1 x; b' U) o: i2 y0 J5 b4 B& |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。 ( \7 T& k: ^6 p+ u6 V+ v1 Q# G' K & y4 h" s" y- d5 G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”？ % o. g; u1 n3 [3 h- d, i" @& G7 t: |9 g5 `! ?# a
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。 : \6 q/ w/ |6 U# K7 k" R ( t& A( w( w) R# \: d# ]5 ] G. Z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？ $ N9 b: u8 [9 A u1 } `4 ]3 \! k 2 F- i- ?$ Y9 C( ^+ V" n' D# B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。 5 F( }2 K9 M5 A4 K& N# p0 x# L3 Y8 D0 Y3 y; r' n. ^# W5 L
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。% W! g3 B0 `6 s, t3 n
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一些演员私下告诉我，他们盼着立法赶快生效。 1 q! P/ Z: i9 V8 @. L; }! H. x H; ?- p0 y/ V% ]2 z7 K; b
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。. P7 }7 z. y- `. V! T d3 Y
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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。 3 L6 t& l' a' T Q) P4 O2 S+ O3 o# d8 v& Y- S+ Q- j$ R
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…….5 g$ f0 w$ C) X& T$ N% J
1 ?2 h- D1 K( }7 a , ], k' f1 S# ^' V) RCalifornian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles - l# x2 w; x+ b; N+ L( w- V0 R
$ T, w' B- a) H- ]) ECalifornia'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.8 O2 v$ _( d: @# Y; t
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Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.$ C+ V+ K& r5 ?+ l9 ]8 u- K- i9 h
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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.. h4 r( B" A" J
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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. 1 W7 U* L$ P& [. g! x: U: P2 j( l' B
The porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga.2 m) N2 i* t+ ?- G# Z# x, X0 H( U
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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. 2 }. I0 V, i1 [6 u4 R, e 3 G3 [& l$ ~9 x1 @1 DThis 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. 2 h `- U& q- P+ \3 r' \7 \9 @+ v. @ ! S4 }9 L$ E1 P! i! t7 W' ~: n1 s4 VOnly 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed. 3 H- @3 n3 }2 d& L* i: B1 w" B # v: v. O' c4 H& X! @7 [Fantasy2 O. ^1 L o! w" c, V/ S5 s
: k6 Y6 E6 U8 ^. O" nThe 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.+ ]! u, _2 }( ^6 g# G. ^ \
) w; T6 |3 z- x& F( xThe problem, increasingly, is revenue.1 b' j7 I" Q) W$ [: H
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Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch.; H2 k2 M" Y5 O* Z9 p! M; |
( S3 a& j; M2 K' h$ IDVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free.9 e$ E& H* l, W, M
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And the economic downturn does not help.5 o# n1 U' ^: X; X' u) v4 d) z# h
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"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully.3 ?+ n: D; }+ ]) A S
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The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. ! ?7 [9 K: A; O4 K+ g& U6 A+ Z6 C. k& N; p
For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms. " @" V. x1 c/ d8 n7 J9 _( V , h& _% o' w5 ~/ Y) |Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set.6 r! K% U' `2 Q
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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.; B- y4 k3 b- n6 P8 u; O X! t
, M7 w$ ^; \# _- B% lGonorrhoea ; |3 f( ~; r& y5 ^5 C: P9 ^7 [8 g! p4 Q: l( E9 s
Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers.5 }$ j+ ~5 {, H3 f
) c: _% r1 u! K( fA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years.- C' _; L/ B D
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She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. r$ B8 ~8 j9 G/ b! f7 L7 J8 j+ W/ |, D
"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" " a' j" q- C* _" H) Y; k- g$ p/ T; `' Z! p" p) Q7 m/ R$ s
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. ' Y* ], J( P, a* c* k + ~8 g" C: q' F( s( JEach day would be 15 hours long. ( c' q0 V) [" w c' M, [( M# x$ i 1 Y; A R- F4 O. ?3 x: C. Y4 w"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested.8 g6 j8 J& M1 c$ ]1 T
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"You get used to it," she smiled. N1 V: }; k- d% I3 h1 P& n
' H8 f4 h/ M$ [: g"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?". K! j$ i4 h, W, F( H7 f# k
' E4 d" n1 w$ ^1 [ a" @; i"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."4 Z, E @$ c9 a5 b8 t
/ ^3 A% l6 I; f1 SThere was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. . d: W2 U7 W; F$ ]- z L8 |; k* G" v& c 0 J% f6 t; [2 Q% w; j6 b4 D; tExpensive lawsuits9 B9 P5 i* P4 ?' G, ~ U! F& x
; `0 N( f1 B* I5 v. jIn fact there was something very Californian about the entire business.! G% q9 `% P/ r4 k, l' x1 H/ \. \
; Z: Z. }* Z+ }A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it.# o& V; C$ J: s8 b& Y+ c D. {
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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.' |! Z; Z2 H/ a
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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./ \/ s, V6 p. N4 L3 }6 j( U! D
$ a2 g L- Q$ X/ i9 W ?; v0 l. m2 `"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?"% v, _5 d( c, W# o
- c$ K3 a$ Y2 \7 RI struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment. % J1 {* U4 E6 Y& t* m# v2 ^2 e) @" F1 h! q" D1 P# A+ ]
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? 6 f$ {6 j% D9 \ u- ?5 a8 O : B& |. D& ^0 h9 N% {The authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection. " {& U: k$ i5 e5 d- ` / d2 R1 M: q* V4 DIt 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. ' T1 j& {5 a4 |. v" V9 g, j- |" p( W0 k5 A5 w' a! v3 l; i
A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them./ s7 A- Q6 u9 _4 H+ w
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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.; @. a5 I, Z9 K/ U5 f2 p
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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.0 h6 e6 n1 r3 `3 n% ~# z& U
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I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain.3 E9 B" h2 H. D: W/ v3 {$ ]
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' Q! |6 I0 ^, Q / G* S: l. B: s% E2 D% fCalls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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