8 z! y: q% w8 O; S" A9 a2 y/ C演员健康受损害的案例中最著名的一起是在2004年,三名演员感染上艾滋病毒。这凸现出演员中交叉感染十分严重。 ! a8 b) F d0 K" ]8 t! V 8 M" r: h/ T3 v但是,电影业坚持说,演员带安全套会扫观众的兴。他们说,观众不愿意看,安全套等于扼杀观众的幻想。 1 x8 Z9 L4 w/ b' J$ A! D3 t“没什么大不了的”4 M" r; ]4 Y4 P' w$ |
! g" @4 R$ H% D9 r重返《星际迷航》的拍摄现场,我和主要演员之一宝碧·斯塔尔聊了起来。宝碧是大学毕业生,以前是国家级游泳运动员,专业的双簧管手。短短的27年,她的一生真可是阅历丰富。4 f* ?0 r s3 ?) i& k, k
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宝碧说,改行做色情电影演员,主要是为了追求性探险。她说,“这是找乐趣。身边的人都高高兴兴,你有什么可烦的呢”?% a j n+ Z* r, T
* ~% Z. Y2 y: a: h& P* m1 L8 M7 F* Y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”?) P( D5 ^8 |$ r' W
* Z0 U$ D' G. h" q2 H2 c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。: a; r( T0 q: G) P2 z
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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? 0 c1 ^( a" s- E5 ~& j/ e3 X! d+ A0 B; F5 v) E/ U9 H! `6 w7 e: o
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。, c9 ~2 l' ?: C. W
8 a3 j* n/ B6 V+ u+ c% s) ~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。9 z: {( B2 P( r9 v( D) d
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一些演员私下告诉我,他们盼着立法赶快生效。 6 ?- c1 l: b5 j. H6 X$ l5 Z+ O# h% Q# m, P5 U
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。% g2 ?1 j6 y5 O+ E- t3 G
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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。 7 Z2 \; Z4 N) }- `" V& y5 W) x+ S6 y1 _- y/ S0 b+ I- ~, b+ |
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…….4 j' N5 n+ ~# w! d! Q o
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/ O: A% K4 w# `8 ^* p; o) ACalifornian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles ; b/ A( Q) n" X q* ]9 g. n$ q2 H+ N6 B' ~
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.; X7 O5 H9 l! x: O7 K
2 k/ c% b( c, n O4 v# mLight drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles. $ k( Z$ \9 O% ^% a8 ?* \* l- R/ p& q
I had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things.* S: n) ?$ H. r+ K
$ E& b$ s! U& y. S* p P3 X7 bWhat I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect. - j) s% z* g' K" \" H+ X $ z. M! K y- [# Q4 g- n! {+ rThe porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga., m3 k- Y* C. i
% Z7 D; v9 [) u. N; L4 G0 }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.3 r# \6 h; ]- q: }! F* P- P8 w! m
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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./ C8 [3 z u2 F
: [3 w( X7 n$ pOnly 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed.3 o9 o% @* L+ O5 I2 L% U2 Z4 D
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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.2 J7 n4 p+ g' Z0 D0 D+ B1 P
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The problem, increasingly, is revenue." g, O8 R% y$ j# J M6 g/ s
0 w, u' ] O9 @/ _( }6 J$ z& H" aLike the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch.) V) n0 ]/ O% l
1 `! I& \( D9 VDVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free. 6 n7 l2 t l6 {2 L! v: \: J# ^ 4 f& K: G; E- k6 k5 YAnd the economic downturn does not help.' ^. F% c- u# N3 X* T
9 ]. Y( w, Y* M: j"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully.4 O' L* v5 m" n5 u: A0 `" o
, u! x1 L. d/ ?. W4 q- q9 b) BThe economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. * a2 n1 `" \* t# p1 x1 V: K 5 ?+ W! G. s3 b/ fFor years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms. q B& A. P+ b# g & }/ k c7 H1 y ZHealth scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set. 9 d% G2 g3 r' o# Y" Y6 Z4 C# z/ w. I. ]' i" I0 c
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. + o1 B$ N- b/ Z* N4 C 7 c: Y8 r; D8 J `" }Gonorrhoea3 |, m9 r: U, Z$ b' [+ B2 m
4 L) R; F0 J8 W, n5 J" D d9 ?Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers.; i B$ Z$ M A: R
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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.! O2 X/ ?9 q- ]: _: A
! ?6 g! a3 K% {She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. 5 `8 R. M' K" f, S* j3 `) p- Y& J7 Q2 M - f. } H+ U& m" y) W"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" : w$ E( f; O6 h4 h J5 r( T7 {9 `( r- Z# m1 C9 I
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.# W/ L1 X/ ]& |0 F
) {/ e! [& n* lEach day would be 15 hours long. ! X2 @% Z: w8 C- Z9 k: G8 U( v- D# @! u0 Z
"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. `. l5 b l" A
T7 z$ u/ T! q$ Q1 Z' C% M"You get used to it," she smiled.5 s7 p# ~1 H- _! Y: i+ z" m
2 v: b/ j9 Y9 m9 a0 k"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?"9 [8 W7 S$ P4 r3 ~
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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." * E [! b2 W5 ^; K' T' u9 {. c 9 o) \5 ~0 Q& H/ o# YThere was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. ) M. s, C1 `) e% U5 E8 k" J ) a0 u' P6 n" U( n# d+ @8 ZExpensive lawsuits 5 {7 e( V! Q- k" _/ c. \. z, s4 e8 k& r. P5 N: q* Q. D, C- w
In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. % S+ E: z1 t3 N7 [7 i$ ? & k+ ?. m6 s& t% z7 y1 kA combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it.2 A% H v- C. h: Q! \' L- O" M+ T
! T3 G/ ~/ |1 L* N) z' E2 p! ]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.( n# @& L4 Y6 b. ^. I: c
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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." t) K+ c1 J! H& W' }
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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?" . g' B) m2 O6 h. [5 t- G/ E . I5 v; U; H0 Q. bI struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment. . L& W1 G0 ^# k6 L+ K5 `2 l1 g! z) H4 [: `0 a
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? : Q8 s; Z, \+ p : V* l( v3 \9 NThe authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection. 8 m c- q4 ]- e5 H9 n" y& j : T) i. J) m& o% J( cIt 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.7 ^8 A6 J+ G6 @% D
* X( m- _& ]" _9 ^A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them. / Z5 y! u. p8 C: [8 w ! I) B& T/ I* e( XThe producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants." ^" k2 Z6 @* P7 J
9 K/ X: W" u" a5 [That view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene. & @2 A! U$ P E. E& h5 e * @9 s( O* u4 i& l) @4 pI decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain.9 z6 J- t. e+ z! \3 c
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Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004