! r. h5 _1 B, x( C! M: m当天，她的日程安排得很紧凑，两句台词，四小时的性爱。星期二试装，然后就去接受每月一次的体检。宝碧每一天都要工作15个小时。2 H1 ]( N- h0 v2 t: d
+ E [3 {- q* `# N1 `我说，“你一定很累吧”？她微笑着回答说，“习惯了”。! D4 E* h ?) ?1 y/ D4 a4 t
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我接着问，“那么，健康风险呢？你经常被感染吗”？ 3 S9 M3 n$ L# G# h" I/ F& T& y: j4 y. n, _1 e, D3 t" ^' h+ a: 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。” ) ~1 ?/ W# M- l + _/ P* a2 d/ m$ E0 g% W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。 / z) P1 @# v6 c E. N( ] ' |- s" f. r2 p) y% p: Z1980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。 , g. o" s) H. H" i不戴安全套的权利 ) r6 ]7 Y+ I" X# j: }! \ " V! o1 t+ z& U4 l( R+ F/ H4 t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。 2 Y9 R2 |, T% {. I$ ]$ h1 i6 H3 J, G) d' m! X# X2 N
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”？2 q! ^/ ~! p8 w3 _+ C
5 d0 A5 s/ P( l9 _' s' Z1 A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。( l- S* j% K$ |3 A
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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？, o1 V O$ O: c4 m8 v' Q
$ O7 ]4 N9 G' ~' P; }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. l) e/ }: Z4 G7 V/ A
7 Z' Z! z, ~' D6 ]6 X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。 , H! J l) W% J' t' T' m+ ]1 D1 v$ I+ p
一些演员私下告诉我，他们盼着立法赶快生效。 % r1 @* {2 Z) j: a 7 m) v5 {9 g' F, u a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。$ u' F4 c- ]1 W& N7 ~: P: B
0 S7 j9 ?. w l( e2 H# o5 P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。 3 W& Z" S% ?! R8 A% b4 F5 M: e# n! `) A
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…….) e0 C. @, c" ?: J, R- R
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! Y; d! S7 Y% B) x! Q4 |( hCalifornian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles ) O' J+ R4 Z$ s4 F2 I5 ]- B
$ B) Q: w3 Y4 ?; X" v6 ACalifornia'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. - P+ R4 o5 J) A: S- s1 y) H( }( h' \) o
Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.( B& H+ o+ y4 Z: c
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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. & ^. R7 r2 g# S' Z V+ n1 @ 0 j: w* l* [5 N8 Q' |What I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect. 9 K/ Y6 t5 F. j' @1 I4 L: E 9 O" j* s: R% T6 ZThe porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga.3 T) ]! @: A. V, m: _- A: |
8 g/ y$ O6 ?$ S- JPerformers 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.' j8 ? Z6 w( h
i& @. b) y, R( @1 b! r- GThis 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. : E. R+ x" r5 J1 N: X$ U; S- i. \" c6 e" U; V/ E; H
Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed.' t' h" ^. F) S9 M5 f& j8 S' L
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Fantasy ' M) n& P& {9 ], ~ 4 ]% W( Y2 }2 i1 y6 ]9 x+ a: GThe 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. ! X J& l* V0 T, g" G4 N2 l 8 o" A! {" A- u6 K* F+ k% W XThe problem, increasingly, is revenue. 2 P* k5 X% o. u2 X0 K' B3 v & l+ F6 o0 G' [: H5 G6 TLike the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch.& L4 C$ E! V, V$ E' E
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DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free.6 x: U' `& _' G' ~9 M
9 ]& m7 c% V% M3 c1 [% H( IAnd the economic downturn does not help. [: V* z3 n6 a; [
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"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully.( E4 @9 N$ c1 [; u( i
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The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. v& e" S9 k$ ` J& [; ~) s
: Z: c1 X% \2 X' m: ~6 S+ cFor years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms.3 J! @. r" ~0 I/ X% [' D
* R( d5 a) P( p$ ?Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set. 2 {+ g3 u7 S2 f9 c* L3 s+ h. o4 j- |' d4 r {4 C
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. - b" [2 k4 Q7 q! @8 z' c, {; _, ?3 U3 }# f1 {6 \8 r
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8 |: P1 q* Z& v' D8 pBack on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers.2 {( p0 h) O8 J1 [# {5 U* a8 @* ^8 Z
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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.4 b& ?/ {" T: R1 n$ ]0 }- _: i3 i+ H
! Z k" p- c$ h+ `2 q# s) vShe turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. ; L# z( o: u+ ?6 S* a5 p$ i) z# l1 u) u5 S4 [+ a% c) z
"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" ( J# {; J" Y5 V; ^0 Y/ D w q. y- w! @- j: l5 K+ oHer 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.% f! G. k/ Y% y) v" M: b
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Each day would be 15 hours long.# K3 B D/ I+ ~+ l" Z f
- j }7 ]# }* h6 I0 Z9 R"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. $ F' Z- A! p1 r7 d9 ?0 @' e4 Q- X y% Z9 P
"You get used to it," she smiled. 3 f1 u* t" S) x2 y; i7 i7 S* S" O* `, s" S2 v
"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?"1 G6 U, m6 s6 j7 j3 P) B; I
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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. n& V/ d2 c7 L
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There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided.; W1 L6 s: [& E) ~2 q* Y7 V! z
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Expensive lawsuits 5 g6 K4 M( k: _' p8 O. M% A; N+ L& p; X I
In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business.- `$ u; K, w' F% h
0 A7 m9 M, `$ X0 VA combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it.$ \1 G6 l/ [ |! R6 r9 Y5 B* S
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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. " I# o0 M+ \, l$ s& X% C" {& f( \, c5 e 7 s8 t! F! R! t0 S* vNow, 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." W7 E' [0 W R3 {4 j& L
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"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?" 5 f8 A6 s6 |# e! r7 | " C" Y* w1 ~8 m4 E( E: YI struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment.: H2 F! P8 @8 c" p
: a3 O9 c* E) h- B D2 ]% WBut 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?% X; _ k+ R9 I. f0 a2 f
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The authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection.; i% C) o T( t, Y0 ?& h9 E' L
3 Q' b7 e, s3 x$ h6 o9 \4 N0 Q( b" J0 `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.8 q* s: T9 p, ^# U+ S* ?' J" d0 x
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A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them. 6 N+ k7 x8 J% i' A/ v + p" {" {: ]0 u+ a' K) B0 O+ ?' hThe producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants./ A! P$ w3 F# W- i$ [4 }+ S7 k2 W
$ D* W( O# k8 l% X. n) W, a: fThat view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene.. Z4 D4 j: C& c) s; x5 j
: l8 s# f8 @& kI decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. - X# I' G5 u5 Q) l' I% g * g4 h* e, I* u. W9 m3 h d( Q9 S& l: u- ]9 k1 d; f7 B6 c ( ?1 z7 U( K9 n6 M$ ~) K( |$ F! }# s6 F
Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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