+ O9 G0 I* t Z- I1 ?1980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。 ) a9 ~( _$ T4 G不戴安全套的权利 # ]/ c2 b- @0 }6 q ~6 P; L( `8 G; C5 C
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。 & o2 A# C+ E3 O. w5 Z4 e7 Z8 d, G& n. \2 I9 v6 z: X
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”？ % U3 b) P, O, Y1 |$ A- z. p : x; k% c5 y2 g% h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。 * ~3 Z/ y: [; U) X4 T0 a. q5 V7 a: v% A
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？ $ }- T$ O# h/ n/ _, W 9 }3 [1 D$ W4 [) T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。 + x! s) X) U" g : h7 A8 \7 o1 g9 I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。4 f9 V- k5 w" t3 g
' ]* r M% K i0 V3 W S一些演员私下告诉我，他们盼着立法赶快生效。 4 d+ o4 f J# h0 r1 c$ B3 g7 }8 |# S: `! w* l 3 `+ C$ s9 s% U9 a. P' O7 U; D+ i- p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。7 N# f0 A( f+ r
0 G# d, O. ^" c' c5 K6 U+ ]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。1 x. x3 K1 p: s @
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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 U* r& v4 ` b$ @9 ?: f# ^. Q; t }" Z- P3 v, U9 f/ A" j
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Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles % E- r* @& |+ n" j 1 | W5 E ?: J( R# }2 p0 `' UCalifornia'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.2 g7 f/ W! `8 l" W" X \, C6 l4 P
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Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.5 l/ j4 b4 J3 N9 i
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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., h T0 K. k) e, Q% d. U
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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.5 I6 P7 B, @3 c1 t
9 {& d# @- ?! L; eThe porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga. & q$ [# S: C8 n; x/ m1 ]% [5 ? v( o, R: r# J! j1 b5 {$ g
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 I7 h; K3 h: d2 m: _/ ]5 }6 d) W3 N
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. & I' l4 z6 J" V* S+ q$ K ! K( ^9 Y0 z- P# ^Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed. - k# G, A( ]: B% r" { % u- [0 u' G9 }Fantasy & T* i* n5 w" }" F: k7 D ' U9 m( b* z0 T y) n% p( e1 CThe 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$ A e# B: v2 ^ . d- v1 Y% g4 j& L) ^5 _The problem, increasingly, is revenue.; s: x8 y# F+ x8 l
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Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch.- H& d8 ]+ v* d ]7 Z1 V* t$ }" K
8 K7 Q# l3 u8 W9 XDVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free.9 @! T0 M% I. ~+ j+ ^4 ~7 u2 b
; V# L2 @% D" P6 aAnd the economic downturn does not help.. h' \3 r9 d* _# |& ^; X
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"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. ; B* N7 ~5 l, P& ]) {1 d4 v6 j% |# E9 `6 p7 w% ~6 w& y
The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. p- W; [2 p0 r2 t- [$ u4 i7 g
- G7 F) V- G- |8 s3 hFor years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms. % F0 \# M% O! V9 \- n0 ? ^8 M/ B& \3 x* T" ^3 t! K4 d
Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set. ! X( P9 m$ K' F2 B- r& U# e2 b6 Y# A; f
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.# g) S! L! ^1 r3 k j
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Gonorrhoea 5 M1 S3 @( Y% y( s5 |& \, {) q3 U1 c8 w- e
Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers.! j/ m' }9 J8 r' R$ _
. ]( L/ Z, K6 e* d3 y. yA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years.: f) Y; p+ f' d+ @$ w; j* u9 L6 G
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She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. 6 O+ |& v+ Y+ P7 \' P# V4 t7 P- O3 D5 p
"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?"& p, T! i! _5 x2 r& \
* m, C' \9 j2 V. S/ U2 T: y2 Q9 I1 lHer 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. 2 O* v8 q- e1 f h4 a1 \2 q) Q' h5 PEach day would be 15 hours long.7 G9 ~9 p0 C" k# v) g& `
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"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested.& Y( b/ q2 j3 _6 v0 M3 [; G
/ W# V/ ~2 W+ P* m3 H+ L"You get used to it," she smiled./ ~4 w8 ]0 Y" _
4 ~" m1 T& z2 e"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?"- _7 L1 d3 W5 T
( N; \5 f# J* v; c; E& D" R"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."7 m: F$ ]- X- G, P+ ~
+ e% K9 o2 o; k: CThere was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. / F1 }& J, ]! B# I" s! U8 d6 i0 b9 q! F0 m
Expensive lawsuits * c9 z4 d( P" g5 }! `. C 6 p* i2 i+ l" g. L Z8 [In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. & U3 [( H8 T% i& X ; [( c# _8 D8 SA combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it.% X; `; C; o% E! E# R
) r7 w8 o5 w5 `9 o5 q) s9 UIt 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.. V4 Y* `- q* [# T5 I7 f
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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. ; U# x. b' L) j 1 y4 `* l& i H' V4 s/ m"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?"5 {; q( `7 I, f5 R m$ l
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I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment.% W+ \/ h1 u! z3 s
; X7 g1 O, S$ q& Q$ B$ r) U2 EBut 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?/ R* H+ {5 y4 r5 e% z' g1 Y
6 |" o% j5 o3 @% C6 x9 bThe authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection.; w8 T- a! ]0 w9 l; s* b
7 K N0 X" k( BIt 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. 7 t9 ~/ O* S/ R1 u5 E7 M2 @6 j8 b' s }" \. _
A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them. 3 f) C8 S. g- m6 |/ r% r 4 B) L, `# N: r( q; k( XThe producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants. % h8 ^$ t; K" n+ F8 P; d2 J& ?- a" |; L0 O7 v8 U! F2 Y s
That view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene. " d( a7 O/ P! N( P2 i9 u8 a# ?4 \) `% t! a' |9 W
I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. " G2 x4 k% j2 }4 [4 e 0 f0 u, |$ v; |% Q3 `6 [2 D4 ^& w; Y3 s$ {! l+ q# \. c" J: a
$ }5 v B8 j9 r( B+ X& n7 z ( u( Y0 X3 I0 m* [1 g8 A3 ^5 E ]) LCalls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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