensive lawsuits7 d6 {3 Y( ~/ m, G$ N% O# Z6 V
* r) E1 B& z V PIn fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. 0 M1 I& c6 D7 B1 u9 c. x# P/ p8 z- N) F3 u% Q. P: \1 z) X* y2 [
A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it. j& A* \0 l& U2 j. d" g6 ? & |0 L0 ]; j9 v& k- k2 s/ N" ?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. ! q' a. L6 e$ m7 ]# M& F1 ]/ z: |; l/ h; C N. n, T3 W7 [6 ]
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.* C1 P( \9 J/ W& v1 k9 ?0 ?3 {
" |. P% ?- U/ C7 ~* d% ~; ?"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?" $ ^2 w* K( v5 G ^; k) _7 p5 t' u6 y& ~ Y$ s" R
I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment. , k% f8 N# F4 C, x/ t* k& e8 P2 u% o+ N/ |
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?3 w4 t1 p( d5 t% m" e. A
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The authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection.; w9 s J/ m1 ?# L; w
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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. * V: n1 c8 x" K; s' m# r+ C0 @7 B1 V5 `. Q# V M; q2 J5 D, J
A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them. . N0 z0 I, T: U) [9 e2 P' l 6 v4 c* f, ]" J- Y; b6 wThe producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants.! g/ t8 E) O# @# L- ?, _2 n: ^- R: s& {
s/ E1 y/ X; T3 y2 _ `% oThat view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene./ b3 Q7 o2 j$ `* F# I
+ v& z, {* x& `2 P7 q& aI decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain.' {$ ?6 J7 }5 U1 P r& A
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: E! E& J' g( ~1 n+ Y2 `, m9 z$ J& v ] & ~0 Q& ^) z4 ACalls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004