' ~5 V9 }" s0 p7 b. N! r4 Z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。” , T2 P# c" v8 ]( b& x% p & n+ w4 q v3 c9 _& z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。9 C0 W) B5 N. C, Z
' s' Y% L+ }& u1 }. q4 d1980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。0 R/ }! O& p2 x
不戴安全套的权利 ; z# b& a- G) ?$ P; S1 f' a& G" v# @
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。! ?* m) a1 E& g$ p+ D3 @- p
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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”?/ P7 ?/ z0 `1 y" O; a$ g/ v: ]
6 ~5 j. c1 _6 M. h' C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。 6 J+ ]1 f0 o1 x J) s 0 o* o. G, q' R# r3 b1 s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?: _) z8 G% k5 D3 c
% i* y" e$ M2 x, N' A0 N2 g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。 8 Y9 W' ~) {' _ - w5 K8 X# U3 L, j, C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。 ( r N+ g" w2 M( |) m9 S$ ^) p * T& o- ~$ O) ?8 `5 M' t一些演员私下告诉我,他们盼着立法赶快生效。, {; b `( {# o/ L/ i8 L
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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。 ! Y: i; Q7 r: N' V" f 4 q2 o8 g, Y/ A1 {* ^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。0 ~( }4 O7 A5 M
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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…….& N7 C3 k# j: K' ~% V. e5 l0 f
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Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles + @$ z" L N0 c" B0 f" I" N3 {. V; t
" d: O# T8 e7 Q# ICalifornia'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. ) G; h1 }2 w; D7 h4 J * {" J7 {; v" k$ t$ @Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles. 6 e- l3 r2 V2 {. }9 E( v& U6 m- O1 G6 f; W. a" ?
I had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things.3 [0 z) D8 k d3 l& S0 H$ R& \/ ~& c
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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. & M$ Q9 P( H- B7 c 8 b. i; |8 n9 l# q8 ~) T- wThe porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga. $ c6 h. T- E/ M4 M; C. R- ~6 ~ B' ]2 ^* h6 K% O
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. 8 I! X; l: r4 d% e+ \7 Y 8 s4 [4 i+ {0 S# C6 ^! kThis 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. 7 b" T7 F J9 u2 q+ ]; v" Y7 w( a+ [
Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed., ?1 {" B2 F; K. I
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Fantasy : D/ L1 Z: h; ]: @ ) H" M1 Y. S/ i" s' Q: _ rThe 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. . }" N I6 v7 o' W- t% g% T o& E* Q( F6 Z% k( f$ p1 v1 nThe problem, increasingly, is revenue.% O' g/ W4 A, v( \& L* c( [0 s
( |* T3 j, z1 N2 ~' Z7 eLike the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch.4 A1 G! _8 I5 {, i6 ]6 A% A ~& p
9 q, W2 Q/ y& H, V3 Y0 s- ^/ d! BDVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free. / W z w. W) r8 Q. L1 O/ Z5 s 5 r' Q' k* w' i0 _! ]8 nAnd the economic downturn does not help.4 I! i& v5 ]9 G
5 w( G1 U! Z/ ~4 ]"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully., T9 [( N$ {+ K% Z6 I0 X2 Y
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The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. W! d4 g' |5 i/ u, b 7 e; T6 L1 {* N9 z& r1 sFor years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms.! e7 B: V& R: w. Z% g! P% T' i$ W& v
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Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set.. D/ K# L2 y8 X' p1 r
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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. 3 M/ K# `4 r/ Z+ s" |) B. d ! `7 H, g5 z! c9 Q7 H& X9 DGonorrhoea/ Q0 E. x: d2 W: N
% T$ X2 w2 f) NBack on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. ( T! g- _2 }: ^, j " q* R1 }; s l4 y) TA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years.9 i, ~3 d( g# i' x, ]0 t
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She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. & t8 a$ w5 w# `. v/ L+ I, w' L, |$ ]; A9 M) G
"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" : ~% A2 {' `( J; _1 n" X% J/ C4 K+ G; b* ]9 J
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.( d- s* r* @) W3 x: a- J- D
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Each day would be 15 hours long.! V! I" b! V, D7 V7 a& r
A: E7 I+ S4 Z3 q% G"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. 0 j" N1 z6 M0 Y" Q+ q. G- v* i- t* H/ [! M! _
"You get used to it," she smiled. . h! @! `7 y- L6 L! [' u& B' d; `& K8 U4 a$ n; b; u& x7 q2 {# w1 C
"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?"9 f; z+ R$ x- {& F8 a
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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." ! f+ q0 {( f8 ~+ g4 K 4 n6 w0 M; K+ l, `* X. bThere was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided.! F* H$ {; p$ |: a- [
4 n, k) a. n5 A; x+ cExpensive lawsuits/ H& z5 R2 T+ X
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In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business.+ i- o2 W8 @/ z |
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A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it.. p0 Z* p* s( D
5 x' z9 o4 J. I" g2 ]5 v+ n4 ZIt 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. & p3 [( Q6 z2 }- U# v% X* a 3 k. T! h& r9 d5 ]# zNow, 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.5 O; _, R- D, I* B2 Q
) @% n, Y; e. R! \"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?" " X$ }3 U$ G1 |$ j- a8 N$ g5 K 8 ]. A L& P; T4 m+ [" kI struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment./ f4 v+ j7 @. Z) R# ]
3 c- A/ ?7 q0 ~ h/ Y( T& s' K, oBut 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? . h, I9 L: z( U5 @7 J+ [ K- `4 k0 X. R* @7 gThe authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection.2 t5 K! g# q& G2 P
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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./ e3 T+ q7 [6 v/ L" E# R
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A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them., \1 q' P/ W0 N% r+ _% s
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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 \) _7 I5 O" F2 P6 P5 S
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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. 3 Y9 V9 i' d4 A 9 K4 F/ L l/ ]" o- [I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain.! i1 o; C# y% O. p
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n( w+ H3 y2 A8 S3 Q; o$ \1 H) F0 _ 0 f& y* W l4 ZCalls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004