$ H; s# c& O% C; E( y: k! J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。” 2 V/ ^, x# I2 R2 y& G - ~3 B7 c$ W7 T2 i& g E' A- ^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。6 J' ^3 t) G4 E: v: D0 c& c* c! C9 D
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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。 % T" ?7 W3 M5 ]0 e {+ w不戴安全套的权利/ t) d3 |' Z! J+ E0 d
: X* N, \6 G. P- |. 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。 ' |! a8 s8 [) r3 p . g+ ~0 s. t) I u" X: f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”? D4 @5 D# _3 S$ e+ O" r& ^ $ U2 ?/ x* G6 z* T) g9 m* d5 Q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。* J, C D: J6 j" @- ]
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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 H$ K! }+ ]' x4 J& P 4 {9 }- H% A% I( B6 Y G k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。7 M& U5 }0 b# r) o( f
5 a& g7 T9 h) ]% s3 W {9 v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。 - x# w* Q- _ s9 X : Y, J, v# U n! o7 j$ ^一些演员私下告诉我,他们盼着立法赶快生效。4 y( U$ m6 S3 x* a: |% p
; z3 M. P( D5 M) B5 J; }+ I9 K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。 5 y7 j3 t( t% U1 ]/ u" Q' i9 z* m 7 K r+ p. H, Q: P* i2 V+ Y5 `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 ?. X0 G4 t" u$ ^- N3 H( J3 g# Q% W: D% U
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…….- { v5 g8 {, _+ y; R
* s6 {3 m4 I8 g$ X1 L ! |; Y. I7 s+ KCalifornian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles * P% c; m9 o- [
0 f" ~! B0 B( S: R0 _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. 8 i/ t' @$ t4 G$ u! I1 P ' E, Q2 [ g* U- r+ m4 J+ Q- L# ~Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.! o2 o( i& N# Z; p! r, ^( S
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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.! f6 n/ ^8 X3 X$ V; o: a+ E4 y/ F
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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. " s7 T% @3 ?; [. { - z5 S# E& y# p" x- X$ h. JThe porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga.0 S6 `0 x8 E4 [" ?% d0 D1 {( W; Q
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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.8 t. L. A2 d2 }
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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.7 b" t+ I8 Z _8 g" C7 w _9 j
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Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed. + u- w5 y+ u& y" P$ ? # A. X, t, m; QFantasy; R' }4 |" A( |% X" p& h2 u- b0 F" w
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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. 1 n9 x! p+ J2 [1 ~- D& h' V/ m" S4 f: V* e
The problem, increasingly, is revenue. . `) O( S+ C& e2 \, F9 I# X: _6 _) m, [, L: Z& R) A; m q
Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch.0 e: o# i5 B: z2 M8 ?, J
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DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free.5 w% _ ]' l' Z
# X- q8 q9 d% A: ?And the economic downturn does not help.9 Y1 _) P9 E' E; Q/ X$ i" V/ i
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"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. : c4 G4 v2 x6 A, O8 } R 6 j& o3 }6 M$ O. W) @1 y {The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. 9 p1 r. q+ R) a; \& W; ] & O9 b3 h7 U" q/ V3 q4 vFor years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms. 5 d; D5 e0 d Y% s8 ?3 { 4 k" C) U8 c( C; q! R% c4 N% UHealth scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set. " @4 m! [' F) a# L8 x: K) \; E0 ~; w9 ~3 Z6 D) a' X
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. ( j7 j" J7 `9 P, E' t- O0 ]; j& w. |; L' a9 g; ^* {
Gonorrhoea O* C: X0 m7 E3 U ' y2 t3 t h D K# L* D0 ], r, gBack on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. : D6 Z0 u* J5 ? 8 k1 y) z, J. ^/ d, `A college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years. / |0 n8 L3 Q. u, ~6 O9 F# o * n4 Q5 G$ s+ {2 n( R' WShe turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. ; d* [/ w6 b) o* N0 m6 F4 a ^* R: f* V X9 c$ U; C6 |"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?"2 s( S7 P! O) x
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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.& m0 @; h! y5 ?, S5 i
5 P, W! _; O" G3 F% y( f$ YEach day would be 15 hours long. ; H, i9 X1 x- l# l1 D; E3 I/ N6 ~) T v/ Q0 \; u+ ^5 U"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. ; z5 B" p4 h8 b" o, C6 Z ! T5 F+ w) P4 ?3 I5 G/ D: }"You get used to it," she smiled.) \/ X/ H5 G" H4 i
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"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" # @6 A$ `0 s0 W& m, e# {/ C# s4 i0 ]. u5 \0 m0 _( ^6 _
"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 W# h5 m; b3 s; k7 {; ^. S " X' R& p: h2 p0 rThere was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided.% J7 G# n* ~# c
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Expensive lawsuits }3 m% ]9 B3 s i/ e + |2 B; z9 e/ u6 y7 q B# xIn fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. , L4 H2 E3 N; h% i ' v# e' g; f2 Y' x A0 ]. iA combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it.8 j: q# M7 x/ v% m) @
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It 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. 0 w, {+ x7 [1 B7 J ) M6 f# t& E0 @" G1 ^% J, w& ONow, 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.4 G7 A3 h7 F5 \) X! @( N: X
4 q7 O4 O' s4 f, i+ W6 d: h"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?"3 d6 T3 W: M# b7 ? o
( K; S" _! g; M5 m4 S/ `) zI struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment. , K% @* F }6 Z$ n+ f( R' b & H: U1 _6 V( V6 WBut 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? ~+ z+ |) M0 ] ( k! a2 _0 S; W6 UThe authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection.5 S, t+ ]0 C4 ?- W
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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.! s: w% j* Z5 S3 [( O$ j
3 q- X% Y% Q# k( k/ {5 q- xA number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them.7 ~: z% e2 ~9 ^( w4 n
8 q. u2 H* n. GThe producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants.3 I; p1 | ~9 ]# z* d) {
$ Y+ p' ]4 k$ q/ c, \7 vThat view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene. 1 O# b4 O" \. O, O0 @/ r 7 y6 L2 Y* s8 P5 H' b% yI decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain.6 N$ z \2 O) h9 I9 ?+ G! t4 [6 Y3 j
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Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004