o9 {/ ]+ i& Y$ {) H' ?$ H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……. * L/ r6 B7 d. \+ M8 y; ? " g* Y- x) w8 K* V# d2 v6 j : l( _. t, _# z! F( ]) n& Q, ]Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles , K4 z2 x: L: n! S" l: G. L# S& P- b, M0 t A; Y% T% F9 v9 e
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.6 _6 u. l$ f# [" L) [ [0 Y
& e1 ^- D8 u! o& ]Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.+ P/ d3 j0 _0 _! V3 D
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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. % h0 y' r7 W8 m/ s $ t! d& V9 l6 g S1 kWhat I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect.9 f, p+ C3 I5 l" G- ~
% \5 ^' t' }: eThe porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga. + o* S' i& x6 e9 r. l/ a8 N/ ^% v / M9 J) S4 U1 z W1 oPerformers 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- ?# I. V4 H. l+ u . }( m1 i! X6 E5 dThis 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. ( O, C/ e: e0 ]# F6 Y$ f+ u' k" [$ Z1 o: ~3 C: S8 Z+ r* q0 r+ \
Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed." a3 f- i- L6 ?# d1 f
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Fantasy) \. m( y; K" D' Y* I! g+ \" O4 }# o
0 W$ J5 O3 U- V9 g$ I0 K0 lThe 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.: {8 W2 {! A3 h- z4 n! F! }
: J5 ~% B: E# ?' W2 P3 y! fThe problem, increasingly, is revenue. 1 O6 E9 [0 ~! J3 w5 M4 K% `# S, ~' S: a; K5 o) c3 e
Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch./ p+ b1 ^, L* H, _
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DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free. ; e1 f6 D. X8 M/ h) g1 E. Z0 `7 B0 s0 ?. n! N' l! n
And the economic downturn does not help.% Z; v! J1 e: Z4 ?
& Z1 r1 A8 T1 a3 U2 O( `" B: L"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. ) T( u* R/ n+ x/ `' }2 c7 d' [# |" z' b r
The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. t5 Y7 _- _( c* Q" r. g% x) ~1 c# y2 F3 m
For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms.$ H( Y7 f, ]; ^# ~2 u
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Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set. 4 W8 ^" ~, M( U5 g4 D7 L 3 F4 A7 w; g3 m3 HBut 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 q4 m1 V/ u6 K 3 q( v4 g$ {4 M o7 k% O! c( mGonorrhoea' x2 k. Q& l: y
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Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. 2 z4 j, f) q" J6 ^, D: r; m( V& N + x, B& v; V2 F( S/ P' s r& a% aA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years. . K/ h- N7 I7 h% j' v/ ^6 z- w2 f+ i0 \1 y0 D+ u' U
She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. ; n+ M$ T; U B8 @5 V4 m . t7 C, T' j% g: y1 U0 [* p; ]+ e3 r& C"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" . e5 _; C: y: m$ u% @8 Q1 o4 H) P; X: h, L$ b
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, }0 i+ T3 o $ m. r1 g/ U% B, N h) IEach day would be 15 hours long.4 O; `* [1 R9 T# E3 ^7 c7 P; L4 w
8 a( l: ]1 C& w' h. y" F"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested.* d6 w9 M4 n0 d) c& ^4 N# [# g
L: a a% ~0 Y0 f# L8 B6 M"You get used to it," she smiled.* \, @7 ]' W2 }8 ^) V' W' p2 x& ]
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"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?"/ K" K8 N# x8 {+ q' D
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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." * [( f O! J; D% t 3 d# S. }. Q* }! p2 @There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. - @6 R7 v( m+ T1 O1 s, i) a- N, E% ?+ u! c4 k j: ]
Expensive lawsuits4 w( j) n% S2 x% K, G
b5 ]! H' \8 M7 d# hIn fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. 8 K# m+ C; |& L: Q& u4 y* i8 c; m' t& K2 A: C
A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it. ! V7 q' r$ V0 s9 ^: v* \6 U8 H : C; d0 b0 a# g1 p! r: OIt 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.3 W% A- m; o( A5 e& V
1 J* @1 q# s# ]+ I. iNow, 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. - B; C. P# U+ k5 J$ B- b; _: C1 v- l( z$ C. l. I- M
"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?"5 v: i8 w6 }* p& {
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I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment.+ N- J7 T1 q) E3 C8 z' L: J. P
; a" H% {& r! NBut 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? " P- p$ u6 Z2 _7 O7 r4 t/ j s$ Y8 [! a0 e9 Q7 ]
The authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection.3 J. l5 c, [- v% L" R3 u
; X7 k: q. F& R9 y: Y6 Z! \% 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. k/ o% h" ]/ b( l( X; K( C9 y( o
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A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them.5 C) ~4 n1 q4 v G
: `" V+ a0 z2 J# Y7 ]The producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants. ) D$ D4 ~ Y, N. H% X2 t3 W) d8 d9 D
That view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene.( j/ }/ Q/ v2 N* X+ {1 ]
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I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. 1 {0 k" Y; G' q- Z/ ^6 \0 l & {8 T, G T! }- D/ }/ q/ |! {0 l, w2 p7 d* L( h4 I
# D2 \" g: l2 N, W$ L" L , Q5 i* q1 g0 G1 c9 m2 TCalls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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