# K7 t! B9 q4 |% {- n一些演员私下告诉我,他们盼着立法赶快生效。# z" {" F! v- m; J' q1 Y( [) o
- `$ s1 ]8 ^/ ~: ?) f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。* }! N6 O2 r1 M, h, g$ H
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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。 * I) g/ V' O; f, ^( F# L5 B3 \$ B" W% {* |0 D/ l2 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……. / |/ R: X# P4 S ( q8 t) {5 x8 T: f' `! S2 w; ^% `! |; F# r ~
Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles ) ~ d, p" ^3 B2 Y5 [, L . D6 W' G$ b7 t4 B# _1 }; _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. : {; o4 \4 C2 ~2 x" p9 i! U4 R1 M z: g% I
Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles. 8 c3 s& r. V& F5 d) @ % D) {7 {4 l9 H! G; T$ `- JI had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things. 2 q- E* a- j# L5 U$ m. o D' w; `/ H1 T# t& D y! QWhat I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect.; l8 v2 J9 D6 A
5 F. D4 d c1 T. w% I: S- `% cThe porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga. 6 ?( S# D) z! T2 }; C, F# \) L$ S! L7 T8 J, J) [
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. 1 ?6 u! \# Y5 O4 x2 f$ s. @+ M& G& Y7 s- r h; S$ o7 C
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. * n% Y; s3 l4 E% W- i7 Q1 g3 { " S* }1 c, m8 ~Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed. 0 O! N; g1 {2 O' `; y" i# O; H! u! C7 A5 J0 y: q: P2 K# ~
Fantasy # m4 L# A0 C! @" t3 k1 K 0 n6 t- u) G- u5 i- ZThe 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.! T' ]1 I0 k/ s; Y
" h4 T. d ^; G8 \& yLike the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch. ( o2 U) m! J: U1 |1 | & b A. H; R' V( i; ~+ \ sDVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free.) E2 R+ O% A& e/ i+ y
7 p' P$ ^0 X# ^And the economic downturn does not help. " O9 o4 @" L/ m6 C6 j: C3 H P+ z7 A: Y) |+ U( ?: K9 c9 @: A! s
"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. * r$ o* A# G& C* T! L3 E2 s2 A; s( B* }, e+ T% D/ T2 |5 i
The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. 5 M3 k: k& H+ N# L. z# e / u0 L p: K! G. L! k& s, y# r9 IFor years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms. / d( Y& v$ w7 D2 r6 S e+ Q) a i% L2 f. o1 s
Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set. [$ [, t/ n; |9 Y6 } 9 C, b; s- G; f: B. ]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. 4 L5 k: C. H z! Q' ` 5 w. i9 H" w( p$ w( i: yGonorrhoea ( a# D o4 z( o' ? 4 O" C% ^8 D' Y: ?+ p5 VBack on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers.% o: k0 T4 x' r: t
, O6 g' N/ D; M, t: sA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years. 6 z3 R: y1 }" \" Y2 X9 D 5 ?3 i2 s# I$ I4 ~* e; x# QShe turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure.6 A) G" c7 {0 V& L" M% r6 |
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"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" * \, E8 p" `1 g0 k! }9 y, j) ?+ B& p" T4 |4 c3 d! 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.- b0 n, X% [; w! T6 ~/ T& Y/ I+ |
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Each day would be 15 hours long.( ?/ R5 l( ]/ q% y$ Q+ ~
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"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested.3 Q1 |- N6 ~" Z1 f; i
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"You get used to it," she smiled. 0 b$ J: |, m- h) q D. d % e- c. C y( d1 C"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" , G `( Y0 K9 D* h. Z+ l' y2 ^1 D) a8 n/ w+ }
"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 q1 Y2 B P K1 q6 f0 `: h z; ?1 i+ \6 y
There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. 9 j/ k$ }! c$ o$ M! u2 n. U; t. I + [2 `; m! o, T' a7 UExpensive lawsuits 8 ~4 }' z7 D _ e0 {( a* U5 | e5 X! m, t
In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business.6 H. Z1 e* W+ M2 J* b% D* K
6 e7 T# n5 ]8 u% _A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it. 5 u, R" l/ O- q4 n0 m, R8 x* G' Y4 u0 S: \. z
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. : }, ^. o3 P- t8 G* [8 m8 ?0 h9 d& M
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. * o/ x0 D; w3 f, U9 l 6 |; B3 w8 r; l8 }/ N, e, m"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?"6 O; W. i. J3 a9 j
1 \4 _4 M/ {6 ?! H2 Y' }8 eI struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment./ B7 L; K0 y* o* d l" G
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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?1 }4 r: W5 M5 k) r! i$ l
+ s: ?/ C% ], p* d* H+ cThe authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection.3 P# g' c' i+ G9 M- \+ F
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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.2 E( X0 S2 ^" r+ z5 ]+ V5 r# ?
5 E' t, U, v' P2 p8 p" b0 [A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them. 0 r0 w# [. c. s4 e( p U: M! A V1 @ t5 _) ~
The producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants. , Q0 A. _% x0 s- i, x. [" n6 r$ M3 A( \# G
That view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene. ; d( Y: W% p+ m; G, w& i% B % y( j' T9 B5 CI decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. * E5 s! N1 W( m; F- m3 e6 l7 N; Z. l7 C0 }* h3 X* \ 4 z, r' }6 @! h( V# c- H) K/ E* f1 G9 Q# w- K+ c& K6 C & n4 p+ L) `, U7 ?2 y( l/ Z7 V7 T& e# {
Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004