2 n3 _, p5 V/ N, j! L2 z+ k" U! B2 q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。0 a0 Y$ D: e- s" f, f P
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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。 * f( D6 j. D0 n/ q # b5 V5 r. u) Y- Q一些演员私下告诉我，他们盼着立法赶快生效。7 u% c( X- B: z0 ]! V
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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。 , b4 V, \1 p& s' I6 q/ e 1 b5 L9 q0 b0 Y! f) X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。 ( W! F6 b$ R# K; F6 l ) M2 E! N# I. l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……./ v$ Y" l4 w4 `2 G' Z! ]) \ r
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Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles 7 M2 G' ]1 @5 Q0 n7 I
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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.$ U; V% }# J# g
* o; }8 h+ \5 B }9 ILight drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles. 9 d6 i6 ~4 j$ l% n8 X , ?! D5 x# ^( }1 cI had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things.9 M; X+ l8 r" k/ \6 G8 d# w
/ f% V( a+ ]2 O d( l! u$ `What I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect. - @( q1 N$ Y; {3 U8 @( E0 S, t, e5 I) n r& a$ p
The porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga. x1 v# w8 I( L/ p4 A0 \7 m
2 q; A4 d; F. ?6 B, ZPerformers 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 a& f/ z. q; ~ g' @6 ^ ^0 o3 k6 H0 Y7 }( w& e
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." L% }. W4 s% h
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Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed.- P' R! S, }( X8 r
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The 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! d0 z9 b" \" R% d8 R' j
% P! Q4 }. A# \6 D KThe problem, increasingly, is revenue. % @% v0 ^ b" l3 Z& W! n( D! p9 V5 b% X- n7 }$ r1 r, X5 Y
Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch.) i8 x$ P9 X% ^; S5 t1 ~$ e" d( {) \
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DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free. 5 j. H1 U# U' z, X4 ~. T7 r7 V/ w1 J- I7 t
And the economic downturn does not help. " x/ L! k) o3 h/ Q e( I& Y/ ?! j, p; n/ y# w# H4 Y
"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. 2 L+ R6 V1 X2 }* \. D4 K1 n4 M# i3 P* ?+ d6 [; X4 [2 e; @
The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations.1 k* \" R6 ^8 \
* E' ]+ }1 U5 _/ MFor years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms. : O6 }" H/ J6 S; Z5 ^2 b 1 {* q! n( a$ J- fHealth scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set. 5 T/ d7 t+ W# E. P2 P: x3 m) z8 J* e [/ J# d8 O2 {: f" o( }7 O- y
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.7 I* s. T5 R \2 S7 r# ?
" y& H1 i7 J% P. _# SGonorrhoea y/ o, v+ c( m2 p: E7 S
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Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. $ E1 t' ?. h* s" Q: i/ s + N+ q. {! y4 \* |A college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years.0 W! R/ C* ` t4 ~- Y& R
% R3 r. [* r, \( _4 _She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure.! R6 k0 \1 G: X
" }* |% g5 j4 @" g3 s3 s" [" S"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?". J8 ?( ^& {" w: E% K4 _
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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.1 V9 g/ x9 M. F
9 g$ [* J& i: kEach day would be 15 hours long.$ W/ O: h8 i1 T- W+ X+ }0 X- a
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"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. 2 j/ @1 g8 _) T7 }! H; j - X$ x% {3 P/ \3 O y8 Y+ |"You get used to it," she smiled., A4 j. v$ ~6 D
' M5 K, c( O) Q1 q% O"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" $ ^$ i; S5 Z4 \- a : H. Y9 U7 m @ ?; B"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." : }/ O9 B+ b H( {6 ~9 o* \; p+ ^8 z( ^0 k1 j; [" @
There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided.6 B! I! I, w }: S7 H+ W' N8 X* K
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Expensive lawsuits+ {, N: R6 Y! D7 `" Y9 f6 [
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In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. ) p6 I1 e) Z' D, b" T' i% A! E4 t 2 t5 O1 {1 i# r+ `' kA combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it./ r; I2 g4 ~' y# ?" a0 f
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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.$ U0 U' H- X4 n5 o- r" {5 ~6 s
F G4 ?" J" V/ t0 Y7 ~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. 7 b- s0 z# X, g. l1 S, g/ l* P- Y \( L' M2 l6 g
"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?" ( N L$ B l9 m9 ~ + {+ s3 s) C+ [& t( g2 V! ZI struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment., l9 }* s" [& H
^9 u0 f1 }( L* k7 H U% K6 |# }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? ' p: a9 K& ]( k- S9 v7 q! r6 s1 b2 M. b! W$ P
The authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection.8 } L; Z1 O& ~$ s
# |. X' k& n0 l0 eIt 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. # U8 n+ G+ d# b x0 S+ J0 N0 \+ u" N - D* i, c3 `/ ?. \A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them. 1 c4 }2 x( s1 K/ h9 r) q+ ~/ D 2 z. w; ]7 c9 MThe producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants. + s4 i% H' s; U( \1 \& k1 r0 T6 b3 [& D9 m, [- ?+ I
That view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene. + O' I: H8 y8 G, h3 A, K9 o& k , S; z1 @/ @: { ~* QI decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain.' H6 e" U( Q/ ?, N o, `- p7 F, l1 U4 @
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1 S3 J1 ?( V6 v5 S; A3 K 3 }% e& ]' H- t' Z( vCalls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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