, J# k4 x x- H4 u; a一些演员私下告诉我，他们盼着立法赶快生效。 6 o6 w$ K# x" i w- j) g5 ?, @6 m4 e1 L* x( a3 \8 _
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。 * _1 V! Y7 o p3 r/ b* ?0 j7 T3 @" b% V9 r" E
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。 u% T- l3 G( M( J3 U$ n 6 z7 V4 H- [! b' I6 d6 u' l @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…….$ g! Q: _# g' k2 Y3 f
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Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles % Y" [) }$ } o( m4 r
, a9 i8 q: H" @- z& cCalifornia'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. % t) L/ u. g+ @: K8 |3 N5 C3 o3 _3 o, Z. t
Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles. 7 L0 J5 o7 C+ L, \# @) D& v8 g& k% ^! B5 \5 L! z
I had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things. , f+ Z' C5 j+ F+ U v K6 ~% I% b7 u/ ]/ e. i1 jWhat I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect. 4 Q( a4 ]; V4 U3 |% V' P _. @$ Y, t5 D/ f
The porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga. ) d' w! p# R) D( I- `, ] 6 z6 g9 K4 _: _+ T& \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. 3 S g* m& e0 t5 C- [0 M2 }7 @! Z2 ]; g. V6 R) h, I
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.2 W, T- h2 i0 M; N7 w/ D
9 y/ s/ U8 z* e) r6 \+ jOnly 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed." W- J! A; |+ B: u, m. z
2 G, g! U0 w' ]; KFantasy: B, U4 \1 j, }8 g* A% V
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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. H5 W& g D5 E# t' L+ h& q
4 P3 X) m* l9 E% U" T: L, L }The problem, increasingly, is revenue.6 d4 Q$ ~! y9 Y3 {, c
; G0 M, s4 @+ X- JLike the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch. / }" M9 ` Q( w: u* T5 H- b6 k) T% n2 z. D. P* @7 A; m
DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free.+ A5 o6 m% E/ U ]3 Z
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And the economic downturn does not help.8 Q: r/ c5 S1 a, O
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"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. ) N i \/ Q0 q- O: c8 z _1 S8 ?& U" K5 S4 T& F
The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations.* g# ?6 Q( I6 w1 A M$ f0 T$ S
% W4 v) n# p+ h- wFor years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms. 5 a# I/ ^" n2 y3 ~9 l+ z, \ 7 [ J+ Z* S; g6 m4 RHealth scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set.9 I2 P& F. U+ H5 d2 v0 z2 {
' l' c! |+ t; \2 P% t% |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.9 T: E" l- z8 t) v
" @: Y( |! M- N" f9 x9 |Gonorrhoea 6 _8 A3 N3 m; X' Q! ~! s( H* N1 E
Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers./ ~& w1 X# f; O2 S% H
/ K2 o5 t: H/ wA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years. . ?" z2 b+ {( e! e) B " D, Y& W0 R4 \She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure.& D( ]+ W5 p# u5 z1 T' q
: g0 ^2 E, Z# b* i"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?"# [" z( x, Y8 z. l5 t, @, 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.; d3 T, {, A4 a( D9 i4 I$ \
# g# r" J ^2 F1 ^3 i5 D) [' uEach day would be 15 hours long. 5 Q* X2 T5 |9 G" q0 D 8 |0 y; Q' e5 U, d* d! `- Q"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. {: u P2 M: Z# G: [9 {. h( z. ]5 b- a, T! }$ W& j
"You get used to it," she smiled. 5 ]+ ~' V. k! _* c, a 8 p; O& G% F2 T' ^7 i"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?"* t$ D6 n4 t0 U" w) i
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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."* p% m& T& h: X' G0 {% }
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There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided.7 s, _0 a9 p+ u: |" N, O V
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Expensive lawsuits5 W, A$ d0 n1 y& c
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In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business.* y: ^. \# Q. f3 t; @9 r2 g9 R
5 i; `9 n. l7 h! R0 D# H& z8 nA combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it.; C! A! f& R( O& |2 U4 [8 O
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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. - {) [( Y2 K2 n/ y6 v 8 C q) W) C! o8 DNow, 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. ' y* F% p K! d' r : @# n7 e9 W6 w* m; ~0 P"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?"+ V3 C+ T+ P/ E
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I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment. 7 k! b _ {0 B# f A) o+ [# g2 {& S7 H7 e2 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? % U& W! U/ j! Z' [- z 9 `9 L1 Y( j2 A) gThe authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection. ; c2 U% L1 u% _( I* M0 o7 D" S8 L3 T: B7 N
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. m, ~* f% E$ I. m7 V0 r
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A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them. . v/ f- \- h0 h: ]) k4 l( J / H4 ?6 @4 r) ?. K3 cThe producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants.: f$ z Z: t- B4 o
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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. T% C# H- Y$ I% m% T+ N6 K1 u
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I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain.2 Z. N& [4 @% Y; S5 P/ G* f
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. v& J* t2 f2 U F& A! h n + J* \2 ~+ t5 ]( F! E+ tCalls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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