$ x" n, H" L' o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?; i; t: }9 I9 K k( ~% ]+ H$ _+ Z
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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。3 x- G, A+ L2 b k" I& _
6 X8 e) H) G( l0 F3 F# s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。 : o$ u& R5 C% w n5 Q 9 E6 J+ n$ i9 `. {; c" n: G一些演员私下告诉我,他们盼着立法赶快生效。" G0 L) R8 U2 W& y C1 M, ?9 R* x
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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。 / k3 ^) a8 Y& c1 \2 B: d/ w# W / E1 H' o ^+ E) p9 O" o% d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。( @* L, z+ f) D. K. @/ w
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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 E! j: n0 J( b9 d0 k9 `; B4 t2 X2 v9 U/ ^, X6 ?. G
2 b4 y2 v% J7 v! m$ ICalifornian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles 0 ^ |5 {1 Z3 g# x0 v* y' d" I - [ ^/ T9 p. a3 KCalifornia'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.5 }0 B; c5 Q8 q3 y9 l" N0 u* a
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Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.8 D7 y* R3 N5 F2 W2 L) P
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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. 6 y: E, E' p, ~: ? u8 r$ A$ _% s! g" p' `' E" a
What I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect. " \5 ~ v: L# B3 y+ b , v. e" x/ l( Q2 I! }The porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga. 4 d8 E Z' M% z. _: h% A$ h- U8 Z
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. * e7 S1 ^5 H" R' j& {' f3 W . j6 f' N; s4 v6 ]+ A2 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. 4 E6 i+ o1 _; C0 r ' V5 `% P5 R. O# i2 {6 fOnly 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed. " L/ O% ]! X" G. i: W8 D% Y# U 5 w) d* b7 ]2 M8 i, EFantasy 0 v5 d6 ? \) A; s2 a5 z* u4 q( h$ F
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.6 ?5 f# u1 Q8 {1 i/ f4 T! @$ V
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The problem, increasingly, is revenue.% C6 G' t. G- U& C' V5 u! B
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Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch. 7 W& _3 P7 F: Y) X . S& K! d) V% ~' q* o/ ]DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free. : R4 P( c8 m0 F6 C. S1 h) ? - S! @+ r* p! }7 R/ xAnd the economic downturn does not help. 7 A+ }6 t& y; h- E- O& O6 S$ L2 e: \2 | O- N. y! Y
"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. Z' W' x$ N" }/ V {% O 1 N; G) h7 g+ F( O2 W8 mThe economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. . F: m9 C* T* o1 ?. |1 p$ M) L: `' o+ n
For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms. 5 H( F$ @. P4 D$ q# d' C ( {; `& b1 D2 W, ~- [Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set. % \" |9 N2 ~( Q+ [1 Q- v" z 0 j/ x' p2 T0 l8 N: _& _, U( r& TBut 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 Y' E2 j5 C7 M% ]5 ^, k& O) o* {( m. I
Gonorrhoea- D' D, v( A$ O, |" ~
4 H& [& V) d% c- g1 ZBack on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. / \( q5 Q- \: j! D! z. @1 z2 y1 M& |% o- v. `
A college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years. S% P- X0 f a! u' `, b/ k% z6 m7 `$ I# F
She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. ! c2 S& b4 V: A c2 W' U$ @4 O ( u* j2 H8 i9 Q/ A- d8 @/ K! `, R"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?"1 U7 Z7 V" q2 n; E9 X
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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 ~; O/ u3 h$ D2 j; i N 5 ?7 I& \7 H* k3 g! \( t( D$ lEach day would be 15 hours long.6 v- H4 P- K2 N) [
: n- k+ R1 V$ w% C0 {5 \"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. 1 u4 f/ i" |) {0 K 7 V$ i) @. g. B& R+ `' T' z"You get used to it," she smiled. 7 N! u# {/ a+ G) O ~0 {' ] 5 o8 e5 }$ J( l" J# r7 _( S4 B# i"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" $ K. z. c& X, _6 Z& E* q2 i8 N( _ + o9 v7 g# R( H2 G0 ~6 _"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." * x5 d+ \6 T$ P$ ]0 W - c. \3 q* k5 ZThere was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. 2 H$ g: h+ Q8 N( R% a9 a " \8 R: O- F$ Q; _1 I4 j- jExpensive lawsuits 7 A+ E$ r7 \7 D- t! t2 g6 U1 \ # I* j5 ^, D- Q! MIn fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. 4 B7 q% L' L! j% J( X' j5 P0 N0 x N( l( Z# ]& O* M1 h
A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it. + r( Y& i$ k( W6 X * k6 g' Q/ q$ c/ L+ E9 s8 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.0 D; {2 o/ m) [
' J% c8 D+ K( B# `, HNow, 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." e* T+ ?' s# m# R0 u8 A
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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?" 9 G: T" |# j( b6 V9 ~, }* A - c V& {8 y# bI struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment.4 X! s y6 o$ r+ z' S) b
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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? $ S+ P8 A# L9 n/ F3 U; {0 v7 k l2 d
The authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection.' o+ k. D6 P: p: p8 E7 \/ K
; K& L0 R4 {7 y* j, h# yIt 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. S v& y3 Z3 x* X- h5 H1 ~
" r, L. p3 K' BA number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them.2 C. w) n& u, X& |
: U" Y1 `* J+ |1 a8 K2 e* R; YThe producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants. 6 ]; R1 x7 N+ R y0 \9 W3 L( H+ _) j* X& n8 _
That view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene. 6 M7 q' o% \5 Q: L : F, e8 N5 d- QI decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. 7 c+ I( J+ ^2 B. @& B/ p. k$ v. W5 X* f! a5 } 8 G- F4 C1 t; k" w) |% }
( u2 c. r1 C$ B) ^0 T/ X" B7 f& ? 4 M9 S( }0 W, P0 ]( gCalls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004