4 n* r4 d: ~' V r* S. k, {% L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？ 4 q# u7 r& |' M5 o6 P , @( F5 w8 K0 `+ E: _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。 ( j4 } ?# ]5 U! b! s& M& s 9 L8 `9 R5 v e3 L5 m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。 ) K- Z$ W ~& {( \4 Y " C& Z5 }6 `' l. H+ O) d一些演员私下告诉我，他们盼着立法赶快生效。 " V0 U: w# G1 k3 u- l( `/ H2 l5 F* \" ~* i( P" o
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。8 T* F. ~, c# m' p
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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。 ; y" X& j' ~; l( w# W- H" I8 y% B- S& m n
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……. 9 ]1 Q9 L0 }2 w4 i! M( z3 a( y) o # o8 v6 s# P' a& n2 N 6 m% k ^0 f, {9 r, ]5 _Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles ' [- g, \& [3 z& H+ Z
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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.4 g1 ]" N: ]0 h
$ W8 i1 E8 s7 ~! A$ eLight drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.7 f4 ]' m# ^. Y7 t& b
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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.( f% o2 V& g# [7 \6 |* k, C2 h- T
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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. 3 m0 Y/ q! o: x2 h+ k3 D! l' n8 m7 n" S
The porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga. ! |7 ~6 y3 w L! ]' p* P 2 J/ @ c+ P4 H7 JPerformers 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. ! i7 Z# E2 y1 W3 R2 I $ r" v' i, A( n7 K- b M6 T, wThis 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.) q) {% l9 F, S: @% j/ w
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Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed. / ^6 D0 F; C4 r: W# \" x; D; c c+ G
Fantasy U$ O0 l3 E! t8 n2 ~ 0 H8 z* _* C7 `0 w& e# N. PThe 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.+ M$ |5 ~- N0 I
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The problem, increasingly, is revenue.' t5 S4 K# x4 G' N& M: n2 A
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Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch.+ o* d" z/ X- c: O- |* }: [: _
- q f1 g+ l$ I9 CDVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free. - j2 N; A- H. ]. m( Q7 [ . h2 k" y% p4 [And the economic downturn does not help. ! A0 [6 t$ B0 w5 ~, `; x; o R" e. ^& \
"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. * Z! J0 H3 X9 q" t }+ _7 m( ^- b/ T3 b% T$ I+ k
The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. ' G% W4 U5 \3 |5 }* P ' o# E2 H9 I# N% ~' nFor years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms. 9 R) k7 h$ R/ `, Q3 A& r$ Q+ L; q9 I9 y+ E2 Z
Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set. 9 j( {9 M" x0 b) R8 @% x9 ]- X % X f% ?' Q+ M QBut the industry says wearing condoms on-screen is a turn-off. The public do not want it, it will kill the fantasy, they say. P2 ~/ }4 v! E5 H* k3 M& Q
3 ? s* {* ]6 S. |Gonorrhoea2 c7 X$ A1 X* g, C; y( f4 p
9 T: c+ N' p/ z& WBack on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers.4 i9 E; j( ~1 q u, a4 @. F
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A college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years.& m, R# V. f0 U9 ^8 L
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She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. & W; |4 d8 v; ]8 R Q8 `/ x# ^8 p/ K% K3 y4 H# H4 d3 w. q% ?
"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?"+ h* p0 e3 t2 X8 S& D
9 m! I% C, ^; W9 DHer 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. 9 n. t9 L. J9 D0 F 5 B; ]+ @7 d. m+ Y7 E" OEach day would be 15 hours long. 8 R) B. W" w8 j- [% l$ v+ W1 s4 P- d2 ~- b- a/ y
"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested.1 _( H$ y1 [" T! x x. T3 R9 ~; f3 p
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"You get used to it," she smiled. 8 \: X8 @$ S6 D. v( B; a9 r: u) C+ [$ L/ I' u- r* @# X0 H' o& G" l0 p7 }' l
"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?"& M; Q0 }/ Z8 ]( \/ w" y' z$ q
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"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." ' X0 L; V2 f9 [- b+ P& z: o9 i! }/ `
There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. ; D; x3 P# ^' n, _! d s1 O3 L. V
Expensive lawsuits / K$ F' x2 V, u4 E9 q1 z& D ! {5 L5 n) e0 KIn fact there was something very Californian about the entire business.- Q2 I- \8 Z! _# Z
( d' R' Y X) i! n, A/ CA combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it.# B& V! R4 Q0 ^& {+ l
; N; Q5 o% y+ k/ G. ~5 kIt 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. , S& f n- R A/ K& _* I: G+ H4 _5 S7 @
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. 3 d2 f d8 O1 b- d9 a! `# W ' ^6 W6 s# u. r# Q$ D2 Q" g"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?"% O, N5 \2 B5 q/ _6 L8 u0 k- I
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I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment. / l" p+ a; }& X7 m! ^+ U6 |2 a: K: T5 C5 }2 r( _/ [+ 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? % Z7 G& C- P( [1 a $ y2 o$ a0 S2 ?, VThe authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection. 5 R% a/ L" @- f% t- L0 ^' l. H4 s- r! b1 Z3 U- ]% s
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. , ]% m, C9 B( |2 l" ^5 U* w5 U; ~
A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them. 9 [& Y1 v# p! h* G0 q0 t$ s , b! P$ X8 }: xThe producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants.7 D" L, A; P0 Z% S% b
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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.' W+ ?5 J4 X q1 f& L
|+ C9 d! R2 E+ t$ iI decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain.6 k+ ~( L+ Y( p6 k5 X
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Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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