# d. @# X' d* k* o! }+ w7 p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”？ / j; |0 n1 }5 k2 `- t) y; p; [) F' ]3 V* @/ B3 Z" w( F3 C M, e
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 K; X% |3 D& P8 o' E3 c, {& Q2 }% _* _8 `! y) H# P: v! L4 C
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？ 3 z2 b% c" m2 P. ` % A- U* V; @, {! X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。 2 u L% y6 `4 l) h/ n0 I. O) g; H+ t `5 p( s0 e* P( t
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。3 d4 s5 ^. G7 Z) O# Q# N
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一些演员私下告诉我，他们盼着立法赶快生效。) c# J# Y: U9 M4 O
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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。 , M, |! k9 ~& j+ [ ) R6 A1 X; u( ]9 c/ M/ L7 b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。4 o5 r6 X: C D, @- M) G4 @
2 t3 J+ R5 k5 b) Q/ j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…….' I" p3 b [- E+ t9 n
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Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles * U3 H3 E! l2 q# n0 p* ?6 s7 D+ Y, W# \) `, f9 }* k7 x( o
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. : z' ]( H" @6 A c- F$ p) i : r6 O2 W% `/ Z+ z5 r& z! pLight drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.* v, h4 }) S! s) X
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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.7 I8 ~, J1 S. _( Q
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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.2 {% W# p; Y% r
1 h' c) v5 ]; q* M2 XThe porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga. 2 X2 T" k. G: w, M) w" R; n* `; |( i/ `, H- k/ G( b( M
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.' q% _7 {7 X: E# ]* [! s2 V! Y
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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. N( y6 S% _9 Q5 O, Z J) n! D3 b# ~4 I+ N( y' DOnly 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed.7 Q, n, M+ ^$ S& T9 H
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/ T( S; l8 w) }4 aThe 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. ! ~; Z0 l* o$ t, {& Y" F7 _5 b 7 y% t3 R! ^ ~The problem, increasingly, is revenue. 6 O5 _" X- o6 u& b ; s6 c& G6 L! s+ HLike the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch. # e0 F, G! C6 O0 E+ @# c A P6 V% {" i( K& p
DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free.- n0 t- O0 G- f
% f4 `: E! U! \5 t# K% IAnd the economic downturn does not help.- u& Y a, D. W6 p+ s# I& p
/ v- E# ]7 L7 W. Y"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. . ~9 V. C7 F( z: ]4 e / k* R: C M, c( V+ @4 gThe economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations.: p5 @+ @# Q' J
$ d* r0 x$ \% lFor years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms.2 a2 H* a; I2 [
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Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set. ! z9 }- D. n$ ]- F# ^. F8 M% m/ V+ d$ t+ |4 v8 P* d: n; 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." ^- V& v+ v( t: p! Z3 i
6 x6 o# f$ b" M5 XGonorrhoea [; H' V/ P! |/ Q- w1 F3 N' Z ! s" ~& q2 y$ D) q: o) o6 cBack on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers.! o& \9 P: i; ?6 y' C4 E# ?" b
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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./ K- Q" j8 ^! o/ a( U0 W7 J, e" n; {
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She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. 0 o1 u" P7 Q9 R, G) {' ^: w* ^1 x4 C2 o
"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" 5 ^7 e9 ?! {) @5 s5 G ^' X% _$ F2 l/ ?$ a- g6 a" j' R( n9 o6 f6 e0 |
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. $ i, h' z3 J5 X3 Q% E/ M2 N- C9 [4 z, t2 f; ?# A J; T3 Y% u
Each day would be 15 hours long. , j2 a0 b/ r: n7 z6 G8 s7 u . h$ N1 [, O( b( `. T, k"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested.1 U& g; m( q) M, g T% t1 j- u9 s
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"You get used to it," she smiled. 4 P0 t% @3 n& G" Y6 V/ r5 b ( [3 j0 ~7 s, H"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" 4 ~' j# w3 s# a% ~$ N) |1 L" w2 z+ b5 i2 j. v
"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." Y* ?- r& U7 f, g5 t/ g& b# [0 H6 x3 X
There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided.6 k3 v; Q% N' h
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Expensive lawsuits ) K: F+ P' e; G $ V6 [6 N: I4 p: r, IIn fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. 9 A. g' a, M* e% N- Y: }3 V5 h/ M' i
A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it. ! a6 O2 W# g0 q! F1 N + T/ n: J+ L( mIt 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.) K7 \7 x7 f% y3 ]! {
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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. 4 R) h: Z; P! Z) A) I5 k: v) }' ]; i7 t% t6 R
"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?"- r% A9 D( W: N' W: I. G
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I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment.9 ^0 u N9 _( C4 {7 @
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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?, Z0 @0 I) Q" t h
c7 f9 \, T; M5 z+ h5 [4 t7 fThe authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection." \1 l0 e, Y) @- {& ^' i
* B6 U$ c$ q W! W8 D5 ]% a" WIt 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.5 K) z4 J4 G) N+ B1 B
) N6 _! a. u9 OA number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them. : o+ q0 M' ^' x- r5 ? 2 a* ]6 h* ]6 }: yThe producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants." G9 o7 U; X* h9 ]* {) _ r
: x+ _( R; C5 i% c8 V) eThat view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene. & D& _7 @: K# z- U% F; D" q& E ?) T9 q4 q! R8 h
I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain.& E; P1 M1 `3 G% n" N* F. m
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Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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