7 S' e" q1 y8 r, n2 @* G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……. $ Z( J$ R( P6 E1 k ) D5 W8 ^! Q, X! X) W . ~( M$ d. J" n/ m( O+ OCalifornian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles 9 N$ g y6 Q* P3 @9 h( E5 h
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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. * ?! k7 S$ L* m+ S9 ^0 v7 z! H1 _7 i( M$ Q% s$ }
Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.0 {6 O" R0 Y. C: _' s1 Z
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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. / y, |) C: M0 `- H * s; f; X* ?2 u( pWhat I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect.* q- B% s8 v. x, e
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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.8 R0 P g+ K; r
2 ~) q3 m7 A" @+ y% APerformers 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., {. V3 C2 n! P! o' A! m: D: Z- F5 q5 m
/ b8 @( t9 ^9 n! PThis 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 \; D- N/ n- T2 \9 v. P1 g
{; J+ X$ S% d0 Y+ \7 s9 ? KOnly 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed.8 |# ~( f2 v7 a& R2 s+ a" P
0 }4 |1 X; G. W/ S7 H+ @5 RFantasy + E0 d2 F& c/ f$ ]9 [" w & o2 {6 r! O$ Z( r7 vThe 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.) o- {; l* Y1 h" Z1 _
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The problem, increasingly, is revenue.1 d+ s, b4 r$ ^" V/ `4 ?
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Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch. ) o7 \/ d) j3 t% c; q- x. E$ P5 F. x! ?4 I4 i2 h( a
DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free.2 H ~# y8 ]8 h4 y+ @4 A
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And the economic downturn does not help. & F6 T5 E2 F* z9 b7 l$ l# P7 K , c4 d( H+ X! y) z; e"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. $ A" `+ T$ h6 K5 _$ R; n `+ ?9 G/ l& c _
The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations.+ N F0 {' R. U& ~; E) L
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For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms.# O/ x1 q9 \$ N* F
4 ]& w8 k- W1 MHealth scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set. ; _+ |* e) f% `# M5 V7 i; [; g( X; ^ b0 D7 U; P+ t& z
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.) t! a. n+ n( \6 D# Z* ~; B1 h% `
1 z8 k7 c S( [6 J0 c- hBack on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers.1 o5 O8 m' W$ q; @% I Z" H/ Q8 o
/ q; ?+ R% T; A1 i4 j8 `+ F6 B1 RA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years. * ^* |# o7 H; Q3 y9 z& o Z/ z5 ~& r1 x% V! l: S* d$ V( SShe turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure.3 g6 B& E- o) @ p4 R4 S6 h! C
' M& L! o4 k, D, N3 a% A"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?"# a+ W6 s& ^5 j4 w' l
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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. 9 G' W- y" J+ K, t- _$ } `) P; W5 e- q) F9 t
Each day would be 15 hours long.* P0 v }3 `5 |' K3 d$ V: ^* P* P$ _
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"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. ! B& ?% Y& I' k 9 C5 d( U$ L/ A0 ^; w, \+ v& \"You get used to it," she smiled. 2 m3 A V4 G6 R3 E : x6 \5 ]" b. `6 n+ s( V3 |, P"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?"$ q- G* w U0 ^; P7 U
3 K* J8 u: _: S! i7 x) _"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." 7 K* w3 B0 G- o H# r" L8 |4 ]& \ 6 l' R( c$ |' @; }; z$ ZThere was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. 8 F' \7 e# k p4 F! q 3 d; Q( _! ~7 Q0 I- PExpensive lawsuits! T* @& E2 H5 ?' n4 d
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In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. 7 h) j( R. n8 L- A% F- |7 `' [8 Q* S ' \% n+ X8 E$ o; `A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it. # X5 [3 l M' q7 b/ B) _2 i g4 a 2 u, n9 W: A% I: g& aIt 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. 2 f8 R: E7 I) A- B X - J& L4 {! F; b& d3 QNow, 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. ; T2 ?/ M8 G) s5 S" X- k% I& v' M; i. F9 I
"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?"" Q2 t# v* v' w/ C, r& E( o& ^
' m$ Z3 l L; h6 `I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment. . w& w6 V- L( @ 9 \. K4 p* z! x% S" ZBut 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?2 R1 ^$ q2 l5 v% z; l
|) \4 t! |/ @* r; _The authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection.& G, \0 Y6 [& m) A
6 a% }4 g9 i4 \. {; \4 n* bIt 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." P C' ]# @ E* v3 s Z
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A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them. ! ~1 v) \1 s& c' U$ B5 ^. Y- I6 L/ S: ]( r* x
The producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants. % V4 X* A) s7 T9 C. a+ S* m 3 a' S v" Q K: TThat view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene. ) e3 J. R+ o; x+ f) G/ R4 c4 x4 T" R. p3 _' R
I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. 8 T0 P7 g3 J6 M, E1 J+ Z# G0 Q2 d2 s 1 s, ?% a8 F1 q( G, X& T9 Y0 k: `' H4 I ' F# S$ h m7 a
Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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