, l8 }- ]% t4 P" N4 y9 n$ ?' N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……. 5 z/ S5 n- P7 e V4 p - `# L f' o. j ~3 ^- b5 W8 b$ V. W
Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles * w7 s3 B3 O0 ` K
3 W# `; g5 \& d E6 vCalifornia'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. . ?4 T9 Z: y7 q, b1 `" R 1 }4 v) z- u/ t U) G6 N/ w$ lLight drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles. 8 z9 G* R+ R* u' D. L- F- _8 m, D: O: e% }
I had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things.& F0 r9 p9 f" t& K
$ e# \. R# q9 A, B+ V2 B) f) `; lWhat I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect. * h {& F+ b9 @ U+ D7 y$ O$ S3 a I* k
The porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga. % J5 @( Q; |- u% M8 Q% R ! S# [4 n0 _) I, YPerformers 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. v: L* _1 ~ B4 c8 }# a" }
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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.: U7 b w3 E: y5 N
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Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed., b1 M/ c0 f( l" O X! h
$ s9 P5 {3 p1 z$ W+ k5 KFantasy9 g9 H0 ?% D. R* ^4 G$ n F. A& _' e
7 v" ?* @1 R( W B5 MThe 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.0 D; L) h; r$ \0 {5 r
% Y: j0 @) J6 ~4 I$ a: {8 tThe problem, increasingly, is revenue.1 W9 D0 c0 T6 W% d! s" g
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Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch.2 B& s5 v" [: q3 i
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DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free.3 }* T8 I! P2 M5 K" u, [
' v9 Y' w* z+ d3 P+ k+ t& E5 tAnd the economic downturn does not help.( p- w% u2 [+ _
/ K, u& j( V6 {"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. % ^; ] ^& n% q4 V - a) K" N V/ O8 CThe economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. & I7 D7 Y+ l/ u) Q3 J; m( q; l7 t( G ~- H: C9 D
For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms. |2 q4 s9 a- v' r; Q% H8 X; L2 D3 L I* J
Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set.! u9 s3 z8 h: B5 l. [8 B1 F
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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. 0 M+ J- _2 r! A# q7 V: U( b% t% T9 _& v% p1 z
Gonorrhoea $ Y t2 ]0 h+ x" B2 i; A; J / C- f' V2 I/ C- IBack on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers.* i! F# A- B) _
( R# W( p9 l8 QA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years. 7 u/ S0 `- k: Q, i$ W- F5 I ; w9 z0 n5 H# r$ `2 b2 BShe turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure.6 p+ i7 e! y! f7 }# q* x/ T
% f; h2 e2 z. ?# s"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?": K6 X8 f+ u0 [2 Y1 j; \) i
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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; v0 t6 a7 `& `
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Each day would be 15 hours long. . d6 Y2 M: S4 K' ^ : K2 `! C# h( u8 [' c"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested.% c7 s+ m4 M l, Q
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"You get used to it," she smiled. . x1 z0 g, c* O- v2 q9 m h- i* L T( \( ~
"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?"# }3 A: f5 g# a
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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."6 s( S4 ]. T" R6 c3 `
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There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. 3 h' K+ @( x7 n+ V; \* g* I# g# o! M( K # R' g! G- b7 y# E' @Expensive lawsuits, D o- q0 F, N W5 `( `: @& E
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In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business.' `3 @+ G4 Q) I. J3 c+ Q
5 \% @7 g1 N6 K! l; f3 GA combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it.3 J3 E0 G. T: M& P z( c( |
: e, @) d3 W) h- G9 WIt 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.$ ~* W+ A r5 X; Q4 q
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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.) h% }/ x8 H. T/ \, h4 }0 S( _- r
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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?" ; E& }# x! ?( O% d9 J/ T2 a # v& |) b( A$ G; c& u/ [I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment., F/ A* j5 c+ p+ f; X" H [$ S
8 M" P( e- E5 Z8 y3 O$ C# 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? * k7 ^2 P' K- C# F ! ~) m) m+ t9 {7 T5 a9 ~9 J" jThe authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection. 3 U5 `8 y8 }3 Q4 p 8 U4 z, C b, u* ^4 N) o, iIt 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. 8 C+ ]% S; h/ e/ S: W8 a6 L0 T+ G9 O% h
A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them.- C* j6 Z2 i. R4 U5 X0 y
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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. $ T8 d- i; k5 u5 O! p5 W8 |" i8 Z8 D & r* l Q) s3 p0 f- VThat view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene.7 S$ n# `% N0 n% h
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I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain." `9 ^0 z0 H& A! j
. b( e" r1 q, y 7 \ \$ u9 Q5 S- n9 g" e% G6 ]5 m o1 }% i: ] 8 ~6 Q) F. N) g! P& e7 aCalls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
