+ d2 Y3 u# K. u5 O8 \8 ^: R& y7 A2 Y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。2 q" `% ]5 b: _/ s& i5 P% I
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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。) K' H" V7 V3 t+ v0 \
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一些演员私下告诉我,他们盼着立法赶快生效。/ I; s S3 W) Z$ J
5 e: m5 |& L z4 n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。 0 B# I4 `' n7 U) v, y- ? + \1 q# K: M" 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; h4 v1 y( U" C2 Z9 Y+ o! B' o1 `8 a! w K3 H
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……./ r _; q# @6 { F' x$ J
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Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles $ ]# P9 F& i3 y+ ?8 ]. F1 O
& C7 B8 Q) O& `# qCalifornia'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. [. V& O# d% \
/ N& Q7 i' e$ S6 |* ~2 I4 vLight drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.& a( z3 ?0 p5 B" b& G4 }4 h- U
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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. ' P t3 b4 x1 C- W8 Q4 N. ]3 }7 n& q7 x1 S5 x
What I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect. . c7 q0 u+ j& ^7 u$ }) m * u7 \+ @( J, j& }7 e- m8 [The porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga. 9 Q. d1 l9 w/ v- x " g/ p y, z* |2 R2 g5 E0 ZPerformers 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.7 v, j: @ r( H! X* }! s
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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. ) w$ l! s4 Q% w; d 8 E0 ]& W* ]! sOnly 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed.' q* m' n0 `; p. d9 o( R
! {8 d7 s# |! V. a2 K) f* {Fantasy $ J+ N0 O# j. j+ r# {7 V: t& h8 V) e 8 s) y2 M% o& P( g. p o& u$ WThe 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., G1 L2 `1 F4 ?4 r% O6 a
- b4 J: o! U3 Y8 [* v+ g6 Q% oThe problem, increasingly, is revenue. & x+ F* [4 `) |; F/ a6 w) ~- G e' m$ ?4 p9 h
Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch.; T4 j3 `- n9 L% a, H
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DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free.+ x1 F" n- y5 u( T
- B1 @3 @% d) F* y. z O2 NAnd the economic downturn does not help.: O5 N9 a* F9 S. I
I6 P; D4 _0 h9 O2 n+ ^$ b5 {: {"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. ( o6 i( U9 b8 m7 f, }3 z$ q& X/ C7 G% ]# V, Q
The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations.+ M5 R: y! G, ~* z$ c& B0 }) w
! L( J$ t9 P% `) yFor years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms. , |, d& Q/ `( t( R3 u5 ? 5 K5 b- S# \* K/ c$ f; Y tHealth scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set. # N1 @0 w! q$ v1 G1 n, B0 S+ p' E& U$ O0 L/ \5 d" _
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.- v6 C" F; i; w
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Gonorrhoea9 O- q( F, w& L- R& u' o, ?! ^9 \
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Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. 8 S5 x: G0 @ A4 S 8 o6 Z* W% g( P6 O* \( nA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years. + {3 W; k. N P$ G1 q% T , u9 N+ s; z1 V+ S0 u6 JShe turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure.* h& C: u: d, ~" t [9 C
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"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" 6 R+ K$ f u" T- h3 S1 \. w( R- ]! I6 G/ l: H# P4 v; D) t
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. ' \5 w$ h9 h3 E+ \ c9 w% }1 n3 C F# W# D( z! D" ^% w
Each day would be 15 hours long. . O) r! q0 T$ R. x! A7 ~- T 1 D8 x0 T- Z# D- d& x k+ V- Z"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. 5 Y# q# j9 Y* J" C4 k0 @- a5 P. _) {, O
"You get used to it," she smiled.8 ]7 L% ~2 }6 }/ G
7 y! f8 R, v2 t, i0 @; F# E"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" $ p3 V1 {0 s2 w/ h( |! [, N) E0 c9 E9 J0 I7 _( |
"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." & J, m6 R1 ^9 _% `- z ( ?' A' E9 p' GThere was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided.+ X& z8 E d% m8 x n+ \# L( l4 p
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Expensive lawsuits 0 o8 v7 d/ I0 ^ M! Z$ M/ M# P ) j% [9 }4 \9 q2 A+ ~) h0 s5 m/ UIn fact there was something very Californian about the entire business.3 ?) @) i$ K1 Z) v2 Y( Z8 r
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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. 0 ~. d& P% c; q/ \3 Y! N Q # W' h' M# k% H/ A; O3 gIt 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.$ L$ E0 x5 }" y
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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. / I% v7 o6 D g, ?) A' v7 z% l ; t3 e" z8 Y! B"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?", Y, ]+ [! b5 s: A' ^1 o/ Q4 o
! l& ^) }: i, p/ q- O' c; ?I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment.- X/ R3 _3 |' H* F( x
) K T1 U/ ?2 l) HBut 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?0 u5 E1 |( v2 [2 `$ w2 U9 p2 p
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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.0 c9 Q6 d. c9 Z0 \# g" E# B
1 Y, Z& ?8 E* @1 Q% kIt 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.9 X d# E' L* X1 P5 z
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A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them.7 _: d5 v1 n: h8 G3 H4 }/ H ^
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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. 8 I+ k5 G1 h2 |* @9 a% x" r8 W# `4 C/ @
That view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene. + f _4 ~, ~2 A! N$ d4 U # g1 W e. I y, _I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain., h6 p; S* X* x1 \; B% i- h5 ~
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* X9 }, f5 |, G" U , v: N2 d( V- B! |* UCalls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004