" a( a. Y. \& }$ L一些演员私下告诉我，他们盼着立法赶快生效。 ) o! W3 t8 m4 C+ _' p/ F + L2 N1 i0 v( P1 B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。 3 _* I0 R: \+ n# E$ t1 |4 s & [* Q5 q& ]% Z$ O1 \" j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$ G" o$ _) M7 w & s) u* @+ D0 T3 e- U0 p5 i8 Q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…….6 N3 ~- y/ @3 `# c; y
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Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles + \1 ]! q; L* x+ p0 j. L
) N. }1 a! l" R% e# f. 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.% U( z4 G2 q4 P) r }$ j1 _
& g6 F+ f" L9 Y- F( a8 K. LLight drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.& O1 l$ n# _6 l: |& O. j
: _3 v7 T8 ~( b" oI had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things. 3 u7 V- _8 ~" r9 Q, Z" z5 |: q 7 e8 M7 I0 h- j" qWhat I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect. 4 n7 h l& S' {* ^ B& u" h3 N8 [# i# h* x% p" X
The porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga. 2 O8 M6 {8 h; M- ]! r * v$ f( N3 P1 M- PPerformers 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.- m9 f) L3 y6 H9 Q( N
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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.1 F" I# F+ Y8 m
3 u4 s" W O1 J6 p/ z/ i: @ GOnly 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed.7 W, c6 o) W4 Y" P3 l; W1 y a
4 a. P7 J& g! }) y$ o8 lFantasy: |- O2 `3 w' o- K$ S; t
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The 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.2 f- k( m. I2 l
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The problem, increasingly, is revenue. 9 _& L5 P" X1 k5 T9 x* [+ @+ T/ M" Z( y" {( ~
Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch./ ?" ?9 a# H6 T N: V4 j
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DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free. ; m T6 C( d1 K, Y) q) q6 ~+ g M1 \: @( y
And the economic downturn does not help.) }- `6 Z" b8 g9 X
9 o2 G& w' a: F# @8 {/ ^# H"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully.+ ^% j1 w& l7 n5 i/ J: w
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The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations.# E1 h, A c/ ?6 D k- {1 h
( q# r2 [1 ^- U, K9 OFor years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms. j/ {7 _1 q1 @9 S O9 ~) u% q- h' b9 H7 {$ ^+ {9 q$ }
Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set. ( y8 t- F, W. u1 r! @& L , |- Y! t1 x0 a' y) gBut the industry says wearing condoms on-screen is a turn-off. The public do not want it, it will kill the fantasy, they say. 8 r8 P9 B- N( ]. p1 ^ {2 k9 E1 g. B L. \: z
Gonorrhoea 0 S; r- N8 P& V6 p5 ]. g" H' i& s5 O8 Z, X! O# @' ~& Z B9 g
Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. , P* j( {, o5 h+ c% o # l6 N2 B9 T) x9 E3 i. iA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years. ( M# @! ]& W$ H& @" Z& \! H+ O* H3 z$ @) g" S
She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure., h! B% X6 J, s. A6 u
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"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" ( r9 S4 n1 ^$ ?" t8 T: Z' T# X" q ) m6 C) ~# `" L. @1 j7 JHer 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. * z, z3 i) r) V x) |0 @- S ~8 w: y4 n3 m6 S9 U% o
Each day would be 15 hours long. * L& d# k& H' S1 g1 z( D9 o3 S1 I4 Y" e Z/ }! G( ]
"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested.0 {; w4 z1 T4 h& S* k
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"You get used to it," she smiled. 6 h1 s7 F/ D6 T9 r( y1 G$ w3 a0 E 3 l! u; V$ l4 B9 Q4 G7 s"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?"/ `& k8 D& C" T, i/ h# E
7 W& s% r" n, l" n0 V! L"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."8 {! Z7 c) P: A0 n$ U% r: s/ @7 B
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There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. , i5 M p% B% k7 F) J5 L$ U; L+ M- y$ a, |( k
Expensive lawsuits 5 { e/ t+ k9 y/ e- q& R% a C/ W. z3 z4 x8 X/ b. Q# ~
In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. 6 E8 ]2 s, e+ j- s2 ]9 E, H& v0 X2 @
A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it.1 l+ |1 [5 ~6 W6 d p( H9 Y- A
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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. A, J; ?/ r, C" u ' ^' @9 f: E% p4 M8 }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. & ^8 ?% i3 g% f4 d0 x8 A4 Y" a2 u% m6 t! i
"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?" G/ z1 \% o: z+ G3 N% C% B o5 M7 q
I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment. _; k! k9 ]4 s# [# L5 a! Q
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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? 0 M2 p& X9 ]' \0 w% d, Z! a) I8 T& T* X/ g; y
The authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection. 0 N9 H8 `( a3 `5 o& v6 y* o & ~7 p7 ]* G' \ a) z/ y# GIt 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./ ]4 A+ T! @7 F. P
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A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them. 0 e ~. d Z+ K f; b8 S ) l6 Y& \# @. `8 H: R/ ^The producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants., C- c# t' z* C; O6 s- `0 r
; c0 j, |+ i9 `( _! U3 c* mThat view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene. 9 t h0 u) o# m! P! @7 W9 m* f7 [* I7 P# w1 C: o$ M
I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. 0 ]- C% G" |: @$ k9 z2 |2 u4 L& E2 `, i0 u2 V4 B ) s9 q) y) \+ x" P! o
- h7 ~2 A0 u2 }; d 8 x; v: a; b/ f3 A. w; [% Q4 {4 s; sCalls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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