9 Q2 T9 [6 Q" b' X我说,“你一定很累吧”?她微笑着回答说,“习惯了”。 + U& j+ P! J) R3 ~" t7 r ! E' I- ]5 X. I我接着问,“那么,健康风险呢?你经常被感染吗”? ! P* @- }3 c) y, `9 d4 @7 ?" s7 e: v8 m+ i! T* c0 z: w7 Q/ Z
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。”) ^! k0 o; t/ [9 p" h5 F& w E) L& Y) S
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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。1 G) }* _, v z- t
' g$ M$ q& ~1 {7 q1980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。& L6 ~$ j* X8 k. b
不戴安全套的权利 3 X3 S& R' Q2 Q7 `( R* C6 A( ^/ C1 A! W7 B, b
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。 2 c4 G V- A/ @# k! Y 1 h! k3 N( n( G% v- | d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”?1 \4 h3 h" ^2 ?6 K! n
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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。 . i9 m% ~* |( d* V8 E' m8 M: t' p5 o
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? / _0 n t3 _ _, x/ A& u* ]4 K+ g( K" p! 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。 + P1 e3 ^; G* ?* K3 q |: i# i" y, w
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。 4 b$ k5 ]# Y6 _+ P7 j r$ Y J6 x/ S9 K! J' z+ G
一些演员私下告诉我,他们盼着立法赶快生效。 0 L! v$ x) C7 v! O8 y7 | d" ~; F4 H; }8 W: B7 M
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。* N9 d3 x# R c9 R' |; J
( G2 b3 t. f8 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。7 P4 y' B2 O- s
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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……. 7 w @6 Z& I C; w' k3 y9 f/ D( e q1 Y' V( ~
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Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles 2 L% ]3 r7 x+ [' i7 F
- Q c2 M5 @* H6 E) m7 T! ]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- ^. m9 |- ^2 p; E& M. b/ c
) d) F- L$ `# @7 k, ?Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles. & W2 i9 F8 `* G5 O* x; G7 g6 k: D$ F5 i5 S2 Z
I had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things.8 t- a W& c/ e4 j
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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. 9 R% S$ @: Y7 f$ B2 u( ]3 u) x% h" |1 D m% X
The porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga. . ?6 F! r. m2 S) S5 b" |6 Q7 w' \5 [; p: B* `
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. ( X' y! i' m0 ^& i* K) o8 \5 c% i% {! U8 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./ x: ^+ _# O* E0 `6 J
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Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed. * g5 X$ H: L/ n: G/ W% L9 c & n9 d1 q# |' ]: rFantasy 9 h- Z: D X# i( ^' J5 R0 `, j& B. W: d7 |
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. & Z: {4 l" `3 y5 h7 o9 u ' q5 n; S% _5 |$ H2 X3 V* c$ U) KThe problem, increasingly, is revenue. 9 i7 q4 w: C. U+ }) ^) |+ X4 e/ ]( Z6 E
Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch. : @, W! i0 h. U5 v3 A3 j0 `; J2 g$ i8 S- L6 J
DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free.* y. K; o8 q( C8 h! j& v/ Y F
# D; A$ b; M6 }; i2 Y3 [And the economic downturn does not help.; d# @( x7 ~9 x. A2 Z2 ^# J' z4 o
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"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully.% ?8 r5 n, V7 @+ x8 a, R% t
" V# a4 C5 k4 UThe economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. ; i2 l9 ~- f3 O, g . c7 I1 ]& s# m4 J, `; _For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms. 2 @8 t" o, @( S* _" c ; N- t& S6 q1 \0 QHealth scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set.. Q! ^- s3 Z& [- A9 k& {. T
; d1 u' n# ?5 T5 }8 M3 ]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.; c2 M. U% u5 u- o4 ?5 D
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Gonorrhoea" T# j; ]+ c8 v) {/ N
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Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. 9 i3 G' ~+ ^7 j& k* a5 W" Y# b$ u [- x$ m0 T) t& [; D- X9 w
A college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years.9 K9 {7 v6 l: y8 z3 _4 {+ q
2 r1 E$ v$ |+ p0 o' f2 tShe turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. 6 c$ i6 o! _! D, N4 e; d5 _( D( W9 f, Q. D
"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" 5 t5 v0 L3 F0 `: W6 X; x. U6 u4 | # E4 q, @. }9 C$ ~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. / Q4 N& b% Q/ |4 ]+ r% k; m4 D, j# y7 W
Each day would be 15 hours long. 7 H( @* T+ F/ _. x; Y6 Z/ r : @- z ], n' C l! Z! i"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested.; O' ]5 z$ T d% K9 K" b, w
4 ]" K }; U' O4 V! M* r"You get used to it," she smiled. ) }5 n# y7 i! _. } % q+ N5 ]& `1 o) q! O/ [7 W4 l"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" V+ o- W8 G* \9 r1 F1 ?) v! o5 d9 ?" A, t% Z8 [4 k
"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." . U& x: W( W! W5 o K1 L) l* H* p
There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. . e2 V# w% U% ^& Y% T+ f " ]- w4 w) k. Y$ s4 v/ C4 wExpensive lawsuits- v; B, t, g" p
! J s1 G A- M P# u! rIn fact there was something very Californian about the entire business.$ e2 t" g1 N3 {
3 z4 j2 h* p! g! qA combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it. , P' l- Q% G0 w( S6 K1 ?) K3 S6 s6 u! W9 h% {/ M
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.+ m/ L7 W, l9 Z) r. l/ Q
3 {0 d) X3 X W. h. k4 V! x# XNow, 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. ' y/ G1 D6 q& t4 I% s, u- r! C9 T5 T0 ?. g* l
"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?"' _# u+ n, k- G9 p5 P
8 p0 |) ]: o. RI struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment.5 X( ~$ V R6 `& d
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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? 4 a3 U! b5 I e$ o- W/ b, |9 f9 f$ q: }8 y
The authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection.1 p# |( A6 ~; Y: c1 j
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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.) K5 K8 _' R, R/ b! ~
# J' `/ c' |' z& U) t9 V6 NA number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them. ' z& V0 N% m# A9 l( R+ D - p- a% D Q; v: |( NThe producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants.7 \4 }. b7 x. y( m! ?6 M& `, T4 @
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That view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene. . H( e0 {- p. V& l6 F' Z0 d4 L' k! v: A* [; Q2 [" ^* Y( k
I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. * u7 p+ E9 U+ h& f% [. O# w. M& w% w; R, l2 g: ~) j $ ^+ M9 Z0 J" m6 t
" `5 b8 f( j( r- z \! E9 D0 {! { " f# ?' N; }; ~% ~1 H% W& h. v8 XCalls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004