* C# M+ d# w0 `! q2 _* N6 f, q _7 [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。 / x, }( `1 B) P! d# s# g1 o1 Q+ J% u7 X1 T$ S0 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……. 1 E# a- X, w% f! O+ t 1 @' q4 L. |! ]8 X8 v. o" N3 l& n+ z. f, C/ l! l
Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles 3 K/ x" h: a/ z2 c6 t 0 @- j) X* u% w3 I8 B, 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. 6 _$ @" t7 a+ L' X0 B2 Q6 H6 o' s1 P. M& H" A0 t
Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.8 z* Y: r* c% M3 n6 ~' p
/ n% r6 H' c' q! {! V# `* m, U# LI had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things. & t" |! S X, m# {' } - Y$ _% B9 [& h0 qWhat I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect. # F* w; d6 y1 b+ `, Y& }& l3 t4 Y$ t& E4 b$ H: }& Z0 o: o/ W
The porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga. 9 i N! W! Q* ~: b8 G e # t0 d' f( z) p: aPerformers 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. 4 w$ ^; Y ~& D- L ) U M" d4 j7 mThis 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.+ `+ B7 \/ Y/ @+ V* s `5 j* U
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Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed.( U! ^+ G- B) J3 @
8 ~& U" J: T7 p+ z9 t! r2 }) |Fantasy7 b' X& u2 F0 @0 b- t3 m6 ~9 F- P
3 S& s) ]3 B- R& k; w& L6 W2 JThe 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. ) S. L+ M0 `. d# h2 ~( Z7 }6 m- G, e* U# R' O
The problem, increasingly, is revenue., D6 m8 d# X9 b7 ?! P
* u4 H& H; f2 O/ @1 l3 j) bLike the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch. / k `5 n! t1 P+ b 3 E1 d0 Z9 q4 _* F3 VDVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free. ( {7 m* J: z: W5 r( A 1 w) W5 Y' ^/ z- R- i; MAnd the economic downturn does not help.) h" v2 P5 l4 K% L- J
/ T& W5 J! z- Z# J) l2 r% H- f"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. * Q& P9 N! [ L8 a8 o2 J% z 5 f. s% I+ |2 S1 DThe economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations.9 O7 F% L5 Z/ \" }4 ?) ^2 _
) T$ O: i; f# l' B$ D9 k J# a3 qFor years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms. ! `- ?, M! f9 B# ], I) H$ K) \* y& |% ~
Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set. & E5 b7 f- `+ E0 L% i4 T" P# E* {# c7 H: d
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.: K! Z6 G0 R& D. U- f+ W& O
) V% [. h F( K2 q+ UGonorrhoea : p# `- E$ C* S- x/ d& G( _+ T0 C0 a/ P
Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers.% [# v$ @* Z7 m" ~! g: g- i% Q- ]( W
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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.+ s- E6 c/ r6 Z7 m7 L% Y1 O: f
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She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. w: W( ?" h6 ^# Q; G& ~+ X$ U: O+ j5 s: X* c) e) S+ R( `- d+ G; I2 {) z1 c2 z! `
"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?"& ] a/ U! y/ q0 S9 ^
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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.( E( R! G" F( D, e+ v6 l
/ f1 O" b8 L. ~, [( I8 wEach day would be 15 hours long.- }$ M9 T; O6 z# v
/ o) [5 e8 m. M6 a4 L' Q"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested.$ U7 y0 A& a9 P$ P g7 h4 G# x) \2 _& H
& f( T0 i4 {% M3 v5 W; U/ }' q"You get used to it," she smiled. ! s/ Z0 }$ E- I/ k# y4 u- p 0 ~1 i9 ~& ? t/ W4 w( s"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?"0 _/ b b7 f$ `! P. r. Y- Y2 E
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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." ; z Z; b$ b' d5 n& r7 C8 Z1 I# c; o8 v4 d2 X3 w% O1 N K T
There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided.. J3 m5 r) g3 f" i( v/ x
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Expensive lawsuits0 X% q5 g, F9 g1 a) C
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In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business.$ ^" y5 M: o3 B E/ P+ T# P
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A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it.' m6 C9 _: i8 S6 o! N+ J/ B1 P5 n4 f1 x
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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. 4 j( ?0 o$ j" j( i- A" {5 c/ n7 z) @6 ?# M+ \
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. 2 b4 I+ U; x* y* U6 Q [$ V, s7 ?* b; G* O. V
"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?"" G/ U2 \6 p# R" h: U. x- T2 H( Y
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I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment.% V) e4 X- ?' Z8 F
5 A$ _6 i: P- |. ~+ e) KBut 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? : h1 T: |0 B2 j8 r" c2 J5 p/ s% I% `" _" d
The authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection.; q* w/ `8 X3 E! |
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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+ G* w# s: w4 ?# `( a* X4 M$ X- ~, z" U, Q Q. \
A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them. - r M: [. v: z% i $ P7 v0 d$ c7 e- t- ^The producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants. . s" ^# S8 v! h% c4 `+ I* H7 L; v: R5 x- g; b
That view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene. 5 w4 Y- Z) W; I8 y 3 C; [1 u; f& ?I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain.' @+ t+ S+ y/ ?. ~! I& ~8 X
8 @8 C. b: h. h" V9 S$ \$ } * y4 {' b. _$ R: J9 ?( U ~# I, Q; y" I! @. @# q. s L% H9 |$ ?% y- }7 U% O7 mCalls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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