4 k' N. n1 R% b1 R$ _% u* w! V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。6 C7 k/ Y7 o" s2 |8 {7 L
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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。7 m# W" n& e' F& p0 ~3 E
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一些演员私下告诉我,他们盼着立法赶快生效。) U T9 @2 X6 ^$ d! n
* r! d9 M b! [- r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。 ( C T) m$ }9 u: t N6 |; G, n; V! u8 f% n! Q e' F
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。 9 N5 e$ t4 `$ q( ~/ P; d ; B; ^" g& t6 x/ m, }1 s, O' e4 p8 y. C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……., h2 {" d2 M2 Z6 M
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Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles " W1 T; w% w1 \- X- L- }
5 ~8 b; G. o6 s; pCalifornia'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. 8 V% U. g5 N: U# O. c% Z2 I; T" C# B8 j
Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles. 1 O8 ?# }* O8 q0 d" K: M/ f" [6 V5 k, [. T
I had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things. * }; ~+ H% M7 o3 b {' ^# `% T' ] [4 ]0 S; X8 C" t1 S/ ?
What I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect. , {1 m5 G' V9 N. ~& G) Z8 M7 u& g) U& M$ s+ ?7 j# L# T
The porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga. / n; m/ E" L! s: F; m: k 7 T5 j( g- O0 g' H& M H6 b1 tPerformers 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.8 y3 O0 {5 a4 h8 y( \
7 i1 x8 i8 `0 [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./ ]$ i: \- w- k% R% a% b
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Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed.- t4 y+ T0 x* U
6 \8 T, V! K! `' M# TFantasy 0 f* g9 }! O+ I: ^$ u" j7 u # v, t/ c$ _! b XThe 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. + E/ s! n& N- t* D) v9 i+ \' t/ v" [ ; `( n8 Y- w3 BThe problem, increasingly, is revenue. 7 P" x2 A) ] ~9 q( ^; g' b8 u 2 @. @+ o1 C( Q5 c4 ELike the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch.+ ^: C* I2 G$ D3 Z( x
+ o; d+ X8 k, eDVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free.0 E a* Q {+ ~/ P, z0 Y- T/ e
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And the economic downturn does not help. : e, a5 T: J6 t0 H 2 y, e4 k4 m! c"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. 2 p0 T$ P5 |2 `+ c E. v. D- u+ h2 u5 F2 M: O8 m9 w
The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations./ ?3 L% t* U2 h8 k/ W
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For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms. & P" ^/ U9 t" t: g5 V ( s+ T( ]; J+ ~1 i3 ~Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set.2 I5 I9 k+ F/ a/ |7 J5 Z
7 ]0 \) [5 ] n( |8 |0 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.1 o5 O6 J: s+ L+ c7 n8 l
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# p" t, E. q6 sBack on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers.* e! n9 a2 B# d+ h; B2 J- _
9 H6 `4 J! a$ R2 E# b/ r! KA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years. 4 `6 n% _$ C9 O4 Z! L ' b# {3 ^1 c; u$ B+ ?7 n; b2 j7 yShe turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. + P% Y: k/ @/ P. l! O Q+ S: I/ c/ D' o0 M
"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" 4 F' d+ a/ K7 B2 E/ M1 O7 V" C: |2 }& c: R) c
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. ) o0 u# u B# X& ` K/ s4 Z$ R6 N( E: L2 ~% t/ DEach day would be 15 hours long. + r8 Q& j5 Q1 n- |8 K4 j% V" [: Y$ ]6 Y5 X8 W& e6 B* v1 p2 G* L8 ^
"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. ! D6 |" K% J& ]% N0 X# V - B2 `1 j0 y9 W% M- ?8 z9 X, b"You get used to it," she smiled. - p+ T, O% v* k4 M6 v2 o7 `! ?6 w1 B5 I+ `
"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?"/ x% J6 ~5 x, S$ D% H
# V* c: N" D/ i0 G2 d: a"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." : }) j2 z* {) C6 ~1 U z$ s: G G# H. w2 J- t
There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. : w+ o* W0 i5 B) f0 \# T3 [ b6 u2 w. W
Expensive lawsuits " E' L' Z R! y7 s. H. O% g! T8 M @' {9 V5 `5 {
In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. 3 \7 s' w# k9 n4 S! I: H. V$ p, t j# J9 s5 j6 Y% j: @& u5 w
A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it. & I; p& r& g2 u+ ?) {# Z 6 i/ S+ D2 i6 o9 S! C; m( pIt 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.' D8 X" y e" D& |% Z5 v, u! b3 i
9 }" k+ l/ j! B9 w- r9 o5 z" wNow, 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: D- r6 j) B9 ] O! I) m8 @
3 y! ]/ t+ u1 X4 ~% n! ?5 m"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?"9 y4 |& P( C& s& u* W0 E5 g
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I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment. 9 F( u9 F9 U3 ?, `7 d+ x1 @8 X8 H# O0 v" j* _% L
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?8 z+ y; |7 I! W; n
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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. : Z/ d; G9 d; A' A0 p2 \- Z. e* e " w4 [0 E. U8 ^) ^! OIt 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.& M- n0 ]9 d' X0 u2 x( W' h
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A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them. 3 f6 c( I8 o4 \6 }4 e6 X: Q7 Y* _0 v0 J/ |
The producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants. 5 X: s/ v& i% e2 J ( a2 V. S( G4 [3 O0 t8 Q: |& iThat view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene.! G4 |4 B. X. q# t9 q5 }
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I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. U6 ]& H2 N: \- k - D' ~. T; @8 B- b . ?; ~' l/ n2 X! y2 C4 |8 M+ ?- w " |2 M! {0 E# a {" L: D; m" xCalls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004