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首先映入眼帘的一切,并没能满足我的预期值。但是说实话,我也不知道自己到底指望着能看到什么。+ ^6 y" F, |$ W* c
% V+ I* b% Y* j" {7 ^3 U+ j3 }8 y" g那天拍摄的是三级片《新一代星际迷航》。据说,这是描写太空探险的经典电视系列剧《星际迷航》的搞笑翻版。/ e$ L- U, [2 k4 X! C9 k
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演员们穿着紧身太空服,有些脸上还贴着外星人状的假鼻子。他们逛来逛去,满脸的无聊。一个疲惫的工作人员不停地摆弄着灯光。) N7 g$ L7 w2 z
; C3 l3 \7 B8 H8 _1 v3 k! V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。” # E' R' O, _, ~* V5 x7 N 0 W2 e" R; p& v& F* G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。 C3 Q1 Z; C6 n- a# f# p1 Z4 A7 F# V: g! C" E* A
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。/ k1 E! {; n2 }- E4 @( d
不戴安全套的权利 & T5 e! K4 Z6 s" H+ J% f1 `( { # J( T) b( ^& A% n/ _) v1 E) F8 N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。! p/ D: Y! J0 A' l/ c; o
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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”? 9 i. i C4 l# ~: m# u 5 _ S) L. f3 l4 E6 d& J0 Z* O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。 ' `1 t/ r. C0 ~9 J+ y3 c6 v x0 K! \# Z0 k, G
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 [4 n! f) c+ f5 j$ P% X
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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。 & ^) B) V) K8 N8 @- ]1 D: I+ k7 A4 F6 a' J3 H7 c; f
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。" @0 n5 T1 T2 p( o
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一些演员私下告诉我,他们盼着立法赶快生效。/ k5 S- ?3 g6 R8 E0 B2 m
5 ^' m8 P/ L% ?1 |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 D/ G; Z5 X6 x 2 y' Y& }; I9 y& i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。 / a0 O+ w! n; a' a# }* a* y4 C+ }, Y0 f3 V& k5 T8 M
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……. . l$ c0 w( N1 D' B. }* e3 |5 | % h9 k3 J% w6 c& Q/ m& G- G6 U+ \- |9 U) M: {8 X9 P
Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles : k0 }1 e7 r$ E# ^' N& K0 ^9 d: S: }0 h
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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.& Q' P2 w Z: z' l. L9 Y( _! ?; W
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Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles. ! P, k( M N3 |" W. n3 }2 o# ], `' S) M! _2 K5 |: \
I had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things.' ^- y) K7 ?1 X+ \ F$ y$ O5 z
1 @) V! R. E% X0 m, l- _9 w3 s: J0 BWhat I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect. 7 \6 f4 P& Y5 E* P- v" H. _+ v' I& ?1 U+ \- w$ Z2 J# O4 e0 a: M
The porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga.$ K. m" ~1 ~1 \% D3 n
0 C3 j/ b4 m7 v+ OPerformers 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 Y4 n* k2 r5 }# h& l# a
6 P% X9 M) P4 e+ P1 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. ) Z L; a: D9 l' Y ! q% q& {0 p; Z9 K. M0 u; t ~1 {Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed.* U) m Y. ]+ B; J# G
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, c! s* b- f0 g. ~( Y; ^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.8 B& a; D( l) Z1 @
9 x2 ?7 Q( A# }2 _4 [3 v7 {The problem, increasingly, is revenue.( w0 K f5 O3 ~. L0 j+ E7 D
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Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch. 4 E4 v1 V& T# h; ~8 ?3 P* H8 a8 ^. l* L
DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free.3 T, ]2 q: l+ T6 s0 {8 i
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And the economic downturn does not help.4 ?& o: _' o! f% V$ V& m; ?8 x
+ b7 m. c2 G* S$ o5 P+ j"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. ; }3 x/ T [! z+ a ! w: ~1 x2 x) h- t& K RThe economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations.' Z0 W7 n( b+ a) ^
& Q0 S4 {! y9 b* d$ x9 n3 U3 ]% zFor years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms.+ u* u7 X# y `# w. h
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Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set.# L. Y" ]* f9 C) x
3 @, `- k6 K1 n5 L* O/ }1 r. vBut the industry says wearing condoms on-screen is a turn-off. The public do not want it, it will kill the fantasy, they say. 4 r( S3 \7 U! t3 g, {9 ^ " ?8 H- }6 ?. e7 a1 G8 VGonorrhoea ) J( y; q# o) ] $ u; H7 B- x; Z! G( F, qBack on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. * `( w6 e6 C0 q3 J" N. U) p7 Y' L 3 U& y& X/ r+ N! g; CA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years. 9 F+ T9 E4 ^, ^5 P+ q( N) I+ Z' e2 h9 ^9 L" z; G% K! p* Z
She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. ! n3 L& c+ O9 A$ U8 s7 p6 O f e8 ?% N: G4 Z' j# o"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?") ?( W4 C2 E4 Q* t$ b
3 o( b+ Y& i( j8 s/ G' P& DHer 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. # u" m* q- j* ?. U! g: q. A - J3 ~* p0 y, [Each day would be 15 hours long.: Y- u. l: y/ \+ R% [ |# D
, B( w( ]# P3 W \8 ~% f"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. ; t. h+ i! c' }0 @6 A6 S4 z2 t. T, _8 D$ K1 F2 V; r2 e
"You get used to it," she smiled.( ~* f9 |9 c) L. ?; A8 l
! J A0 |" {. |/ K4 a2 L$ r"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?"& S/ t* h/ a4 a& q
! {+ p! e# M" J! g. K"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- _% o8 B8 q2 a+ n5 c/ ]* [$ }3 ^ S4 X
There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. 5 v& ~& C/ d V! ^0 T6 M! W; K8 V ! Q; U1 W2 c, B! _Expensive lawsuits s5 r U! z* G3 p0 `
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In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. 3 \$ n X/ a8 z. Q2 A- T, T% N
A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it.8 B% k* V0 y% Y; \* l. a
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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. 6 _/ b. _1 z, w6 q. ?6 a e$ a4 x* [: D+ a. s. n, l o& o( K, O
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. % |+ s4 c3 n) S% ^" K % k W0 c' i0 a# O) _! X% s" P"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?" , X( w& g5 C4 E) e; w# G" {) S6 {' x& T: E' | H2 K
I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment. # _6 ^) I$ o1 s; X- P7 O, t4 K, U. R* Y5 V
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?+ _5 o8 ~# Z9 J+ G! v8 v& Q( Y$ n0 k
5 {! ~, H! n9 _6 A; JThe authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection. % D: _1 H: b9 N1 j! s8 e) h4 Y* L+ o, o( B
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.% v% b# [% z. i$ q2 Y8 \. [* P
6 v8 c8 ]! E- h! M8 v3 oA number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them./ U H( a2 I; B
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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. ]* O. F) D* N; g1 D0 U6 L
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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.# s& P# X$ R: X; l. D7 h1 h6 j
4 u, h' G5 c! m. C iI decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain.6 K4 @. \8 l% A5 \
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Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004