3 f5 n5 b; z" }) m k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。( e7 k9 A& v* T
' f. L* B2 t7 w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？& I5 e# R2 b- s) W
1 A3 t; T6 d- S0 }6 i. j; m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。 + s! s6 @7 b& r7 V+ R- ^4 A. n, Z! v( I2 b% S
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。: I; p& p1 b$ j4 X3 g9 [1 o _8 ^
* b2 c0 ]- L9 M& f一些演员私下告诉我，他们盼着立法赶快生效。8 X' o7 D9 b. E- W) T
. ~0 r7 j, Z+ W- K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。 " ~( l7 S* n) a. X7 u R2 M0 V4 [6 Y) h$ r- y0 N# n
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。# Q- q4 {2 ~* x& B, 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……. & `) p2 |6 H3 b F/ N - w% c; g# l$ K; c. T! w6 i; M* S( H; R5 T( ~. X5 [8 a5 W0 A
Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles * t3 F% N6 `* P! d" v2 P
1 \8 X I7 \" jCalifornia'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. ( e: F O$ Y, |) T & }: `6 i6 S( t c# } `Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.& L& f; _- P0 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. [. `' c& X I
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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. # f9 b( C( N3 c/ H% c' ~ ' V0 @; Y! ~3 N" R1 z* s: |1 KThe porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga. c+ h, s" Y: c! k2 M: M ( c7 R' f$ m7 B! dPerformers 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 h$ _0 |; j: M
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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! ?' ?/ C2 w) M & s7 ]- j% T! p: jOnly 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed.( A4 y5 _1 P2 x( l
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/ {9 w- D7 V L! f/ \2 G7 iThe 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) H+ @" j7 |+ }" G4 w' I
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The problem, increasingly, is revenue. ; k8 T3 M9 L' C- v ; j6 S% O% B/ ZLike the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch., }8 j. V! |) ?5 N/ {
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DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free. / |4 D& C$ v- S; c" T/ ` 2 p, _! ^1 ] }2 \( xAnd the economic downturn does not help.% H# b7 {- X: h/ A
) a& O3 U. z! l- ]. F" y"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. 6 W: r/ Q+ i. `0 X& Y 9 T3 [8 \: _' x6 y! dThe economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. * w% O% |, j9 X# S/ }2 r! U% r7 b' d
For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms. % r( N. p, F+ \! ?9 d3 v* k' J7 x + k+ k% s6 W$ m9 f( Q4 xHealth scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set.! x O' O2 a; }7 A6 x
8 G" I* @6 C2 P u* Y" o7 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. M" P' V& l P" o
" K5 Y- K# ~0 G+ ?Gonorrhoea / F/ ~% j: a* @ 4 j& U% ~: [* x: H ?Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. " W% b7 X/ J+ m/ {& }; T& P' g# D, B4 M+ Y% g# a! \
A college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years. 1 _, ~) ^! x' F! l - x$ Z0 n2 Z! T! oShe turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure.' y, B! Q/ f: R1 a" w
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"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?"2 t' d% T) v) O3 _& C( D$ K
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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.# S# ^1 T& O) H& ~5 }3 ~
& T5 ?7 s% v4 h6 \Each day would be 15 hours long. . x# a! [( ?) z 1 Z) l+ y- ]* C8 n5 f& B: e"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. + k/ q% B# R+ v' K7 A8 ? + v& v6 b5 u: L2 k& ]5 C"You get used to it," she smiled. % b/ i% D* ~# V( q. \; a ' G6 d- [; l1 f% ["And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" 9 N; A5 Y, l$ C& {3 F / r7 O B1 M# ]& ]) q6 ^"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."1 Z' U4 o h% |. H/ l3 c8 K0 a
7 [' U$ X) W. ]8 e l# L9 R. RThere was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. % x2 R [- I2 u 2 W3 \& n- o/ K |" J) cExpensive lawsuits 2 m5 o3 v: ^& j 0 h/ I8 c/ E- [. x" ^3 N0 ~$ ^In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. * f' @6 P9 V& x! B+ B1 u" \& @; y% b0 |& q0 C; {3 [
A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it. ! \, ]( e2 O$ |3 J, r9 l0 u" i, H
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.5 ?. Q& m" t1 r
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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. # x, q) O1 E& a' [5 z3 t( P 5 e9 j8 j; F4 d- }1 } P4 ]"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?" 5 e/ d U2 C: V0 B ) E% A; v$ L! CI struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment.: S8 s/ F# Y7 ?' W) k# u! d5 y
; D! e+ {# B1 G. p2 z! hBut 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? * v( T$ E( {) X( n0 q; q4 @: T8 ^# G
The authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection.% S! L P; K- W& C( N4 J
) @6 ~* u0 b' Y1 }' T0 {, ~4 x0 sIt 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.! k' F7 s; ` W7 v7 H0 A
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A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them.; g; B( n- Z8 L: E- X
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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. ' k% O9 N: ~) Q: Q6 [ # G- V) X, O! G" Y. p; l2 oThat view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene. \6 _! i0 |, M8 |
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I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. / Z4 T9 Z1 b7 `! g9 `0 u& O8 M" B9 J 2 {. b! C+ n- M- O+ D( Q 0 w" T+ i$ ]6 v, n- ]: K! @4 f# h6 Y! D" Q0 a( x; {- b# O4 X
Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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