8 ?7 C' i: o r V+ c* v, T她说,“也就是染上过一两次衣原体,还有淋病,除此之外,没什么大不了的。我们每个月都体检,得了病,赶紧吃药,然后就又能回去上班了。没问题。” 3 x. o: X% ^( C5 o& Q8 A( `5 D' M$ R7 @1 P
我看,宝碧人很“加州”。进一步说,整个色情电影业都有点“很加州”的意思。有执著的热情、反叛的心态,还有一点点自由主义者反抗压力的顽强。/ }5 f5 S7 y/ r, z* ~# i: l
' x. `7 s9 G( U( T1 b1980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。 0 c7 w3 D: k A不戴安全套的权利 5 e0 t& B7 ~2 y' g 3 M8 N E# T- }* g) M0 ]8 n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。 7 h a2 F( k, X* G 4 W6 k) T. S7 m/ ]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”?- \! A/ D3 ^5 j# C! k
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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。6 S4 G: G* z5 b% z2 l
V/ h" I# z& n+ _: ?5 X1 @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? # }4 g; V3 E' o( A ' ~4 C. s( {) m* C. ~5 r! a% j6 v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。/ c6 S' r! H( s6 ?
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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。0 X! o& T' h) B i: K- [ m
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一些演员私下告诉我,他们盼着立法赶快生效。- b4 l4 t) E9 U d- m) I
8 ~' Y; j5 N4 a1 l" ^+ F# I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 a$ K! p( u: S @
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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。 7 @, w* P; ~$ t& B / j5 b) P! T0 {$ N" s& N8 _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 D# [4 ]" ~& }3 | - D+ ]8 T9 b; N( o; ~: b- q : z5 c) ^$ W6 Y' Q( u3 Y- x6 e) SCalifornian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles , [4 o" G8 |1 L! z/ p3 y. g: c7 L9 a: K1 Y+ l& s
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. ! y# ^6 I8 c- t% I 6 t2 S# f; T3 @Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.! G7 z, c6 R* [/ h% @& h
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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. ) c$ |2 \5 Y" \6 ]; ~) n* M+ s: z4 j: Q( B$ t1 s- J8 P; d7 D: ?
What I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect.) \0 V& w. `( k) Q
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The porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga.' V G5 f! Y5 }0 b
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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./ |, p& W( M! f. ^' f. E
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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. . c: o; H3 b4 t; V1 C, K2 D! P, z0 A5 v% Q# A4 y! u" Y
Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed.4 [8 P& A4 u+ r8 [0 L: g9 r
8 T; V: w. F# x+ l% z3 LFantasy 0 [4 _4 m: f ^8 N& O& h) d2 [) Q
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.. c! L, f W6 p# a
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The problem, increasingly, is revenue.' V5 [7 t: T! v. f1 F* `6 A% m
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Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch. , z+ ?$ y5 E6 |, }+ H$ A5 P5 Q* g& D p
DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free. * J i. M, z6 D# U6 K H ' |9 i, S! \4 c. n7 m/ Z' D: E7 z5 IAnd the economic downturn does not help.4 g7 N+ g! E( h' J7 e2 L
8 ], T: I- C1 M* @7 X4 V9 h5 y"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. " a7 s; [. R; y7 |* R, o; p7 R* `- o+ X$ C ~
The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. 6 h, g: u) |5 o0 x. i" p , {/ f2 e9 u5 u5 rFor years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms. 9 m6 P2 {9 ^6 N7 y3 Y( h8 Z! u ; v0 Q0 d, p8 v1 r1 @5 ^3 UHealth scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set. % z: @* i1 [' G) M) V% v: ?2 u% |1 W. z# K/ n5 i- _
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 L9 u1 }1 i7 z! F$ U: Z : C/ e& l Q+ I; t, R; w5 lGonorrhoea - L9 D0 X" D$ U& W5 B0 P2 d# g4 w s% b. C9 U3 A
Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers.) k, m: G3 p) X* {8 n% Z! M
- T, p" ~. d3 N2 h5 _* iA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years.- Z2 w$ m( h8 T' m a
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She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. ! { r- ^1 {5 N$ n2 o* ^! \ % _, y& K# H/ |5 n" K" Z3 o"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?"; S8 o6 O( ^8 J3 G. W: N+ G
8 `& y1 y( k5 d7 u' YHer 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. / r- {5 O, w% o4 J/ _$ U# ~$ d9 f
Each day would be 15 hours long.3 B3 O. j. x9 v' `) p2 D) G
+ g) a* v) O) B- f* Y- N"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. . W8 n8 o5 L7 V8 w2 s/ |5 v% V ]7 Q% D% H1 \4 ]2 \1 q
"You get used to it," she smiled.- C5 b1 E2 z4 ~ F' L# F0 n
0 `6 S$ [# w& C/ ^ l: l"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" + A( e$ |9 R2 J0 t% Z' C , s6 k b2 k/ W' ["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." 7 a9 Q2 e G% i, ~ 9 l' ?5 d5 Y2 o# v$ x7 ?+ ZThere was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided.1 O3 J' b! e# K0 n
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Expensive lawsuits# k3 Y5 Q3 X7 y& U
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In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business.4 z1 U( j$ S2 `- {
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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.% {8 g8 s, {! g. X; Q& c8 a$ z0 _
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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. ' F* U/ F$ n! D7 u5 G& w2 {0 c& f2 Q# K$ G! H: h9 u' {
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. 1 S, O* s5 q9 r/ e) f& K( `0 ?( e' `6 G$ W' o* x7 I
"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?"; z5 r# Q2 C' l8 c1 A
* k( e j9 z5 ]8 JI struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment. 3 r* l6 \* _! F+ t3 R0 ~0 n! f/ |: _' r9 X8 O. w
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? + M: N9 R% s1 Z7 @1 `9 H 1 @* I2 v2 r2 X: M$ S* i& s) N0 JThe authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection.0 H B3 s1 e" E' H5 E
. ?. c0 b( @; l. eIt 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.8 p; f- ]9 X! u) H7 V
* L: q4 k n4 h, f* M7 H+ b$ cA number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them. ! A3 ~: i( T8 M! S/ H ' I5 k, b8 J& ^; H4 w2 PThe producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants. . m5 D+ {! b5 Y# f 0 `* H* p: Y& \That view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene. ' e& d; w7 n5 U" y' ^% W# ?2 @( n, l+ d' Y, q
I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. 9 x. a: T+ T0 s1 @" c; [ {7 Z2 P, k2 U" c X, X1 Q0 @3 ~" T/ `) d' v
# l! e* X7 K7 k$ G0 m5 N5 U1 z( y 5 v" U# t+ r, B4 P( d0 RCalls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004