D$ a9 f8 m! |/ p, o4 w+ b一些演员私下告诉我，他们盼着立法赶快生效。 J* `5 P: ^- V# ^" }. o B / a! F, _. ?" |) Z/ L2 ?( n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。 9 a+ _: A+ Q+ ?7 I! Q 1 l$ H' |; E4 w# J4 |5 s3 N; o5 C3 q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。 ) b1 Q! _$ ~0 H9 c7 n4 `" A& ` ( V6 N6 v r3 o B# s1 ^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…….; y- j& e7 C) p1 f) z7 p% n' Y
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Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles * o- H3 G" p/ r+ |' ?1 [/ j8 x
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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. 7 T- O) K* ^- v8 O. `1 d& O/ J1 b2 f5 B* |
Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.) Y$ U' ^( g/ f$ A/ {/ r1 m' D0 J9 J
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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. " {% t: Z5 ^# v0 R: l: n 9 G% W. V, j2 l8 kWhat I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect.$ q7 S9 ^/ X1 U
7 R+ ?6 G* `# o) T1 aThe porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga./ U$ i6 N) a7 j" @5 E/ Y
! Q: f5 z% ~% x+ q; B$ jPerformers 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.) W7 s1 O# }$ ?- r" U2 n. {. A
, w# P/ h& ?: o" m- pThis 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.( p4 g' W9 P) n f# j4 N0 x b1 c
2 y6 I3 ]* }# BOnly 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed. % z' O/ O4 {1 Z7 _( c1 m0 b" r' y! n k# I* {/ q5 m! [
Fantasy$ n% l4 V8 w; p
% s8 N$ [+ S: G) o& CThe 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. 6 [, T1 y B+ Y0 @1 r* R/ b" j$ z 5 F0 a0 ]) V3 k; {# rThe problem, increasingly, is revenue. % T5 l1 L" b$ R9 X " O9 h O! @( FLike the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch. * P* R( i0 J' o! ~ , z/ {8 U7 L& Q% y" K- ?0 B2 DDVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free. % ~( w6 p0 L" e: A6 i1 E: b# s 0 S% ]- |$ ~# S# QAnd the economic downturn does not help.& F! I8 T. H& @8 c$ ]% b
" f" I5 k: U; n"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. c0 b! b# V- m" i- Y5 M/ m
% D& C- g! v( I- C% s9 J [The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations.$ Q3 q# z' u6 r! w9 f- v$ r
: v0 r+ Z" D3 {; Q" M( EFor years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms.- [& H0 a1 b( s- d. I7 L
& W9 d) F5 [$ A8 e3 J3 U OHealth scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set. 3 L( W. V, i) W0 P2 z3 T # @; B" P$ \' R% A' C2 t- {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. h$ ~1 e8 s Z2 T: z8 c% E " | J: W; X6 b/ YGonorrhoea 5 ]5 w$ j( K$ K2 [/ \0 c( Q L. O! g' p4 GBack on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. 7 i+ ~" C* K7 n, k3 O ' \( i' c e# S0 l! IA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years.) B( U* G1 g' V# ^" c" ~
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She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure.. R. J7 o* L# O+ {5 @
6 D; ` I6 H; R- i+ S"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" , f. q6 m5 }) H : H' A- j, f6 XHer 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., D5 D% t& c2 q5 |, P1 }3 c
! B. }& K( V- j# qEach day would be 15 hours long./ m3 Y$ X* B) ~' H" I9 }
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"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested.- P V4 m. M2 z; I1 \
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"You get used to it," she smiled.1 {8 P& k3 N4 p% v
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"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" 0 e1 T4 z3 T, R( ^; ?9 q + R: P! ^! g7 O+ E0 R d"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." 3 s% S0 Q) F" h0 m; G+ g4 J ' r" g. Z" P$ }) M& i i0 g3 UThere was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. C! a7 e1 [6 {3 t/ E Y- X8 b
. ]9 j3 ~% r4 DExpensive lawsuits % J: k/ U9 ~3 q5 J% ^! C 1 Z3 m& Y" H) i# nIn fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. : B" v. r' E: D% N! A5 E" K& S9 X6 [ O! M3 _
A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it.2 |0 f; t9 _) `, t8 t" u2 D& L
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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. + g9 z! O, F* g3 s2 ~9 I: C* H8 n( x3 U' H& J
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./ ]" t. b4 ~, z8 F
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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?" 3 p$ z1 A( b3 w& x3 W2 A& K 3 l7 G' S. X/ `" o/ G4 \: q u. qI struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment. * K0 ~; e, z3 k. g4 M& w& i1 h! [" d# T- T
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?' L7 y/ R0 ?: \+ D$ O
" s* o* R& w; ?( B/ n ZThe authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection. # A2 `4 F. h" K 6 V, b/ i0 H* d# i* zIt 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.9 G- [$ S# |+ N$ W
" d3 N/ M5 u, P, b6 Z, {; k; E# \A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them.9 Z8 t2 j0 e3 t, S* ?( l6 ]
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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." x" K* q1 Z% ?1 \; \- c
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That view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene. X( }: U6 k$ ?4 Y5 f+ o) h& J$ d
' j* |9 R* N5 s. ^I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. ! h5 t' ~" w+ [7 v$ D% ^ 6 ?2 F& o2 v* s! ?2 K " W0 y3 P" S& }: @* O, [6 O1 |- c1 o# [7 a 2 J5 j4 A2 o1 P9 S7 Q- }
Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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