5 n* u1 I( i9 [, y3 \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。! r$ b! S' q Z* G8 D
! b$ P) o/ M/ p, I$ m9 v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。 , g3 o4 d' b5 S" ~% P! o# j' I2 a" z4 d
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……./ O, Y, ^2 F) m4 @4 K& B- V% l
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Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles 9 M7 z3 G6 M5 Q' |6 ?& ~, m% w
" e5 f5 H4 F3 S7 q) D4 X# iCalifornia'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.. @0 B' t4 N: j5 Q# |& h6 @+ F
0 w0 j4 J, L$ T+ YLight drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.4 L! o6 g% S8 |2 C C! O+ y0 `
: z$ s" X$ `" WI had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things. : J3 p6 m* O, b! ~% X6 i( p6 }( Q# J9 {1 {5 ^6 c, \
What I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect. ) q5 i& P7 t3 ~! q% N/ [) p7 ^8 Z' }# y. ~& b+ P/ h
The porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga. 7 f( i. W- V' _; |1 ?7 m" V9 ?' ]# j* W2 j
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.; Y! N- s2 Q3 y
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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. 1 i1 ?8 U" U: j4 W0 h' T; k % w* u t) H4 u0 D8 h( \* OOnly 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed. ) f, I& C8 e7 b2 }3 X( d 7 _9 X6 k! i6 A1 l+ ?' {6 o1 oFantasy2 _" M! r3 l: O) K4 Z7 o, m5 C
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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. ( p! [% R; V8 C( t% C; \6 M! I- D" a3 B; D
The problem, increasingly, is revenue." c% P+ V+ ?' T0 U" k
5 n% H; Y" G W$ o( g. C y) JLike the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch. - t9 n% `* D- I " s) {& r. b7 D! Z) jDVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free. . Q: u7 j3 `9 o) {+ C \2 |6 k- D9 G! i
And the economic downturn does not help. + s+ l" i! h+ T1 z! X2 r2 E# ^$ |- d 7 l0 W7 A' U( D# K' [4 ]; C( V"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. % ^; t/ @( e7 D& W+ h- u& `3 G7 d' f, i
The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations.) l& y' w2 V, t: b8 X, S3 x" Z
/ D& C7 J/ ^/ W9 o OFor years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms. 7 J% S+ J8 o+ H7 a+ y ) l6 [3 Y8 j: c/ ?Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set.2 R+ H8 [! `0 o3 ^6 ~
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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.0 E8 { Z) F) J3 W$ q* i3 J3 j
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Gonorrhoea: s. E% Q/ d4 S. U5 Y) |
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Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. \' u* \% J3 K" }/ ?% j$ s5 S, c; E( c) C; N- ^; ?
A college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years./ S- `/ c% [" i7 _- t
. V6 l! C0 o' v kShe turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. D$ U* g* _& p) O% ]
1 f/ p5 J6 D$ I% b"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" 7 k. e0 D, F/ K- n8 @$ G: I/ u+ g" E4 P) E
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. & p- m. f8 S2 Q1 ~. [7 \; y* ^# i1 b3 e4 e3 B! h( E ~) S
Each day would be 15 hours long.1 l: `" ]6 A3 t* M) F7 v* E2 a
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"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested.$ t" f3 W8 ]- J# a# W/ q! c+ {+ i, P
3 j) I* R# I [' X6 Z- u. X( `"You get used to it," she smiled. 7 ^# v/ M6 ^6 ]) E' e, @8 V5 V$ r" P: ~7 r% f& Q" L
"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" $ P4 R' W7 Y1 y+ w/ }0 b% { , n* K! G8 |5 O U"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 x U" B g* t6 D c# ^( O, R N+ H$ {4 v
There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. ( ^3 y+ U# v' x+ d% `; w 6 u6 x' C/ N3 c# {) l6 q; }Expensive lawsuits) b* {9 }* m& m7 L; D
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In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business.* [7 G. `0 k- Z; u1 X4 u
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A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it. ) l$ d" V7 W) h+ c ; E' Y. n, I+ ~8 E ?1 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.8 t8 N! a6 ]; }6 ]" b7 y" n$ s# W
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Now, 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.8 }: p3 k% m0 D' h
" n5 b$ i2 z" A"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?" & o- B2 j% R1 {. r4 n1 C 1 G4 R" O; s0 pI struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment.0 l- I X* a( Y! g
# S3 Q3 n+ P* JBut 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? ' m0 N% O. J$ g& {6 j; l' m' x7 D$ h1 C* ~+ M8 W1 `& }
The authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection. % j c/ \1 r* R m0 V) ~6 b$ {' X8 H/ y# `; O7 Z; D
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. 9 F: c( D9 y: `6 f& r. c& X: [, B' u; P, B
A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them. ; E) h7 y8 q- F5 [1 i# p4 Q$ @; b* @0 [; O" d+ N" W# g4 G
The producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants. . w- n4 Z, ~) T / \$ B- T8 v% ]! |That view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene. 1 r9 a" A# {1 [! d/ O) I$ c) z; l" R4 c
I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. 7 g/ S2 o7 y; F0 J; Q" d# }4 J8 H( y0 Q1 H! m; a* Y4 w9 G ' x' P/ Z/ O( x- X# {1 @6 b/ E
! w% \! A) K) _" u# A3 ? # S) v. }- i' C5 k- `Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004