, S, z! e3 z. ?; h, d I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”？ * H ?, V# }7 w' ?9 A% f* ?! T4 W6 i7 ^ , Q+ k$ ^$ m; u) K F- u4 I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。: g+ t. f! c/ D% M9 |4 o
' O6 g& R( M: O9 @0 q- M0 \# l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？( H% u( g) w$ X' y' M
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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。 ! ` m" t) N& i+ H. @ @ U- K" @( r* U; d n
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。 6 j# C, p5 d$ |. h5 ]0 A( B" g7 w- f; `! H6 C
一些演员私下告诉我，他们盼着立法赶快生效。$ Q1 w" P4 R5 {) ?& i5 g, O2 ^
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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。- H2 W" C) P; l8 P+ \/ Y
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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。 ) \) v9 C3 G/ V$ n2 j+ h9 C 4 d- _8 w2 z% k1 S* B$ w& L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…….$ @& G8 A- d6 ^2 l' n; p
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Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles 3 f) f2 N. `$ d4 ^ " W" s' i: z% ^* y6 iCalifornia'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. 7 S1 A& _& G: Q; N9 f! `. \1 H# x( M' s# Y8 a3 `
Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles. ! V" g1 v. Q; e) u1 a% n3 h6 }: e: i4 u5 H, K
I had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things.3 T5 {+ x* s# u% Y2 L5 x3 B
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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.- a9 w# a+ Y: p) S2 g1 z7 N) k& h
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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 p, y- H4 u$ b- Q t
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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." ^; o! e- p" w
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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. # R3 u' ^6 r4 i% m! s6 w' ?* t1 g( D 1 u2 t6 L. V. s) h) _& W9 V, x8 oOnly 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed.& X3 W! k4 J. ^: [
; d. A8 B! M1 bFantasy ; `: ~- v5 D' [+ |, ?, ^* N' A5 x( X( Y' d+ c6 m
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. 8 ]& K( l" S( P& K: L: `4 i) p# ^; |' Z( e6 R
The problem, increasingly, is revenue. + B9 q" D; H$ q; v" S/ y. a+ Q1 C4 g& ?" g/ G, l
Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch.* N U% n/ B! F' q# Z K% h
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DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free.+ \. H+ s# b- A0 n/ @; d, s3 t
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And the economic downturn does not help.6 I' j. H5 I- b8 c3 ~% p q3 i4 H
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"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. ) T7 K* g) o5 V% \+ j6 j/ c 0 ~. p; r2 R: n5 _ BThe economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. 8 X% t# q% t$ W |3 }4 L+ f; W6 y5 C- N4 k% E! X
For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms.* E8 O" L9 Q3 @% A5 V5 V* ]
, P4 {1 f. v" f* z3 d# OHealth scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set.. p# `* i' L9 q8 O
1 U4 E0 C0 M8 T5 P5 lBut the industry says wearing condoms on-screen is a turn-off. The public do not want it, it will kill the fantasy, they say.. e' o; N$ v5 W8 |+ t9 Z8 u' t
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Gonorrhoea 0 J7 U1 U" W5 V' K) Z) r; Z : Y" D2 n' l4 yBack on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. 2 ?% Q: _% h0 e : n9 p1 y+ ?9 UA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years.8 x% x0 C# F8 ~4 ]7 x* f3 V
: Q; m& Y+ A$ k4 {% d+ e( iShe turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure.5 j" e0 }1 g- M5 E, p8 D
4 g7 E/ W: f0 A2 h"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" 8 s* u# [ Q2 I" ? `4 B w6 M6 g
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." k0 R1 s$ e1 z; w& }
: r E5 t' I% v; \Each day would be 15 hours long. q# k% s& T( X c! k
' Y0 C6 }# I& J0 t"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested.0 k0 C) R2 G& D
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"You get used to it," she smiled.* g: Q& Z1 S% j
6 M2 k# R& d2 b" O* n* _/ I"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?": n4 Q9 s6 u* ?2 ?
# y2 `+ l: B* `( G1 t1 ^"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." : s5 i6 c7 g9 H) U8 m" ? / K Y w& m) @) j; R) AThere was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. 8 \8 h: R& t9 R+ r7 | m) v. B7 f* @& _. _) Z+ U" ~/ O1 @
Expensive lawsuits' B/ m- J! I( A2 J$ W. F, x
! t. R2 Y; B+ m0 R2 sIn fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. 2 C3 P. |5 M! N: ]2 o5 n% D$ s3 l* J' D* z4 c u
A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it.1 H# l% ^4 s. w: R; ]) o
# ^; a1 z* C/ |2 S1 n0 f6 eIt 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 y! l4 T- N& ]7 q/ m; Y# E; w" t) g+ }0 R* {& y! X
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.# p% X! j' J& G$ c9 H
% w' m4 L4 `- v. _( f7 Z9 \"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?" k% v! y) C7 ~7 G0 R# L, V* v
5 v1 o- Q* [2 B4 Q+ r- N2 q9 AI struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment.0 B' i2 n+ ~1 x% s, s
* x) Z- K J. }2 P* h. i$ z# a- GBut 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?7 Q6 t3 D( C- D# h9 i
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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.: R" g9 l0 R/ ?% l+ v
+ R: l5 D9 n/ a/ ]3 f i9 |5 ~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. 1 V! d- L1 T! f' H + }, i1 c! | G4 xA number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them. . j1 |+ K1 p' d, t7 X0 I5 x G% h# F8 \# r z; t" l8 @8 e1 N
The producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants. - ?$ ^: `1 \! Z, Y' z- j5 E% \; E5 B: J3 c; l$ U
That view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene., G2 L( ^& |" y- r/ x2 O
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I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. 2 _+ h) g* O0 o* x# a. g4 z- J" A5 m3 U! ?( @; F d 8 U* Q3 m: b+ }' F' G9 R+ [9 d4 ]% S : u7 S* k7 N- j! O8 F% I6 q) @9 ~
Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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