" P' M$ s/ O5 A8 r8 w5 ]一名制片人告诉我，“如果你把我的演员都装在橡胶里面，作为艺术家，我还能怎样表述自我呢”？$ L! b' o& C' K
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我很难想象，法兰克林和杰弗逊起草《第一修正案》的时候，想到过戴不戴安全套的权利。 , E+ h1 |) \3 {. i 9 o3 Q4 w6 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？ ( ~0 r# V* `3 |9 E# o1 O$ O! b3 i; b; m
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。' W* q, ?% b4 |1 V
0 a i; s0 R4 v- M- a; l8 z: s# Y# G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。 9 v2 O6 a; L4 y1 w! I; }& _. ^9 S9 P' y/ u8 D! X2 ?1 U
一些演员私下告诉我，他们盼着立法赶快生效。 ) h# Q2 g; Y, E: R( e% A& B2 \9 B
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。( i/ B# F$ i! x; p( n6 j" s$ D
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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。2 T, c5 ^7 W8 w4 H: G
p$ f7 i, L9 |6 w1 }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……. 6 }; e* L' `0 w) Q2 c3 G ? 4 A5 Q6 {* p" Q+ P0 n3 x; C 4 z: C; H" @8 G$ k) a6 z, ]Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles , l( N' ]5 e3 R/ H- f" l) e4 }, [3 `+ C; A! a. E$ O
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. ! P( q1 Y* Q4 H6 P! R ; A8 R2 v, r$ h9 T2 l) z lLight drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.9 o4 S- u* V0 ]; Q( ]) H' E
- A+ B I) o; s* L UI had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things.+ X+ B/ \* N$ p: [& [% Q2 e
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What I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect.7 L% J8 b" [5 z% v1 ~- i0 d1 `
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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.0 ~1 ?* i( f" |. s, {+ x# b _
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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.* C+ G! \" d: |1 n& ^6 ]3 @
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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. $ b) l: `* ~0 L 4 Y7 h& f. B: d# {) EOnly 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed. 3 ?. ~3 T$ S1 E9 n% { ; i L4 ^) M! c+ pFantasy . L% g' J6 Y7 l$ r0 t! g# w; I" p & q+ y- V5 v; S6 l" fThe 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. * R9 j+ e1 Z' G# p4 f- o$ R/ B7 e7 Q3 M9 t' t1 j- n. r6 ~0 W
The problem, increasingly, is revenue. " U" ^7 O2 u2 y+ s- y: i5 Z ) C& w0 S! {! F7 g8 [* FLike the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch. # ~+ o! N; x( z2 O" D/ a3 A3 z / q! L1 Z- u" Q3 y& [, gDVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free. 2 j! W5 x7 O% [4 V5 u6 R. d- A1 T, s/ C& L+ G5 g# h5 K" l
And the economic downturn does not help. ) u& P# ?, ^) l E * b' I; U4 K; e9 v"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. : E2 J9 S4 E$ U% m, y; ^" p- F. D. b1 {# H
The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. 8 I5 _5 z) b2 O/ U* I. w7 u: a % m0 ~! m; L$ }. V4 U8 i( nFor years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms. & ]1 D9 Y3 l! O1 u# ]# l+ `9 u& w. u. d8 D
Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set.$ n6 ^. h9 Z: L, p& E3 G/ Q) ^
1 F5 _/ U9 c+ k" c: U* gBut the industry says wearing condoms on-screen is a turn-off. The public do not want it, it will kill the fantasy, they say.$ ^# K7 |; F- v2 H& j' N1 |
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Gonorrhoea, L2 j! ?4 \, ] u6 P# K5 g7 c' }
* X# Y2 }. B7 r) x ?; E Z* t2 cBack on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. ! M+ f% Z* o2 h& | ! P) z; B. z; _4 `- NA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years. ' _2 t1 l" [$ m( j 3 p% c9 r! }" y! k4 ^7 MShe turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. 0 [% ]3 Y/ y( \7 u; m) h" {4 l. ?7 U/ ?1 [; \, o
"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" 6 U: b; B, j: z h! J$ E" S# Z: _) t' S8 L
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. : V% D: _$ z$ W N. x v/ S6 Z2 d' e
Each day would be 15 hours long.7 Y" Q) {- T, R& y
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"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested.8 S- Y T% S; T+ s! r* v
7 [$ v+ ~2 W$ X+ a8 H3 L& }3 e" J"You get used to it," she smiled. , x* H [; A7 e& P% L# L, `) `: b M! [+ c6 O, s( _$ r1 d0 d
"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?"0 g7 k0 i- T3 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."5 t/ K5 x+ W! a
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There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided.$ N0 m% w" L+ @
7 f/ C. Y; u; i+ m; Q# KExpensive lawsuits 0 \( @. M) r' L, s5 R7 |" n! b5 {* D. X+ u8 {' R
In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. $ o6 Z2 L! o D8 |; |/ p0 z% o. |& {5 q- R) }
A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it. $ _! t# Z. j% r 1 y5 C) M q3 L9 tIt 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. # s8 ?7 o& T6 Q5 Y3 T" Z$ P0 Z8 V0 t: p0 S5 x5 f- ]% B
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. / w# w+ E l1 x# s # N- b8 T, c, F! T: N"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?"& V8 f! A& |! J1 M. d) I; m% H& F+ _3 n
# O' e# s d$ V( U3 kI struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment. ; z- x. t3 u; s ( ~- }/ ?# U) m. SBut 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? $ R! ~ S& w2 X4 I9 p 8 _0 E: O% s, c' A7 M# f/ M# RThe authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection.+ e y! @, t* U# s) q! F
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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.$ x8 X" z, P* w! N
+ |; ~/ Y* L2 HA number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them.% a) @1 M# w1 I' j* S
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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. 9 z! g. E: s+ S7 R& c) M5 H7 l+ J$ \7 T) _+ l) L( |
That view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene.& S, L5 } Z9 [) U; q; b Q
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I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain.; m6 t3 g, o+ \4 B
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Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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