0 L9 Y/ N: n/ R* K8 d0 J/ B! w0 W她说,“也就是染上过一两次衣原体,还有淋病,除此之外,没什么大不了的。我们每个月都体检,得了病,赶紧吃药,然后就又能回去上班了。没问题。”9 e7 p, E( N& q- e8 K% R/ n
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我看,宝碧人很“加州”。进一步说,整个色情电影业都有点“很加州”的意思。有执著的热情、反叛的心态,还有一点点自由主义者反抗压力的顽强。 / M0 C, Y n7 |% d2 {' c! r+ k. J, h7 ^: O+ j+ _/ E- D2 \
1980年代,官司一直打到高等法院,色情电影在加州才得到了合法化的地位,正式与普通意义上的嫖娼卖淫划清了界限。 ! h3 {, k5 P' W" @3 M# _不戴安全套的权利 0 i. H: b& O+ z8 W( g( o# Q. X$ G
现在,我遇到的许多人都说,不戴安全套的权利是宪法赋予的言论自由权利的一个关键部分,正如美国的立国之父指出的那样。$ O/ Z: Y3 i. S$ y
+ z+ a1 g% l( x# n% C, \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”? ' `5 H/ P: {8 X. j( j' N0 F, V# B( O
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。 / i1 K; i: d' S- C; j 1 R" m# I! M$ i I6 A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? 5 `; f7 Y p; W" i5 y* a# p9 `/ ^$ @! E! z7 q. `8 S0 j) z% @
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。 , ^' c. M+ w7 S 5 L% Z7 I. b6 ]7 L+ h4 F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。 8 q( X: F2 S }. z$ U/ Q# }7 i2 r$ w. Q6 X; m+ t9 D
一些演员私下告诉我,他们盼着立法赶快生效。: H' q2 h N' ?7 N
' @& n, ?7 j6 w0 m, G! T' Z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。1 e* m' R" V1 ]0 }
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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。& f" N6 H5 ^) ?" @# Q- E" R
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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…….( ]7 x* o& u7 Z/ x; b
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Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles * S- K: \' d( d, L # A. M p( t7 E. z: z* E/ XCalifornia'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.) ] d6 L2 m, V8 c6 \
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Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.* V) k1 I( l( q# s$ r. w, \
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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. * S; s/ ~2 X& I2 i2 { 0 P, R% b5 `+ E9 yWhat I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect. 0 j1 y) J! ?2 C$ C5 O6 _ 5 \9 `. S! w1 ^5 g. _The porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga.4 n4 K" U( b" C! _0 Q
8 f7 W. ^3 f" kPerformers 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 z2 Y7 D5 f2 @8 J0 `) k w8 q1 g
. N9 b2 |, T8 M5 _% U; HThis 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. ; |& P5 Y' Z2 Q5 o* d6 ?/ I & Z6 c, u. y: XOnly 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed. , @* a. T( }$ P. R3 A4 J ; l/ N7 f* A% n2 t( [) m3 h$ fFantasy $ W5 t: d4 I+ o( ^6 b3 q: x7 b1 y
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.5 `; I+ t8 @$ U, r- m( |
+ s: R% j) E' G$ N: O# u" R0 _$ DThe problem, increasingly, is revenue.3 f. i* ~$ y' F+ R
: ]0 E. U, T5 j# I6 }Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch. 3 K$ A Q0 B+ K: R) `2 }+ G/ E3 J4 H* Y ?8 n! b1 a1 x1 b
DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free. / Y& s' q' |2 d( }- { & o5 C( `+ ^+ J: p; j$ XAnd the economic downturn does not help. y& ~! o0 R3 {* ~ j! |! Q
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"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. . ?! H( N* z) P' }- D/ J$ `* _$ {9 J! P( h% t3 D! T+ N3 k
The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations.+ M- {1 E' r/ l8 k
8 p5 E, l) w0 r6 FFor years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms.0 R& k% B2 F, \. ?) I/ e9 P% E9 h
( \. [! ~: y6 _+ |+ p3 cHealth scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set.9 v) ~' E. j) i" S% @8 p
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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. ! D, }/ q" t4 H) [* T 5 Z% G" P0 T! ]; @8 LGonorrhoea F+ @5 B. j; e E% L# X7 }3 ~: m/ Y
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Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers.! h; Z' O9 O* t$ e# s
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A college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years.* k9 a! S; X* R8 q) L3 m
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She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. 8 L; a9 u' d$ m/ ?0 P$ ^ G+ K+ k; \/ o4 I
"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" . l7 g7 B! b0 F# I5 c% U' f5 l4 ?- F) z
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. * p. c# }& H5 U! ?1 v9 O, [- H# r. R, D- R
Each day would be 15 hours long. " H( w/ h. D3 ?3 Q5 g& E' O" b* @ _, w! S2 L9 _
"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. % N; n* O# Y/ D) R& K; P" [- F8 X) Z# l; v. _0 I% A" ^
"You get used to it," she smiled.- ?3 C5 p0 [2 f8 }2 l
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"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" % e) |/ {4 l! ~ . J- D8 A9 i9 q5 W: H"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." ( j3 e8 m0 a6 h6 }0 O/ i" G. i2 q4 X5 R
There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. 1 h8 l# T% W Z/ h8 t* L7 I @9 |( f) H2 d; d& \+ H
Expensive lawsuits $ K. F' T' W) } l. x; H8 p A! o3 c! g* c5 {* qIn fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. 7 W2 F) e( h* i 6 T- z/ F7 D" {4 |; J! _A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it., f8 Y4 S% c$ q
" t: V% f+ U1 Q6 @! |1 @, CIt 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." c$ g4 b) O0 N1 _7 J7 p
+ b" O% q. X/ \8 m% Z' hNow, 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. F5 T7 u, S8 ]3 F9 w# i5 t
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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?"5 x( x, z7 V2 f0 K
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I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment. g+ R. G4 \9 O
8 ^) |- H2 a, O6 p) G% K* g; MBut 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?) F% w* Z P2 ?) j' J0 B# C
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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.- O- e0 m% C) n
9 b, W6 O2 v( g% A3 s6 lIt 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.* z7 [; x- Z' K- I3 B2 ?# S7 u
6 V+ R. S( p1 W3 ^9 _A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them. ( B: ^; v/ H+ Q$ P9 H 7 g' P! S) f6 o) ~% W# o! yThe producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants. , e K' k) \* c! S6 r; }1 R " Z0 I. M+ [" D" o AThat view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene. ) i7 f5 u0 d7 y% \6 k3 H1 Q2 Y p% w. r* V& d, u# L0 J" a$ h4 cI decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain.7 N" P# d& {2 }- u, }& x9 A3 g
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Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004