! I. v! \: I9 c加州色情电影业压力重重 BBC中文网 记者艾德•巴特勒 Ed Butler ) A6 u3 h$ ]% c( C * x7 }. `% c& s$ ^# }) w4 I9 A说到加州电影业，好莱坞并不是一枝独秀，这里也是世界色情电影之都。但是，BBC记者巴特勒说，色情电影业现在也面临重重压力：经济萧条的冲击、网上盗版的泛滥，和立法人对阵最终很有可能打败仗…… 7 E8 n" h& N. s* K+ v4 n" p X. g* W% Z8 b
小雨淅淅沥沥。洛杉矶北部，在一间位于低层仓库内的制片厂的大门外，我停下车来。6 o) W. {/ ]5 x3 R
# T0 P. ~" ?/ t! G( B0 U _他们告诉我，直接来就行了，“看看我们是怎们办事儿的，很好玩。”! Q) B" ~8 w, C/ O" }% F2 p
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" e6 ~6 U7 q$ a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。+ L+ Z9 ^; L. i) H/ H; x D. y
/ X' V S2 K+ v2 Q- k一些演员私下告诉我，他们盼着立法赶快生效。 . t8 C4 P9 b; b; [ 5 g% \2 M+ T6 R2 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。 9 x1 H. m {, i3 n( F \6 Q( E8 F5 X) D1 A# q+ m1 k
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。! f F& e4 k( M; b M
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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…….; d6 b0 {# _ r$ u* T6 R
; i; k5 [- {" u, f/ `0 w: e6 q Y * i: B4 u- d3 Z# z9 v! c% zCalifornian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles ; y6 N5 q* P5 Z! I5 T) O! k
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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. # l0 E: V9 D8 ]" P! [7 h# H# k6 A" t* s# N2 a; ]( ?
Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles. 3 a; I) M( ~0 F- l3 A( G& x' D% V3 h: `
I had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things.* _+ t* G1 V1 x8 _1 }/ W
/ F* o* E U2 m7 j; X0 GWhat I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect. ) |% g3 D6 O! [' F1 g2 Y; m. N# q' I6 O+ o
The porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga. - P: K! ~/ n7 p, p+ L1 r! K. I* F( u {1 P+ h- p) _" y
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. 1 Z2 Z- w2 L1 @ ' w- }" J9 N. jThis 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. " M B- v% G1 ^( Q) p+ T! t , a' ]7 S K5 M2 K( r) {Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed. {" D! k7 T1 V: R 1 B) W; F/ F& T! d7 |Fantasy. @" R, K" b9 W; W: F% i" i" ?
- W. N p$ f7 y! Z7 ?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. & g! b+ r$ b* w* c- h # R$ \' d. v0 U( Y7 zThe problem, increasingly, is revenue. 2 k7 O) c( M. c! ]; K4 d+ t! A; P5 G& `" B ^
Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch.' b1 h& {) z+ e
* _) ]$ h% v% x3 d, ~6 FDVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free.7 V( O# ]+ D3 _/ r
6 i: m7 ?5 j9 M6 U! X5 `9 _And the economic downturn does not help. " d' t8 H: o) C/ l/ _- n) M$ T" P, ~$ V, ^8 t) @6 ~
"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully.8 \/ J: i& ?2 ~7 u1 t8 C% Q) H( S
2 Z. d3 `" C9 D, _( v' zThe economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. 2 d/ O# c4 T- @+ T# t* d/ E7 U8 {5 ~8 W3 A2 B, ]
For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms.- `# s4 F2 {8 R9 b* u6 e e( W
9 N" ^5 P1 N: @5 z, X7 O7 i9 ZHealth scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set. 7 t3 d2 b1 W) L- t T 3 @( c: t; W5 |: `$ Y( _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.4 d1 E: k3 J) j! n$ A/ }6 K( m
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Gonorrhoea: k$ e% L' k& e) n& H: U5 c1 T
! k, }3 q: m. R1 n$ j( m. U6 eBack on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. 3 u4 D/ n3 ]4 V* B 8 M. D0 r/ @! S( a4 e% A- zA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years. M2 J' |' O* [/ Q9 L$ h " J$ v! n# A' M6 X0 _4 ~8 ]$ B8 ZShe turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure.4 ?' j @5 Y: m5 M8 Z. ^2 w
$ o0 a8 d) g' j( F8 n3 a"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" 2 Y( b- k, @" |! k ) P4 V% Z5 U K9 gHer 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. @4 x6 U# V8 V: P4 ^
' H, e1 n; L! e, dEach day would be 15 hours long. - p C- }9 X6 E6 j9 U$ u( S1 W4 G
"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. ! v7 R; n' M7 k) R 4 }1 l: d2 r$ ]4 Z+ l"You get used to it," she smiled. 0 l( p+ ]% A3 d9 z# r; p) O) ^ I$ q: g2 q4 s K: ?
"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?"& S; K8 l, L% [! J5 V& t
/ M: i8 l4 e$ D, W7 B( K. K"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." * g: b0 M' o# ~ ^( W1 X6 L$ f; ^8 j6 B. c; }0 D
There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided.4 G( u8 b* O) }, c; M* Y
; X9 l! ^5 |3 s/ f! I1 u% QExpensive lawsuits % S% r: Q5 k6 C# s 8 ?+ ^7 A4 v4 U* J! P2 I( A5 A" ]In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. / H# U/ _! O% w. y# K$ {1 Z& F- \- y
A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it.- E. q C9 Z: Z9 ?' ^0 H" I
% g' [+ u X0 f9 l. a# M; YIt 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. / s1 P& M: {8 l1 i( v" T H7 B/ B0 y) k# p4 u
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.9 v! r2 T- R0 |9 @9 a& F: L( P# f
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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?" 4 t+ }, r4 w9 \; } ' e- y S% l9 eI struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment. ) Y1 x+ U4 D/ M 5 M+ m9 f3 {- d, ABut 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?# I- N N0 O- Q* u& a. V
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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. 6 Q6 V& x" i, F: Y # c' g# o- ^: N/ T. F$ `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.; U. s& V9 o- `- F- N2 ~, |4 I- m
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A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them. 2 \' ?4 G% [( [5 J- p7 ~ h, Q 3 r, { [' ~' j0 K% W3 o% cThe producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants. . \, V1 H$ w7 M& u 4 z( T* J3 G+ ^That view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene. ) I, Y' Q6 o: N- R- @4 A ( \ B9 o% p* h' `& Q! v: h' ~& yI decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. / }- K9 Y, } `3 h: i9 h+ A* _. V- H5 t @ 3 M3 n$ c. W% s! [9 L+ S. d+ I9 w# d6 o3 S0 A5 s. ` + s6 u$ B/ j0 c% z! J" A* ACalls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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