) c: V- E8 l. s# {1 g. N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？ , U: }7 e3 Z4 b6 a" T9 _, ]. o7 }4 g9 C6 O6 O* `& B5 D
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。 $ @% d4 z. e9 @4 x0 |) F( O8 q8 b) I$ G. T. |) b
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。6 a1 T! x" i, A: W
8 e0 f/ t G' P. M6 Y% d3 }; L一些演员私下告诉我，他们盼着立法赶快生效。 `1 M2 }+ T0 Z; z$ \, O ) O+ C) d) R, D+ o: F& o9 p8 Y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。 w9 m+ M" x" e 8 k; R3 P3 ~+ r, w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。 , W K3 T. o: x: c& a/ W- s0 W. z' y0 K$ o8 x; 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…….! w8 @8 _6 W/ o, Y. X8 W' [9 f4 |% [$ t0 K
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' q2 P; A6 W/ Y' @6 y" S( x# vCalifornian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles - s! ]! H1 h& s P0 f* m7 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. E- @5 ]% O% t) O5 _
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Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.' V- H0 L4 w" W# a( O
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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.0 U) L+ J+ n8 r# I# o
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What I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect.4 t4 R6 D9 C- Z4 M- S" {* J' R
7 A- O2 B" Q' h: z/ c. Z! WThe porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga. 7 r L) X$ v; B, x- _9 K3 ^& O D5 v& |+ l2 V" wPerformers 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. 0 L% `/ u7 O1 n- q# D % N! N" b4 h/ |1 t8 Y, bThis 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. 6 T2 C" z9 s' W1 k. i $ H7 ]1 N( [) R% p, }) D. Y" T* aOnly 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed. " b# L7 K. U4 `: J, P% C$ U7 a + n$ g H9 K. k, r+ S$ l. jFantasy: @! J$ Q# r: |2 Q# S5 M
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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.3 O, x* {6 `$ t. D& u9 w' b
# V4 M5 Q* V1 u- wThe problem, increasingly, is revenue. - D. [3 n4 Y. X% C4 z/ g2 D7 C; V0 P % ]; a0 K- n8 ~$ |' D4 Y+ d( qLike the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch. 3 X8 W l5 [3 m8 m5 G1 f* S$ B/ H' F5 G' k; k+ q
DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free. 7 ]% |3 `' b% D+ Y6 w9 {# Z" S5 ~1 i2 w$ h; d. u6 t3 E7 F3 e7 A) R
And the economic downturn does not help.- b8 _# l* @6 p# h4 r: D+ }& B
, l" Y$ r/ n4 K# @8 _3 q% ~9 @"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. / c. S2 z1 c7 b' [" y8 \' l# [: k- L4 C. ?* L
The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations.: @% H$ ~ H5 c- D/ N! L+ M
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For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms. # f# h- @0 H# H" I- t) s) O. F( n5 p4 {( d
Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set.- @7 y0 B; o! H: ?, k4 J8 {3 i! [
5 }2 V2 c3 E$ `/ y1 H% T/ `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. B8 i5 d. Y' b. I/ x! f
+ W) }5 r/ T/ w) z4 `% h9 @Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers.5 Z- [( ]5 k% q9 v# b
8 h7 u. {5 u V' U7 |0 D1 HA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years. . E- h# X6 b* G5 S* {8 {. F$ t7 q5 [. V
She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure.5 r. ^& i5 r, D3 w
, \( k9 |( Y9 r3 l) {"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" 4 `2 T7 u: l2 S6 i7 G7 B- P1 [" W+ N% l
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, b" V% K- {" U; x
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Each day would be 15 hours long. 9 C% z- Y, q s$ @% H& R0 {" U. M& y% D1 @; U" J/ m
"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested.1 a1 z' L+ Z" g
. |) a; m+ @6 T6 {% X& G"You get used to it," she smiled. " ~ P, r- O5 j0 k/ R. g3 M* x) F& v , F) ^1 L- T; g" @"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?"/ O9 @1 J% @9 S n6 F. z0 h+ _) l6 _9 T
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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." 5 N/ _9 B9 g% A% _4 Z1 {+ Y i " g0 X- z0 }0 A1 k" p! k v1 SThere was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided.; }8 L8 E' z$ n, z1 e
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Expensive lawsuits 8 j& `) v3 W! r5 h 4 M" L4 G- k+ lIn fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. $ j# {1 s% S6 c1 Z8 E1 o" O $ A) I1 o" i7 r J" dA combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it. ' x) l) R$ n/ _% Y) P2 C0 `/ b C
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. 5 x" W) L. V( m$ | ' ^) ?$ o4 W& b, z; h; ~$ w2 ?. fNow, 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. 7 `/ f3 s, _/ _) W+ h , q3 x! m( C, C, O0 m p7 R"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?"% r, M# U8 g* ]& |- I* D
6 @0 Z& t3 z3 F9 N; j1 OI struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment. * n; }6 n/ W9 B0 E/ B' m 8 f+ A8 L! y7 f: _" o" ]# b( 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? * V5 w1 s9 Q( A$ D7 i* P% ] 0 T7 k3 k! j$ S" nThe authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection.: H) C! U p- L) @# _
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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.! F& p8 e+ u( b
! c5 E. c# E$ U1 aA number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them. ' N3 ~, H' J; [! r5 N8 u7 w! G5 a8 |' u! c4 k1 M! K; u* D/ j
The producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants.9 r5 z2 b0 J/ @
8 a- b8 z, b5 vThat view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene.7 h7 a5 V6 n9 b( [( {7 B+ G
0 y W5 j7 _0 I+ C/ y* cI decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain.$ e3 u2 [- L/ o8 X1 Z) {
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Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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