2 ^, ]! {. w+ w- [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。 8 a% y1 A) A6 ]& Q9 O( Q 8 F. V9 W( F3 e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。 " z& A4 T* t# Q# F% w z6 M1 e% y8 c, w
一些演员私下告诉我,他们盼着立法赶快生效。( I) b/ r- d6 ^
# A. l1 M$ P6 E( U) u# K) ? R
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。 & ^- X1 V+ c0 ?8 U, {, M4 r! q7 R( B% v" [! @! i8 a
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。 , c C) R0 d) T6 |! N# K6 B% G0 ~& C3 f) Z' ?
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…….$ E+ \* O9 I7 w8 t8 `" c
! e5 p/ q' X" ?: \, n% U
/ \1 d: z4 F" \! }6 j' D
Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles 4 k) f( S% l( r( i* `+ }
% A' q6 u$ a) }4 ~; v
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. ) p* \2 F8 ^3 M* w [- S' K; u3 w- j& \* r
Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles." M! J$ S5 H3 I0 B6 N1 c' J
% ^# o% L( G K* V8 z! @* c. f+ ]
I had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things. % x5 I1 {6 ~7 H8 u" i1 q1 g' @7 ~7 _' g1 D( Z
What I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect. 7 k! y5 k* f; t1 D - [7 T- o) ]$ F0 D2 Y% P! J) PThe porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga.6 n* |0 a: D( d0 Q' Y" m
3 c7 n$ j0 A8 h' _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.& i" _" k9 e+ Y# J. ]; R
9 r/ w2 z( i! q* w4 v& 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. 9 K' |) k9 E+ K+ s/ b8 I5 a7 x2 G7 Q& t4 z# i1 E
Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed. 2 x! n- I6 ^+ [ ! V4 o6 w6 v6 b) |Fantasy* A# } j2 U* F; R( q
b6 N F9 ^9 `( D( m0 p& M2 y
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.7 \$ r6 z# p/ [ H& Q0 U1 H5 {
1 O- C& J, r4 h4 B9 j/ j: U$ Y5 A
The problem, increasingly, is revenue. " g* ~& N4 n; ]% a5 Y6 m% h( n& v3 y: y/ e% y. ]1 v% e* ~
Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch.0 ~& M. Q. o0 H+ G' }5 e4 `; x l% z
# o3 _" Y1 p- P* V% ZDVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free. % L1 q$ i$ T; ]/ V% q$ ^& [# [. v 8 q& j4 |6 i. T" p) p; C, J SAnd the economic downturn does not help. & n1 k1 s. T$ O4 ], \8 r2 X; _" p: l( W
"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. $ S/ R3 T+ m- a2 q: W$ o ( K, b k: B. A1 t1 T" G4 _9 N, @4 ^) NThe economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. ! V; F2 g! a7 n# z5 l. m+ t$ ~ 8 y7 G+ p. U/ l" ^For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms." @ F. p4 e' [* Y. l
& C5 y+ U; r9 V3 L0 h' r. k" GHealth scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set. R( n3 r/ I& F5 R( ^5 L2 j* M
2 I/ G; B' Y" B- t3 B9 j8 C2 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. 5 I' N8 M7 U6 t' m( m- ^1 ~, b4 _5 \* _/ b$ E! @ Q
Gonorrhoea+ n$ X/ G G2 b$ `3 r
1 J0 f: |. T7 P8 a5 V5 bBack on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. 3 l& Z* N/ t4 W) r# j1 I K- Z& r( _, P$ n' y' U
A college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years. 7 ]5 z9 F# W/ M) \5 j2 z6 G3 @3 C, N0 ^8 }' w" b7 w5 ?& V
She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure.7 D! o1 n/ D0 W1 P5 s
- \$ N4 Z6 D& b$ m0 q; r0 e
"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?"& ^5 O K9 k( C$ _
7 _, A" Y# v) O
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. $ w# f- z; T* y- J( P, I + A1 L) N' i2 p+ W" R% hEach day would be 15 hours long. * {, V- L: J$ M, r8 q# @' C8 {& w( }+ s: n# G* `1 |5 Z
"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. ' F) ?. n. R/ m! A3 m& U# e9 }. S9 F# U& n
"You get used to it," she smiled. 1 d- ]5 X% `: l$ l9 K( m 0 `- n/ b4 [' X- v6 ?"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" - y0 |0 {2 l, Y; i9 w, d) z! m6 n" X, o
"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." 1 E6 K& ^! C" ?7 G% ?( z/ a& @" P* k. V1 o& E$ ^/ R4 c
There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided.( Z3 T2 J5 V4 r7 Q
- }% W$ u6 Z; y/ {6 T2 Q
Expensive lawsuits( E H4 A+ i* x
. i8 X$ \! s. M: h! [
In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. 8 M9 i9 E* W' s6 H # W, e: L6 F- y: s/ u, ^' g9 gA combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it. 5 J5 U8 r/ c* g: x6 x' m' n1 b" u9 J; _! M, G
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 q o& B$ Q: }; k" ?1 M
% ~" K2 K# d- [8 i7 j. [3 ?% x- wNow, 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. ; ]9 k9 L) ?6 D+ O' B. F4 O3 `3 n: ~1 R- `; U3 d }3 s6 w/ g
"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?"1 z- f# E+ {1 i' A5 w8 Z
8 B: r- n0 ?# h- t( l4 q
I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment.2 d' U3 Z2 t, E1 N
* L# l' e2 b/ D& H
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? 9 p- x+ m7 V! c3 X* @$ A& h4 K 5 e& l$ {$ g) W7 _7 \0 p! \The authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection. " `- u+ ~- ~ \. f5 e $ P+ A @5 a8 @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. 9 U8 R- w5 o% e2 C. F& C ' I+ l% O4 G* p1 NA number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them.. ^+ o4 E: `6 H' B
0 @3 s& J- H x6 h2 ^The producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants. & |- {! m2 j- Z, f0 c5 G" n& v- @) C/ s! ^0 ~
That view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene.: t1 v$ N/ U9 `/ t: p( L7 H
" X$ W' N; `1 T7 Z
I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain.8 m: j6 ^ L# p9 c5 m& D, ~
6 I$ E3 o7 p e- r: O/ c: `2 f# ? % t7 _5 J7 A3 n$ k# H0 x 5 i- b4 j) _. q `! A 1 `. e% j9 B5 Q! T4 }; m3 jCalls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004