2 W0 f+ s0 t) q. n) j* R当天，她的日程安排得很紧凑，两句台词，四小时的性爱。星期二试装，然后就去接受每月一次的体检。宝碧每一天都要工作15个小时。 7 D" G/ _8 P+ r6 D2 ^0 Y 2 ^: |! z/ ^/ U9 |, S6 ?7 z我说，“你一定很累吧”？她微笑着回答说，“习惯了”。 * j' e, w/ m! X" V% Q7 R $ h2 N* ?0 E3 K3 x, W我接着问，“那么，健康风险呢？你经常被感染吗”？+ v% s. B' f( g& K& p5 i
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她说，“也就是染上过一两次衣原体，还有淋病，除此之外，没什么大不了的。我们每个月都体检，得了病，赶紧吃药，然后就又能回去上班了。没问题。”: i, a k; T- N5 E( `
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我看，宝碧人很“加州”。进一步说，整个色情电影业都有点“很加州”的意思。有执著的热情、反叛的心态，还有一点点自由主义者反抗压力的顽强。- U/ p: w4 H1 s
+ S, ~) g B2 h; v0 L- v1980年代，官司一直打到高等法院，色情电影在加州才得到了合法化的地位，正式与普通意义上的嫖娼卖淫划清了界限。. ^# j# J) p8 @' T& s! O
不戴安全套的权利' Q! A) N! E ^* R5 R; O+ U
+ d, g9 F4 E3 K- d4 V7 O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。 $ r( R) B5 G4 t- g% K0 ]' p. S/ j. [. o
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”？ 1 [- `) ]1 D0 j7 P. g 6 w# {$ w. I3 o0 R; I. c0 S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。 + U) j; r/ S* G4 w, Y* G& O9 g2 b- F' H% Q% e- w# v- s/ E
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？ $ n! |- w8 m- I0 z: |* o2 C; s7 b, J6 ~2 C I
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。$ I: [, P9 D7 O( N. ]# d
& [2 {( T; k1 E* F' t3 g) f. O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。 # u6 i3 S8 U" o& @, L/ T - Y r% x* O$ Z. m0 _: x; a一些演员私下告诉我，他们盼着立法赶快生效。 + `6 e0 @0 O; {0 l9 O% ?& G7 f9 B" n
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。 6 Z7 B) e( m' [" S' O% D ( O7 `! K, p$ D9 F9 g* T& N* m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。9 i$ }8 d5 m; A, N3 Y
! @9 U$ A) p( f! e) l: Z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……. * n( n$ @; {/ s5 l( t/ N1 u& k* w$ D6 I. O. D
2 z' p& S( @6 P, u, e# d5 u3 gCalifornian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles . T6 v8 q4 t/ F: S8 p( X$ r: D, R$ Y, F- z- Y
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. 3 l- F( B: I9 ~, L' l9 k+ t h; Y. T2 r8 X( a
Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.- d6 M# }- k& U2 d' h8 p
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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. & `/ z: W5 y' L5 }- s) u1 i6 u! ]: j
What I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect. , f( W) \; `8 Y8 h y" x2 Q 3 Q1 k4 i; o) h3 h; WThe porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga. 3 D% F' T" v+ s1 J7 g3 g5 \/ h3 P* Q6 Z, D' t. R
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. - h! |, `. {- x' Q4 B$ c& {2 _5 c: D" O& @. e. 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.# u% a/ m2 K$ u2 R
0 G7 z5 z0 h1 y- ^! F2 qOnly 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed. H' g" `* T4 Z4 [
! r* D% Q+ I& |7 P& ?Fantasy ; Z$ g" z5 i4 d+ W" i4 {0 Z% w 5 r6 H. Z5 G4 e0 yThe 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.* Q6 y" C I, @) R" d
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The problem, increasingly, is revenue. - j( [. O/ ]& [( r 7 l) T( k z( a7 w: XLike the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch./ v: I% B3 L5 {+ I
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DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free.2 G( m8 X3 `+ f
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And the economic downturn does not help.2 a. [: a& o, S: q
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"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. 5 N# O3 O0 N9 F$ o. z/ ]: V* u6 m4 k8 N, L
The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. , g" p$ v$ R5 g8 I2 l# r8 |3 M, ^( a) Z- ]9 \" I0 r7 Z
For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms. * x5 ]" y9 }9 r' R$ @ ) {9 [) u9 A3 x4 O3 S6 \: fHealth scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set. : Q$ {# H' M c3 m1 z" h9 C% [$ H3 a$ W
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.& q4 u$ y6 j; m+ m: r6 U
; _ U5 V+ b# p5 O) k9 D4 dGonorrhoea : |' `& f: |! t: P/ z 4 H/ `9 e7 \) FBack on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers.( ~. q, k1 Y" F: X. ~
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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.$ H4 e, V; g3 d9 o8 i) p
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She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. + l5 A8 J; n2 i2 i0 P1 R$ w# u# O' p6 ], Q2 i( l
"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?"/ m9 ]- M+ S. h j9 ^5 T6 v6 r
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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." o8 L) V" _ G7 E$ M0 \+ H- A
1 d2 Z' ]- _' h- u& S5 Q6 r3 z# J( ?8 hEach day would be 15 hours long.- n6 c8 C8 O3 `1 c/ I* {+ n% [
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"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested.# B- E- t$ G( s8 g1 `" F
3 ^1 x. e8 s6 B4 ]! [3 r3 x6 y9 L"You get used to it," she smiled.5 ^3 T& B; V: M6 U- {- g
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"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" ; K2 P0 J4 R$ b) O7 k' K: `! d9 @2 s& _6 R" A
"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."! @3 K" Q$ D M
) l: V/ P2 ^ k' |7 x }: G! y- cThere was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided.6 f m d; y& T E6 y S6 W
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Expensive lawsuits2 D5 ^2 q' f- I$ X4 {
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In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. 9 |) G% E9 T" _- T% Q p8 g6 o' v/ f* ] R" ]9 oA combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it. 7 v% d* t2 y$ P- i" n4 I1 j. W- f$ h8 T8 P$ C
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. ) p% U" W2 Z6 _) ^. Q3 T. N; j% o, c( U N6 \! }
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. ) Y" I- p" M8 w7 l+ k8 J0 Y9 B+ Z& I/ A* A& x/ ]. n& x& H O
"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?" 3 {; w+ a) G& E0 y7 O 7 h* N( Y, R, F2 j! eI struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment. 1 `; z' E# g' I3 Z. S3 c' w4 `* d. l! B C
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?4 O/ P; q. ~' e S7 c- S9 C
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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.( _% \) ^7 g& W# L
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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. % X+ r3 g' f6 M# m8 P0 J 0 q* r: H {7 u6 X3 Z& jA number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them. ' v& A6 c$ w: h9 \4 N9 O! E+ E9 B; I3 J' ~/ V
The producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants.8 k4 @5 b! B3 W7 y% U
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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.- Z) S H6 g9 F7 B$ {
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I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. % S2 I& a9 t# t" e9 r- x: t" r" \4 e* M) C- v! y/ j. d; J 3 A; u% P8 i+ L/ k( F( w
5 _4 ^$ `, [# K: {' A% L# J ) Z' M" N( [- K( X6 d, G, G* MCalls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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