3 @: {% W: p, w6 z" C. j( ^2 w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。# O6 Q9 m1 C& `" [7 B
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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”? 3 \- ~% j0 m, z- k `" W4 ]6 H8 z8 h2 v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。 5 p- y; W5 m4 y( @$ M, V. I7 N 8 b( N( D4 p$ ^1 c5 P5 e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? 7 ]3 B$ [( a' h( I" P9 E; e9 N8 q' V; }% Q) c; q
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。 , M; |. ?4 S& J. X0 p1 u9 c' b7 y1 u1 g
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。8 M. B, I7 m- }
1 ~& F2 ?$ z& ]5 }$ Q; V一些演员私下告诉我,他们盼着立法赶快生效。; u: {8 W" D! ]" a; b* E
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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。: U+ P8 U8 W& g+ m' m
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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。 f, B* f5 A v: l. a- z/ I 4 d8 v0 G0 v3 y0 n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……. , S0 G0 N7 z/ y: F% Y* [8 p' F' p4 t6 G2 h! k E
6 u& [! ~* i4 DCalifornian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles # w" k2 c5 S% J9 G5 O
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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.! p. e5 k; g+ X% j& p& b9 [
2 N( X Q/ d* [0 zLight drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.& R5 w& ^1 m) w. s! }
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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.+ S9 @4 l6 K# k d1 X! Y' x3 U, @$ I
8 W, p5 |7 C! O( c+ q! [What I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect.& e+ c: H7 O' ^
" ]; W1 @% v: Y# u" H1 RThe porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga. ; \" b) a6 A: `. `: M6 R8 G" e9 A% [6 x
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.- P! u) {+ G$ {" S1 |4 g, 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." u/ x i; d" J" N
$ i" ^4 Q3 P7 q8 g. GOnly 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed.% t/ ~& c; h) ], s: v+ N1 A
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Fantasy 0 W) ]$ r; G3 p+ a+ M' y7 D, B. f4 F; z. ]* C* h
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.! N F( A: ]' G% m
* c Y- s! w) K, v; x1 v. {7 O( wThe problem, increasingly, is revenue. " K5 f: j3 z3 w" } 3 e9 {- v& Z) c x( v; c. ^9 ^: GLike the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch. ; K$ Y5 X5 N0 n7 X8 r - m1 M5 q% o4 A8 Z; Z' C! UDVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free.' O( c$ V/ S% p
, z' J+ g3 `+ u& ?And the economic downturn does not help.0 @- K9 E3 `, E. F* x9 s6 c
$ _1 C0 m# ?! X' N) U7 c"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. 1 l+ N+ x1 D, w# E; ~ F/ \' u! R- c. Q6 r! pThe economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations.8 x. ~3 p$ [7 R9 O
7 Y1 T2 b2 d9 I. R8 S& Y1 v6 PFor years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms." n3 C G6 _4 M
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Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set. 1 ~3 y7 O+ |3 N3 c# t4 t ! { o' |- |, ?$ ^/ yBut 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" G0 y5 k# v
+ L- Z; g# a: Z2 w& ?4 a; V! I6 SGonorrhoea 7 X% e3 T5 W: L$ H# o3 a5 x7 e5 Z7 y, x
Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. ! K7 V6 q" T' C6 E; G% w4 D* c9 u2 x' m$ R7 O. j: I
A college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years. : ~2 @7 I& d$ A: t7 X& o/ A: P" P/ A. \8 Q/ c
She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure.+ i* L5 X5 Y; ?% }$ I
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"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?"8 R+ ], i6 l5 j, \
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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.( L* f. M% r5 f% f3 N; D8 O
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Each day would be 15 hours long.6 R4 z. ?' n7 o, U4 Y* `: f5 R# c4 J
6 o! ?9 ?, d5 a- B/ l* y"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested.) m% [2 F! z p) M$ c$ O' [
( S! A+ r* S+ e4 L6 {0 \"You get used to it," she smiled./ A% U& j: F8 E" |5 h
7 p2 Z' t2 g& k+ x4 |"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" + \6 x+ N3 A9 L# x. }2 U& y$ k8 i+ Y' ? a* |
"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."! d. n1 A! i/ U- a" O4 x) L$ Q
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There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided.9 s0 u: C( G% J3 s) Y6 N
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Expensive lawsuits ) R$ s& [! F6 h4 } # N ^: ?$ E y! D/ k& v8 h' I" pIn fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. 7 v& p, I0 F1 N9 R- s# Q5 ?1 B' @2 e: T# D* Z2 t9 ^4 i) C
A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it. - n: r3 C4 w+ L/ n& [ 2 u7 n4 ^$ M9 ?1 KIt 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. 2 @4 v6 z5 I f* D& W6 s( ]) _# w & P* A0 F. }) N( L+ 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. 1 o1 b F: W" F) Q: G; T" D9 h ; E5 c2 I% z1 C4 }3 G( D, m. ]# T"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?" e2 ]4 ]! G& J8 U. v* r1 G
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I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment./ }9 ?6 U/ k) E3 N j* ] Y
R; e" {$ W9 O! b- eBut 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?! D2 i% z$ e+ K5 u* E
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The authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection.1 b% ~6 p6 n$ J3 r6 K
K0 S' r5 d# E8 I' k( O; 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.4 {: ]. m3 @5 [' V6 V" H
% ~, F0 U: u M' L. `A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them. : o7 @6 Q; G2 u3 O0 _ / n' B! s% _ A5 R) L& K3 Y6 ?8 mThe producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants. + `( w# W: C# w6 {$ I! P - g6 I7 a8 J0 ^. o" B" RThat view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene.4 ?- S+ Y3 z7 Q* Q" s
, ^" L' F% G1 I P) ?* [I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain.* x/ s& p6 D2 P; B) ~; e+ E. o- a
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Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004