: E' ^6 T" M8 q4 }- S; [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?$ ], d- K+ s. S1 J# H
$ y, U Y& s- y2 b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。 - o$ g Q- ?: g+ z# K+ N5 k3 w9 U1 g
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。- e+ O+ J( {, f, A) ^
% Y+ |9 p9 _% z. K" j2 ]一些演员私下告诉我,他们盼着立法赶快生效。 " I' a) u @2 u) ^$ w- w3 r / v% x5 U( p6 R& X+ d6 J7 S' 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。. L# J" d8 q" _# |' ?$ n
3 X2 p: C/ J- G
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。 9 ~; l, J {" ~* l- p4 @' R# g9 Z9 K" {
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 W' ?. J: r
9 a+ K- z+ `& c& n1 u
/ ]% W6 G/ p" E# k# M% M7 `
Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles 7 e7 E3 |9 g7 a. g" k1 Z 6 j6 U% c3 ]5 L" f0 j$ PCalifornia'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.$ w1 X0 M/ t( d9 T2 ~0 g8 g
* d% S- a2 L' X* r
Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.1 Q, K! f0 W5 }* g: j& r2 W
( m0 `0 O8 M: l5 tI had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things. $ @( D# p4 ~, K; }0 ~ M* z! I+ I/ y/ ?$ \
What I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect. ( A' `/ j3 ]3 o, \$ m& E0 e$ F5 z& h' H, u6 S
The porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga.* M/ ~9 f' [6 N0 R
" W/ f) Q' y" d& |4 FPerformers 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. 2 u4 i) v x$ ^/ {# B4 q7 I7 j- s# F0 N. J6 c7 N
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.2 x2 R; n5 Y3 {& T' _+ ^
* y% r$ {1 ?# }- V' E E3 t- p WOnly 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed. 3 R4 N' x* u$ r1 O! D+ N$ K* Y& w" [. b1 V% x7 z
Fantasy2 |4 L/ E- D$ ]0 a6 I9 O
6 }* t# b; }- i" R! dThe 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. 2 u+ s* z& J l+ B1 F* [ 6 n7 f0 h: s% N' i6 W/ s3 m8 jThe problem, increasingly, is revenue.7 z9 F: \0 p# B; y" V
: Q% T- C4 }/ ]: J _8 O* [1 T9 g7 P
Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch. ; v7 w1 F" D' T4 `5 O: P! q8 O l( O9 c& p' P* y
DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free.6 ~, i/ E% r9 u9 g
. s7 P$ A: q- l0 l& ]And the economic downturn does not help.6 Z* c6 b/ _2 |' e& R
' {+ t/ k2 k+ |* i1 V8 b D! h4 v
"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. 6 I! |+ S3 E5 j5 {9 K8 {# T4 C+ t, F, H$ j; `0 @& E
The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. " e4 n2 x5 R+ e # R7 L% b+ y+ [* K0 r2 q) ^For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms.9 c( _9 f5 b* x d
6 p" S( I0 w& Q5 ]
Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set. 3 O0 v& c B$ B: t8 u* @7 t W/ Q6 Z3 |; B2 O) x; N
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. & {! v7 X2 D) V5 l# y; L* n 5 H1 ^% I' V; f( E$ q0 b4 H% hGonorrhoea. J9 u% q7 p8 s( k' q8 m
4 V+ T1 [) w; T, a, fBack on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. ( @7 F7 p0 I0 M * d; @/ y4 `2 `/ }2 C2 vA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years. * v- P2 i' m+ b: Y c& ]1 w- s2 m 9 L: T$ ^ L+ F% JShe turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. ~% \% u9 x+ @3 v$ i# H F0 U' Y f7 a
"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?": V$ \; x% h; F" E
3 r# [% A& ?% B: aHer 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." m4 G% ]- s' z3 Q
6 ^5 {) a" ]9 t6 ~$ ~2 DEach day would be 15 hours long. 5 W* k& S! h' `# _2 f4 _$ G; R+ W' u$ \
"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. / s6 Q; L9 q# r) F 7 K( U& k T# H5 ], T# S* E"You get used to it," she smiled., v# T. [; F) G7 p" `( w( h9 X
; r& [6 m+ E. {( ^& c! o
"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" 1 j4 _! W7 g$ r7 D 9 w( m" H( p# i& Z, J"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." 4 i5 Y4 ]6 K" x6 K * [' j/ U* G$ v% I: L6 lThere was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided.* Y. Z1 O ]+ X+ |3 X* b* @/ e% H8 {8 c
1 D/ ~" Z `0 q" k7 r7 [
Expensive lawsuits0 O3 `3 {8 i! w- _5 C; H7 Z
5 L7 J R e; r1 X3 w( nIn fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. 5 f, F% x, y* j9 q' D7 N' I # I$ \$ g' w0 c- Q" x- q2 NA combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it.: a N T8 \* `8 |
, m8 x# O& N5 ?0 t6 M! _9 @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. $ ], @7 F4 x5 W' G8 c8 |- r" r4 E6 v5 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. . u; j% a8 q( ~5 N2 e6 h; |! F
"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?" h' M& i- i5 A' d& M
/ t$ }1 `2 \5 p0 m; J2 E( G9 K
I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment.( O! |% K# W) I: }$ S
+ ]2 `4 L4 M8 n& ?$ c5 }
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? $ T& M- A. f+ \/ _9 }+ @: @( d & @" k9 \2 c/ O2 V' CThe authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection., m5 w$ A/ ]; `- f) a0 s
6 {9 I2 z7 g) k; [9 p/ e8 Y Y8 n" ]
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. % a8 _+ ~( R% w- A1 a* H2 K$ t
A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them." J- z' F& b: O9 ]* v* x2 g
, A$ i' x4 t/ k* e5 G$ aThe producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants.) Z( x. y4 v \: f
0 w2 ?2 k" R, g. n- mThat view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene. 3 J7 _! k& K5 K8 F6 o: f W3 @7 X. s- P$ k |0 A# s
I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain.2 k, D( N1 _: R r3 P5 w1 e( u
, [8 a6 Y9 N! [$ Q, X# B' v* r- C 2 R; S0 N0 k& t. [* y3 d8 Y7 W4 K7 g0 J& Q& `3 w 0 _: [8 R3 Q: q0 _' T, S) S
Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004