, U: o5 _, a" u1 v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……. ]& m8 K3 r# W: p2 k& b7 }
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Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles # C" s& f' i$ b; o9 l9 s6 I4 m0 X* ` {% k- p% b7 z7 Y: h
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. : X/ l3 I" g9 ~3 z! C , k. G3 u, ]4 A: G9 H' ZLight drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.% P; v, m, b9 [) M# d
( @# P+ e& F2 n1 M9 oI had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things." E% V. x$ }) ~* b0 B4 Z+ h/ X
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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.# A( K8 W* v1 r: X& f: v/ @
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The porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga. # j* P& W$ t" _ U' O4 _ c: Y - R+ T- N6 W6 fPerformers 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. * ~( y- Q1 i) t% P |1 q4 g) t$ ? t: L
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.) [3 F9 s: J Y0 {" A
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Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed. & Y9 h! m# y/ y3 {) q9 o8 g8 }9 x % f: C5 L$ r7 ^! kFantasy3 q6 _. d4 v. A* ^" i( e- y+ g1 h8 k
E7 T+ D# A( r" XThe 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. 4 \- I* Z8 E9 F7 U! L 4 n- {. e( H2 B9 b: }3 yThe problem, increasingly, is revenue. : b. w5 e$ [2 J/ ?, }8 m2 k( }! U$ c+ k& j' B" {' r3 E9 E
Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch.# M% G. K* {: F- E
' S4 I/ g; I: p& ZDVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free. " c! \, \$ ~* j7 `5 N9 u6 s4 N9 N / R: r7 n! k2 G3 U: ]/ U: m( ~4 SAnd the economic downturn does not help. ( g8 E. C, U: f0 y# b4 |2 X . p7 @' c4 d0 Y* R. L6 |8 f$ V"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully.9 G4 U. u) f4 h s8 f9 j
8 ]4 b# H* O. q9 p9 \, f. dThe economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations./ w9 M: i' |4 d
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For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms.8 t$ |$ @5 x/ h4 ~3 ]% N; I- Y6 y
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Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set.- H/ E; C2 t. \ J& q3 a
: S. n2 S( E K: X. ^5 L1 tBut the industry says wearing condoms on-screen is a turn-off. The public do not want it, it will kill the fantasy, they say. 0 t0 w/ T; x6 Y% b V t. ?7 J/ y, y+ | D
Gonorrhoea 0 n6 a. f/ I, A8 c) y2 ]5 U . z9 A- r$ @9 RBack on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers.& w, Z3 T! ^% I$ W6 K
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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.: I2 t% M! N3 C x0 s
, X" A ~& @6 `# G. oShe turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure.' x0 a1 T+ X; d2 C8 S
& h2 T+ H+ W/ q) T"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" 1 C9 J; [. c1 G' U, w8 Q" O: P5 R 2 M0 \$ b @. S8 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. ! _: c2 J% v* M; v+ G% z+ b" b0 d4 Y" k, X/ X
Each day would be 15 hours long.( K" E X3 d& l& b' n+ X. O
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"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested.. m g1 B6 k) z$ B+ ~5 t
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"You get used to it," she smiled.$ W+ x" O- u! I! B
: I& a* h( P# _"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" & M% S o9 R0 Y" [2 A# ~' b9 M- o% t" O
"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 i3 ? ]* j) @2 U5 h; a% ^ E2 g2 M3 K4 K |9 y
There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided.- |/ w, y+ i6 n$ z$ c' j- X6 X
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Expensive lawsuits; Q0 s" o7 I! c' P* s7 |
1 c# B- T- b* OIn fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. 6 ]1 o: b& Y! q f8 m- O" c! _ 3 s1 ?. W& t8 k7 T- X8 CA combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it. - ?, E) D0 W, L 2 ^7 V/ p- G6 _- c; mIt 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." G5 z. l: Q M \. }3 i
# Q" i Q) S/ E5 FNow, 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. $ j" I ?- L+ u6 D 0 g# S7 |- T% ?7 }7 A* ["How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?" 5 u9 X: ]3 g4 k& r3 j - N4 M( Z9 M/ YI struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment.& A' {% U/ m4 i4 N- B' C* S+ |+ ?
4 a* U6 D; Z7 B4 z- v R) IBut 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? ) w$ ^& z, L+ e9 G+ P8 L5 | , e" L F- Q- h, zThe authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection. ^( j- l3 X& J* D. Y
; p0 q u$ [; q9 F* bIt 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. * c7 Y9 k# I% F5 O+ w" ^$ {- Q2 q8 Q/ B# [& w+ F) T6 r
A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them. , H8 n+ I& c4 K9 N6 ]( Y; P0 K: O$ f ) J6 r2 @- I& L! p7 E8 EThe producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants. % e; i/ d1 O6 P( V& h" u $ L/ U5 O$ O' Q3 gThat view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene. + r& W7 t# b. h3 }6 r; Q- J% A" z & |! N! y/ P! e0 p% wI decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain.0 B. H& n# p6 }5 Q' {
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Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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