2 F$ Y3 u D; G; T1980年代,官司一直打到高等法院,色情电影在加州才得到了合法化的地位,正式与普通意义上的嫖娼卖淫划清了界限。) P+ |) U6 z: d6 G, P
不戴安全套的权利 6 W/ p: l5 h6 \; c7 R1 B9 D. z
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。 1 k6 r2 H [+ M9 k8 C) s # ?* ], S* x1 O G- J$ u& D6 A- P* z+ {: P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”? ! [# s) s: }! g5 V- J* T' A7 b, I. _; h+ K6 ]- a1 ^
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。 # P- L) S/ I6 ?% \0 s . Y# |1 z2 Y& @- C3 N4 M$ Z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?" o. M( R. u, @% S% j5 a8 {
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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。0 P! H8 x6 l5 |- X+ H" z- l; u
. f# `- X& e% |) Y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。 ! `) |# E7 D) n3 A) r 1 c- _/ G% [: Q7 X% y4 I" _一些演员私下告诉我,他们盼着立法赶快生效。2 L2 h+ l( h `$ [6 E5 u
. x; f5 ^9 } ?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。 2 N4 e/ v' p! ]2 n9 @ n3 v- i5 x: a. y h+ ~
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。 / i N6 v M% {" Q4 \$ C- `$ R) } $ H7 G' ~* ^$ n2 j; W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…….9 U7 A+ u+ e) m+ @ H
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Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles $ J: G" H) c9 n& F
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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. } l6 t9 i; x0 D 6 N3 M6 p# E& C! o+ @Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles. 4 c7 X% T, F k0 L% }/ ]. L ^& S8 Z, f# M) i
I had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things. # K! U# x5 u& p4 q; \$ M/ C% [/ R" E; R# {2 t& e: G3 o
What I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect.& t! L8 V3 O# x( c; U1 N
: \1 Z% q/ D+ ^The porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga. / X! E, J3 _! c6 k1 \ _3 p1 G2 U: a( Q+ L0 h2 d
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./ d. N0 q5 \3 @* p7 ~! r
: T) @5 i% g' z! U5 E2 @8 y5 T( L0 _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.8 d6 E7 b0 K( ]: Y) C
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Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed.! P* r( g# b8 g% Q% ?9 Z
) x Q# w/ y4 C4 wFantasy # a4 H A K* G, @% {3 s( }. V/ @& G$ j 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.6 J4 V) E9 g. g* |% G: K
5 i; e. `! L; L: Z9 |) L7 o) V2 GThe problem, increasingly, is revenue.# l' e% A) r! h% H4 z
0 T4 Z2 V- L9 eLike the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch. : X7 z: Z$ M# u- S" s( j l l- e 8 A6 \0 @" k1 s5 x7 @DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free. , c: J2 M/ [; n% W7 M4 Y+ z) G 5 V) o; Y* `8 e4 }$ Q; |; E/ p+ V& }And the economic downturn does not help. ) t* k; _) v7 H6 y H3 N * s, `! m% j7 f2 M"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. 6 _; G9 R. S/ T, k8 | : X- F4 N+ Q1 N8 J0 m/ O7 p- LThe economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. % D/ |8 c( n @( _# b3 r& J6 d6 _ * c) ~7 M% Z6 Y7 `6 AFor years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms.! Y8 Q7 N2 J, e
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Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set.& {* F) l( Q: Q) R& u3 t
( Q# C5 ^! P! B% l! RBut the industry says wearing condoms on-screen is a turn-off. The public do not want it, it will kill the fantasy, they say. # h4 i" ~/ |- H3 C! t/ a % d2 @8 m9 `! RGonorrhoea: |* w1 K' ~; B# A5 {) `
6 ?$ b- v" ]6 |1 j0 yBack on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. $ a$ D1 Y) B! `( z3 j& y& I( Z & H' U+ m7 r: q0 w2 zA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years. # X9 J' I0 _1 [" R* U" D/ G+ L 1 d; R9 g" m9 L" ]She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. # r: l2 ]7 U: B5 g" B y2 a 3 R s/ I% k- f" \"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?"4 G! ], \* y1 J% {, @0 b
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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. 8 t- Q- u3 G0 L3 p: R- ]' { 4 o5 K% ?& o( d* Y1 f' D8 j/ nEach day would be 15 hours long. * j7 B# g% e/ f4 y t& C" ~2 D* U; O! d! X2 L# q
"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. ' @9 W" I7 F" w' E7 ?- |* g( X# Z, k( j7 I. p% e
"You get used to it," she smiled.6 F4 {6 e( l/ H
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"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?"3 O( t/ t( e* S G% b5 P
& ?1 U& | m1 W& U0 e! i, g"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."5 ^! X9 e4 p5 M
; ?& R* S/ _, I& V1 z* vThere was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided.0 y% a& @. n% V) j% I& s
7 K9 l( z7 i+ X2 m$ ZExpensive lawsuits * j8 P6 T) \8 | 3 I2 Z& V* \2 k$ C( b& C. tIn fact there was something very Californian about the entire business.. o& X5 i3 R; l4 W& A
0 _& C% f; l* @; W4 Z- X% g+ d h, dA combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it. U S3 B; r" X8 m* R9 S + S. C3 a1 a1 c' T: \5 zIt 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. 7 g) Q- K0 ]/ ~3 C+ I5 l 7 f" i% N% d3 {! uNow, 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 `* V- P6 o3 T2 H
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"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?" & D. }- t8 h) j* h) C( @ V; r ; @" d! ] F% u( ^+ qI struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment. 9 g( h* E! {3 `* F9 Z4 d8 F1 f! C & r* f# `5 s/ s* Y0 B @; Z" CBut 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? ! a9 p B! x# g, }: i$ \9 D # P* x' O/ y4 M. C) x9 q5 TThe authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection. 7 n; {, W4 t; ^8 b5 g2 I( R7 q8 _ . |8 D( C# z1 P% f- q, B' @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.( u2 z1 I$ w. r z' P" V) _# z z
- R G1 f2 X5 i& oA number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them. * d2 S* K% }4 r% G: ^/ h- e 4 b6 _3 ~3 v6 l; m: |The producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants. # x6 u. A+ z) S% ] " d9 S' R$ Z: C, k$ Q! O. ]That view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene. # ]9 E- |/ ~2 A2 \9 |: v, x4 \$ ?7 i+ v7 K% t1 C
I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain.- k% ?6 `: K& r- H. t! s- S
7 b% b E8 W( \' n% p5 R # p$ d+ H% n2 q3 C$ _9 | 6 N& V$ ~& C" u$ F; U + J1 g& _* T G& V2 o7 i4 GCalls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004