+ F9 e7 V. q; ? M! y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”? & K2 X; r6 l% P: [8 j. H7 S2 @: w/ J( R( k
当天,她的日程安排得很紧凑,两句台词,四小时的性爱。星期二试装,然后就去接受每月一次的体检。宝碧每一天都要工作15个小时。# v' z+ |, V" N
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我说,“你一定很累吧”?她微笑着回答说,“习惯了”。; U8 S0 l+ c4 H) R
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我接着问,“那么,健康风险呢?你经常被感染吗”?) q1 Q+ |" s) Q/ a: `5 P# _6 v2 l
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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。” B2 ?& Q3 W; p- H j* B" f
% T3 G. R- l; a% f: M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。 - l% G) h2 Q5 }( w. }) @$ g r8 e2 [3 h2 A: w- L; ^
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。4 m+ p+ z ^% c% i& @
不戴安全套的权利 9 V" F9 |9 q9 { w! f & t& _2 z8 k% Y; @3 b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。 " \9 N) I4 ^7 T X0 W# q* ]: P1 n9 z7 R( f/ d7 ?+ [
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”? ) R% |4 v8 U" P4 B( J0 f" W) i & E S# A* q$ E3 p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。 6 G( k: `+ c* }. G g; D( s' ? 6 o( n' N9 x' T% m, K4 b7 z o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?% f/ F: L2 t( r
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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。6 b4 P& L7 B/ z+ Y$ W; ~* O$ p
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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。 + I4 j1 y5 K# b3 R- i; H% e$ Z' e
一些演员私下告诉我,他们盼着立法赶快生效。 : ~5 Y# U4 R3 Y% c0 X( |% e/ b8 }( J4 i$ [/ a
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。 ! ~8 r* Z, u, {) m' N! @% L4 Q9 ] 2 }" z' T9 g3 B7 R2 k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。8 z. A- _8 l6 z+ x
* O! w! r& ^ D% D. J( T( H. _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……. - l6 f" b- Z# M, q* j9 V; C# s9 P 6 l- q. d. |& o" ^! r7 V4 @7 F' ^& p 0 t% T: @& k# qCalifornian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles 0 A* _8 w+ ~2 y) g. z; o1 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. 2 M+ ~ w1 r. J8 i 4 b( F ^0 U0 r0 Z2 m' ]- YLight drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.: n" t( { D5 a! D Z; t1 ?
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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.5 G I; E% U! C0 i: q
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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.! Z: ~3 L) q" R% ~1 V; r! E! H; v
4 q' e% Z4 u9 u$ |+ k: i: ?4 |The porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga., ?4 c3 K* e7 P ^
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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.9 a# `3 a9 s3 _; {! l, d% O% ~7 G
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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 z% c. |5 w0 H0 B4 L; M7 I) [
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Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed. + A3 c4 z& i% ^9 q 2 m9 s: b6 O9 u) F) LFantasy5 y# M( q* K* p' w/ h
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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. 9 k/ K! q! Z* J# D* J& H# p6 S" K: w5 }, c
The problem, increasingly, is revenue.7 N1 d' i0 X4 m4 v+ F5 E6 Q! p( F
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Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch.2 D' R7 w% M1 z1 [
0 u" G# t2 e J" }9 r" UDVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free. $ W" X, j2 [* j3 q+ c% A% A# ?* E9 [! x F& |- w; L8 D
And the economic downturn does not help. + B7 y5 F- f1 i# ? 7 Q6 [! g; A4 _% o" l"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully.1 _. x" A8 s3 t2 I6 O7 V
- m8 i% @1 }8 D& _* r/ o) \The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations.: y- a4 S& i! m' N+ c
) u9 C1 `* }; N! g9 S, c: G# GFor years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms. * S5 i. Q% A, w$ x, y5 }. a. o/ E4 i& A" M& x: B
Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set./ B9 f" q: y, p* G! ]
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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. " A1 X s3 H- |4 f' w# |, u 8 H9 t7 P$ \9 e F- {Gonorrhoea : }$ v1 N3 N9 F% h- v' |% T 5 F4 V: B! i# q6 F, _* q* [2 oBack on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers.( ~, ?; q' m0 }; G2 C
|' L H" z( i7 CA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years. G3 M9 I; C- F3 L7 S. a( {& W 7 P" A" g h5 t* Y6 D1 L* ~She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure.) Y9 j3 @; m, B
9 z6 P) J/ k% ~+ l$ }"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" " o: o% L r& J8 s% l) C5 l2 {) y A8 {# p' T* QHer 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. 2 M: x" z3 k4 W0 u1 E- s6 w" [* U/ v
Each day would be 15 hours long.' }0 P& x0 z) {: @* C7 G
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"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested.! H; H" b4 ^: ^! C! Z( P
! X. r8 Z$ w) }5 |6 H"You get used to it," she smiled. ' {" j( q* w7 C' O/ L( n P: M- j$ a
"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?"/ y/ q. Y8 d2 G }+ t3 {
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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."3 {2 W" g3 s6 ?! c8 l# J! n* u
3 K; i- a9 I6 s u+ ~1 r, rThere was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. + u$ z4 _: w$ m* ~ 9 k" \1 T$ c! p NExpensive lawsuits 5 V2 j+ K- W8 ^$ |! V' [0 ] / V7 h$ U6 a4 [: w$ z) YIn fact there was something very Californian about the entire business., U, w" I3 K. E1 c- z# `+ k, A1 K6 _! `
: S' |( t0 c; X) zA combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it.5 x' W/ ^* Y3 U% {; V
$ d- g' Y9 U7 n* Y6 dIt 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+ S" i- G6 Y$ p" s9 S
- }* J$ t+ U0 n$ g+ H' mNow, 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.' v" n6 \) y" X& j: u; E
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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?" y7 h4 I R3 D/ q 0 e! z s, I3 Q4 m( s4 j. L% C; M) r- MI struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment. + d$ @7 g: O2 J4 w% Z8 {6 u" W8 J+ R D
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? + ^# |4 r, i2 P8 v' |+ e7 C 1 l% p9 r5 e6 P0 Z" {The authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection.+ h' @+ R) H* ^! R
, D' Q3 M' T. OIt 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.. }1 K( R( m6 w& H
. U) y; B3 p: C: q- S1 L; s: kA number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them." l+ t; U# F F* ~) U1 b: y
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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.9 [8 l2 O/ Y" b& v/ N0 X5 ?
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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. " J0 `: `( } |$ p: \% L % }7 {$ w! m; j) T w& UI decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. - s. p( N% H C0 B- i" w $ R8 w% Y* Z8 m8 `8 ]# G0 ~1 x1 U' G, \. A# b$ Q; ~
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Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004