& @' X- o e/ W. u1 x8 y+ H* y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。 4 h' ~$ \, j! i9 C" E' B1 h& @6 ]) a) W v& ?
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”? + k: ~3 {$ m" T( e: R& O0 Y" R6 K4 x) j2 _ R
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。 . u# I! Q2 A8 X- n ( o. I+ F2 I: {# T9 w5 w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? M q- a& q; e# p" G2 ?! b9 p6 z- k: ~! E4 `( x( N1 y6 H
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。 8 @4 w, l9 F- k5 v2 Q# z, v' ^. c6 d+ W
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。 - s! F: v% @- [* V- s# a. ?0 C& ?& t( Y' T: K7 R; _% M$ u
一些演员私下告诉我,他们盼着立法赶快生效。* R& Q- D# s q* a. r# A. x
P, e+ X1 Y3 R3 L s+ L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。 3 D4 @7 H' a0 m6 d( P4 c: f ; F. e4 r) M' 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。, }+ k ^8 i2 W" f8 l) E- n
) t9 `/ N3 t& B$ x0 _& [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……. ( Q9 O6 i* Z A( G$ i1 A3 I6 W- a; G5 A# J# C6 P" A( R
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Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles - N- }1 A( u3 T, S& H# e# @ u
& D& W% Z% _& dCalifornia'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.: q5 m. J1 @1 a2 w& ^$ @
: H: s; ?$ q7 h1 }# rLight drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles. z1 p: J# ]7 u% G. S7 {- ?2 \$ e
I had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things. 4 h5 d' d- U7 h% _0 P* l1 u1 [$ G' K; z
What I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect. " B( |! W0 ~6 Z; S ! ^5 y) Q k+ JThe porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga.1 \" Q( A: ?# Q Q
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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. % s2 ]' _ A3 ]+ d& f- Y: p. L. k" z2 l z
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 n, w* R; _4 n' Q( i. D 4 P& L. C, c1 y4 M9 {Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed.; b' v- L4 P; T1 [3 ~6 ? T1 E8 c
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Fantasy 7 A/ ]6 Z2 e. y7 h8 }, Z `; B: X# w; \ w4 ?: p1 h; M
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.' l# P8 K' N" i% f8 d! N
6 l$ W( h9 L8 m- R) ~7 HThe problem, increasingly, is revenue.3 |- W3 z' \4 k" {+ S
6 B" t/ @* T2 p- h5 p' HLike the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch. ' W1 Y% [) p/ g3 S1 U! b* g7 {- [ [# w% O0 Y8 ? {7 Z
DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free.) d1 M" w, h# c* m$ Z
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And the economic downturn does not help.% I! r7 a% K9 G& S) l! j5 n
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"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully.+ ^3 a' d. b9 T- U
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The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. # w Y) z# R. i5 w: `6 X) }9 G5 L* X( W
For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms. # K4 w* [: M- Q' M# X/ j, | V& g9 r. b* U* E
Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set. 0 G$ }* j' D$ n( t1 w+ n5 d ( k7 U4 Q% o, s0 ]/ 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. ) q' z! c0 D- E8 e ' w6 U: i' o9 L& q3 XGonorrhoea 3 P# q2 E4 D0 V! L) r/ t) r$ ?3 `- b
Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers.; q3 i Y3 b; u5 F( x
( W8 M0 r( S ]) y6 z7 b6 k: OA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years. ' K" Z- r: q% [- _' y8 M) K) n 7 H5 m4 v! O& U5 cShe turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. 4 F4 Y9 N/ `; ]' T- ^; {# `7 Z5 w 1 e" c. `( x- a: V" T! F- G"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?"- J# ]* |' q- L2 j; a4 g/ U2 L
7 H# n2 g% \# l! j$ |( G1 iHer 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.5 Z" v3 k) H' w2 i# ?1 [
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Each day would be 15 hours long." D# u- M7 D* g
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"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. / h# b0 G: `; E0 S4 I* z9 b& Z5 g3 |+ H! z. y8 }7 `
"You get used to it," she smiled. 3 x* z) k* q! m! C( o# Y" p, i7 X+ y( {+ i6 p
"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?"+ [7 v/ b) }& o% Y6 u1 c
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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."; o* r4 w- T8 H! X6 u) ^) }* ~
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There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. ' i1 }2 K( ^3 Y 3 `) V/ ^6 J( Y L. Y( VExpensive lawsuits$ e+ H2 r, M* ?
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In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. ' G% Y+ F; ^! x7 ^' ? D6 b. v3 h% U; w N5 b1 F- {4 C
A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it.+ U H) }' y0 n# Q% T9 u. a/ X
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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. : A$ D) B9 u) M" o ! j) @% j) J4 C% I3 TNow, 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.5 V5 B6 t2 g. c' e: e
+ z4 H, `5 D1 `! W1 o& g& C% l"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?" ' Q7 `& k5 h. D3 u% |9 w& r+ [/ Q$ l& {3 _- h
I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment. ! k6 P9 B8 h: {. O% a) a f+ S/ a, a% U2 F" l
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?* r! l: @/ T' A5 p t) Z
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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. 2 h$ D, a; N. h o9 q$ D4 e4 r / m9 A/ s) U( SIt 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 {+ G0 a, i( H' ~6 { h 4 ~8 Y0 c. b5 q' gA number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them. / A4 P- _8 D1 o% _* K 9 a/ u% M$ z. Z' S! O; z yThe producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants.6 E6 `( t' ?9 k
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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. & D# c% ~) T# q0 g* d2 v& }& z2 i! B1 L5 n# A" D/ w2 \
I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain.( ^5 {/ |7 ~* |, N# N6 c! x
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' e4 b4 Q# t3 c* d ) V7 ~- ~7 e* y8 g5 u8 LCalls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004