# ]2 w$ r4 G5 E# t/ G9 E) b9 q3 f一些演员私下告诉我，他们盼着立法赶快生效。* h1 C/ U9 {, O" z! B
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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。 . [' R3 {$ y4 I# D6 p/ u% o * M+ r; A& O# u8 P+ S" T$ y8 A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。0 l4 K6 ^8 P4 c& z1 h
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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……. 1 v4 u: @) i" w% _$ Q1 n3 O2 B3 e D. N8 }5 E9 e X1 L' I- V) y
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Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles 9 w+ ?; d2 q; s1 C" A- Y0 S
+ m% V3 o% L G# zCalifornia'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. _- Y/ a5 t" S) c. B6 q. u7 o( q. m0 ^) C- a
Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.. ~# N1 C" H' b$ h Y1 R
& ~' ]) @$ J- R/ aI had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things. ( a$ M% z& j* [2 n3 U' ~) _4 }6 M4 e5 |; {3 L% ?" H* {
What I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect. + g' q, |) H& I0 J# r, p: z , j- e7 Y$ B- x- b. W3 A- mThe porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga. 1 Q- z' }; J- }! N! H+ g - _' h8 N" e) lPerformers 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. . F3 h6 r2 M& N4 v$ P - ^5 O. S$ A. dThis 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.* f$ a7 U: l; q" |4 o) a$ V
) ~, u; `4 k( |$ y- iOnly 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed.; ? S% D2 S$ }$ F6 @
& ~ |& ^- }" ^9 B8 gFantasy' K1 ?9 e6 d+ M7 Y0 {! X v
! r: q: n5 U- w! x' qThe 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. & N! D) O' y: \, M" c+ ~8 l5 F! D8 t& J6 G9 Z
The problem, increasingly, is revenue. 6 V# @: V3 }0 i& x ]2 D& E 7 M0 |5 k% d4 b5 I: MLike the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch./ N" l; _3 ?7 x/ F
) s Q# D9 W/ l7 A/ o: n5 {' P( |& @DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free. 6 }+ P( Z" g& c4 C( s* E4 y # h/ y- @1 k2 a% l PAnd the economic downturn does not help.5 T. ]) v) C; h0 R
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"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully.2 p6 B2 o: B% }3 |9 T
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The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. , `/ k8 P- K) m- } n2 ]+ g. J* }5 [' t) M: ]9 k& Y/ R* _
For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms. % Y, s4 C3 v* ~! j6 y" C1 |' A, a- N: {* ^+ f& m
Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set. 8 l, D; O3 w* U- P ) v! c: D: @& u! t# U$ h3 yBut the industry says wearing condoms on-screen is a turn-off. The public do not want it, it will kill the fantasy, they say. 2 H8 ?$ W+ g. v, r! \) e& y) P7 d7 s
Gonorrhoea $ J* {+ z2 h" w q / w1 H% d4 f8 `6 CBack on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers.2 u! u: W3 w2 b6 C
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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. 3 r( l, V" q% r% l' y( o7 g % T/ M$ O0 J% Z! W$ rShe turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. 2 \' t: u. `9 m1 O" p$ K! U- o$ C( w( T" _
"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" ( r$ T( _/ y, | * U- t! S/ E1 f- }+ \5 Q/ xHer 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. 2 o# ~9 t" \! X4 Z6 @) S4 N" K/ @0 y5 C* Y1 r8 b/ v
Each day would be 15 hours long. ' O$ U8 m2 N( \ 6 i2 z+ S$ Y; V. \" u7 C: v"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested.8 d0 j, v! \; j1 o$ P. }' j# y
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"You get used to it," she smiled. : k6 G, N" l: Q0 j$ n ; J+ q4 T* E- _" u2 W: C& K"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?"& k2 y' D+ D% J
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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."; i. q: p+ C2 ]
, c$ ^7 E# Y* ^There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. ' m5 X+ Y' P% R1 |, V g4 ]1 n6 a, C6 zExpensive lawsuits; H7 ~/ K% n4 Q+ b3 ~
+ q6 f3 b' R3 r9 F% |$ d8 jIn fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. / p l9 m' @: H5 B* [4 `, \6 H : q% q6 w! r' A( K bA combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it.7 b7 O+ l' c, _
% |# E) M5 I0 N4 D! b8 NIt 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.& T% }5 c$ Y8 B- z* m( O2 T7 Y) j
" i' X$ \& d8 n* \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.# {% \$ l7 h: b y* V4 G8 M4 J
. y* `0 j% Z. a. y G"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?"2 B- `3 V- L. t# p' R, W
1 D) y* n1 J, U8 _# gI struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment.7 r0 L: r- g) t+ Z1 q5 y: d" L
% c6 J- o- {( V; D" z2 YBut 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?4 g& F5 o3 T1 {4 B! ?8 ~; v
1 C8 B: r+ F! IThe authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection. 9 R! f0 X) x+ l" i: Z 0 @7 p/ ?7 d9 f1 o, p# W7 QIt 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 x! y0 ], w8 f
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A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them. ; j4 |/ ^2 h' W( k7 j2 u 7 ]: R" h4 ~2 H) m& V9 b$ _( nThe producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants./ i6 q7 o% J# d+ T
" W' x3 {5 T7 o' x3 xThat view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene. V! [9 w2 e7 m1 m' X4 T4 _/ { ` 0 w4 H) M# T0 e2 mI decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain.! j o3 Z7 _9 l$ s
0 h4 Y; ?% [/ L, l* y: \' | 8 a2 D' ^) |7 }1 ~7 ]5 e+ p$ o: }( c: A, W- S4 t$ I5 q $ e% h$ }5 N1 L8 `, H& D6 P- uCalls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
