4 q, T4 t0 j( [! M7 h; f( U1980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。 ) Y) J7 v3 \/ r0 V6 T1 m, j8 h不戴安全套的权利 ) r/ R& C8 {6 {+ o: e: y5 O$ D ) P g8 o( U1 T: E8 E' Y' K! b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。 0 d* B+ l) R+ Z# J5 K8 _$ p/ l# G* ]9 i. 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”? ' S5 ~* |8 M0 p( G4 `0 p. Y: m' p
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。7 g( F& O' ]6 j) e% B' b% g m
' {0 ^' i+ o( l! C6 R. h6 M4 X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?; D% p! ]2 [: |4 I2 Z$ Y# U
; N2 R( S: L F+ z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。 5 a) d3 g7 y, M7 G+ c1 T/ s: k A- p8 z2 S! T) f$ t. Y m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。 8 l3 j5 C4 `- \( N" y1 D0 t' E $ L7 H: u$ U& y/ B$ ~( _, y一些演员私下告诉我,他们盼着立法赶快生效。5 ^9 N0 o K% Y1 `' y/ t# \- z
& B( B P+ A2 g# x7 }; u1 d3 y5 Q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。) H8 v1 L( y0 L* @; }& g8 W7 o& _
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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 x# y% L F8 u |) r* k) i1 A- Y$ A+ b0 W" o9 ], w2 J% X
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…….' X A' A. h" W0 ^( {( r" X, k4 r
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Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles ; o7 a( p" T7 p# I) Q6 w! k0 a5 X- G1 X$ @& w3 d7 Y
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. % L" S; c# R* @0 x& q 0 J7 v9 c! d# s- ^Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.1 \; a; d6 w8 V
5 z t4 N, Y- HI had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things.9 n* w& E" U8 o: L. w! i& D. G
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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./ a# a8 ]+ n2 N
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The porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga., g+ R4 ^* x" C: ~3 o3 z
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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. $ C( g! w" e% q) H; z5 B; D' s) A7 z7 G C
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.# g- }' \8 L* g+ R
1 B% l0 \1 I* c. zOnly 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed., m; I& C9 s" O$ a2 Y. D
0 `. y, Q- b- S# WFantasy- T, R/ O* f" c* R
5 F2 y9 Q6 V+ c$ J. P7 e# x' 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.# _9 W5 o, w5 |6 z0 f- }
, a% O- i* D9 l7 b1 v: h0 RThe problem, increasingly, is revenue. 2 x$ J3 G3 }! q) Y4 H " e, v' R7 I2 e( j% d1 g/ N. U0 ILike the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch. 3 a1 E* H& W3 F' B3 l4 U u7 C/ t7 }1 K4 c# i. r w2 o, M# f8 z
DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free.9 u5 F! L0 `8 }" G1 y4 Z' @
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And the economic downturn does not help.0 ]% E$ ?) ~ |# C2 t
6 t8 m P& }3 V3 ?" J/ z"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. ! q6 n( z$ p2 h" P ' y. s& c4 u1 a% y5 D+ fThe economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. + K1 D/ p; V1 K& m2 o' j' M. d& o. S; {( \. t3 D8 k
For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms.% D) Q4 R C a. z% {, }( Q
9 k9 p7 R4 P- z& {" J% F) e* XHealth scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set.9 o3 I0 v+ q) K
# i, o K4 S& B bBut the industry says wearing condoms on-screen is a turn-off. The public do not want it, it will kill the fantasy, they say. * j. Z K4 q$ r( a ] ) A! W8 c/ p. x$ e. \" }) cGonorrhoea- m# `0 F0 x* y) x
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Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers.2 h) i8 F3 @* a: S# t- ^
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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. / ~8 R4 U1 G, ^ ( S7 S3 _0 `; v! ^She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. - P. V' o9 P5 l! l- M# [5 @0 C0 [ , T5 W5 h& | _$ I4 s"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" ' i8 Z5 L" B9 e; r2 X/ o" u( }* B4 m F( G6 w
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. + B" v7 {; I8 Y; ]% h. ~& c( W4 Q+ |8 X4 ~. V. s6 A
Each day would be 15 hours long. 5 }5 i- a0 M8 v' p) i 3 Y, r: d$ r/ h2 M2 t( @" K5 C"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. 2 j$ [( a% q: ~* x, ? 7 m* c: c, u( E' m" Q$ k/ o4 B- K0 S"You get used to it," she smiled.% w; q2 \. a, d+ X- `! L5 F
- _6 }9 L* T2 y/ u& ?0 T' e"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?"; Y" [ p3 m! U/ f1 ~8 I8 @1 \- S
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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." 6 u& a: b- \% B& Q4 @5 i8 J" H" h& G" Z- g- H4 E v# R
There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. 2 _% z" x2 q! T4 C7 d% c8 }! p2 T7 p$ Q, q r! P* D
Expensive lawsuits 1 P+ P% T3 g4 ~& ]; |2 r+ _7 Y2 k8 B r8 ~ Y. s
In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business.- l1 ~9 g* [0 X5 Z2 M; Y8 R5 Q- ]
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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. 9 P. e$ t" {! R% K. G6 `2 v" o% }: b$ Q3 S" x
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.1 V" f* o% @& h, E4 ]
7 {* w* l+ u' A1 `3 C1 S$ A. b! n" MNow, 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 E8 v) j# k+ a( }3 a# 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?"8 V9 e; E# @" s& s9 x
( Z- S. {; u2 [* NI struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment. / E- H4 D0 G7 B j- A 7 c X! E+ \' lBut 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? 9 ]0 T3 D6 |8 j J( I0 g; S8 e" }6 p. d) M1 m0 U/ I% r Y
The authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection. 8 B3 U, G* J/ R# i! o) H6 c$ \" h8 J$ L& J7 X r9 @( v
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.2 }1 X2 ~" ]* ~2 N! B$ O1 Y: a. o% T' ?
6 \, t' Z: i. q: P& `) c0 n9 NA number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them.9 E3 i" w, \6 n# @
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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. 9 t0 a7 ^& T7 j0 b; @6 }* Y1 v \" u% w
That view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene. # _ I3 c2 \& D% R N- f 4 n0 Y+ c8 S1 \7 {3 k$ Y G7 S9 wI decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. r& N! m$ W- S0 N
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, G0 P9 O4 A% X( ^2 c p7 T% P0 f3 iCalls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004