0 k& G7 R1 s$ g" c一些演员私下告诉我，他们盼着立法赶快生效。 5 M$ p4 f0 `7 K1 W. P7 ^+ m 9 d% @; B7 `. l3 Y) U( }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。 1 r. e4 b. w( }' z$ s$ n+ k# |2 l9 o- y s8 p$ d' i7 [$ J
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。' y. I9 q8 ?! t7 A2 v! o" e: G
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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……. 6 a/ @3 N V- ]2 J6 C" \ ]8 v% s% ]/ @' w. N& v/ M( f+ m5 `
Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles # k& I T) F& m; i; y+ V' @5 c4 ]# B/ ^' v. p. 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. ( d- R9 u( Q9 P3 O2 k* @6 e0 k& a. ~* V( k+ E
Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.7 k8 e& b9 x2 f } w0 |1 b. 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. * W3 T: R/ S" E) e) a" z8 @6 Y# \$ v. R* Q
What I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect. 6 r6 J& q; O s) e2 t" g7 B' o2 h; i8 Y2 N6 }- y% F* H; H
The porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga. 8 r4 O8 U! V s+ {# C0 U; K* Q& D+ F ! l% F( K# z+ D5 _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. 3 R9 c% e0 E; n- O7 P# C1 {7 f: r, E W% J$ A
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 A" F8 P' t) n5 x6 W o
9 X2 {" O- u/ J- T+ iOnly 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed.8 x9 ?/ J, }; R) ?6 N5 d
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Fantasy " V! | W C* Y% ~3 a" F. Y7 u# B" R+ \0 d
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. h) V! J9 G* @3 |: J8 @ 3 Y- t* ^& d) P; XThe problem, increasingly, is revenue.; y7 j: o2 a7 I1 |* y" c% ?
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Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch.+ e( E: |: v) c- {
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DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free.' _& R/ C* e: p& v0 z1 m
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And the economic downturn does not help. ; ^& w$ d5 Z M8 r6 U4 d2 a, d 8 `2 C4 x! }7 x. s' h"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. & M/ R. O# Y" Y. B2 I- \/ d, m3 |& v! K f3 B/ k( n
The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations.0 v: Z% d2 D- V5 c7 Q0 x' ]
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For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms.& L, w. ~) e6 W2 W, _" v
* R) h& q5 c, R: O1 ?. `Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set.3 @( B3 a _* n
8 ~- r( ~& |! Y7 P1 W* r1 {# O# lBut the industry says wearing condoms on-screen is a turn-off. The public do not want it, it will kill the fantasy, they say.+ O$ q! a0 z( b# {+ |1 b6 R
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Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. 1 T% t9 Y f0 Y# t# s) \ 7 N( |! f) Q, z3 nA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years. 5 K' B! R p( N5 F" }7 X+ | . I `/ J# B2 T ]( zShe turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure.2 S! i- | r, G% f0 T4 J4 Q
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"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" 0 @0 v* ]: Z1 P; N) G+ }9 G1 Q, s8 S" s$ g
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.& }5 e7 h. J: g' ^
: R" x1 {. o1 a- J% {; `Each day would be 15 hours long. 5 W b4 h7 g: t: U$ |6 v3 }4 G7 U8 U2 w( f2 o; s: k
"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested.2 W8 ]/ H* C# b3 ?) Y L
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"You get used to it," she smiled.( U$ @$ H) o8 C( \ [9 o
* d( X2 c! i* N"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" ) H+ Z4 Z+ H9 M9 e4 H6 p/ g0 E' g. d: z# Y+ `% U( E
"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."9 S- H# c8 ^1 s9 g, _2 `
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There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. & |# M, a- d) W0 @0 F. ]3 H: y; z/ _1 S J, q9 k4 z# t9 s0 `2 Z
Expensive lawsuits4 t7 B E, w- \6 D
5 {" H& d. X: H& a% g3 S7 J6 s/ oIn fact there was something very Californian about the entire business.; \# D K0 z, J5 T; h
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A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it. % x8 t! `# K9 l9 \; r+ i) y0 S0 {: A' ]$ y; e7 Q. L
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. 4 B$ D5 T( Y8 X 1 c6 Y! \5 C7 F& 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. " y& l- E3 l0 |2 r3 k1 a 9 S9 z6 R- t+ _5 {. V"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?" " r4 |: h* F' S' |$ H & V0 ~6 q; v r$ V* J# zI struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment. ' E$ U/ X; p8 ?. B( S 6 a# p; x2 o, |& ]3 z: a$ rBut 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? : k8 \- X0 |4 ]5 P5 I D% X9 E3 V# n# a: O4 b; B) [0 _ _
The authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection.+ ~3 s% a& @4 p" V/ I: \
$ H" ]* T( f5 B1 h/ e1 CIt 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. % T$ s2 ], k9 f, D3 Q" X* z1 `( x2 x8 b: ~9 H2 o
A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them.5 j( j1 `! M, c/ }; `
8 m6 S9 H7 J4 R3 C; A" PThe producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants. : Q6 x! h, B0 \) g# u" L, B& k: w7 T/ g# \( p! A4 B3 r7 ~9 A, I0 k
That view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene. 9 b9 \6 o' A- ~' w$ \# O 9 F/ O. e! `, B/ hI decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. 1 @: T5 A, X8 u0 N( ]! T/ T8 v- t0 a & f, \7 H$ Y5 N. Y* Z' e& T ; l4 }+ E( f9 @1 ~8 C K' @, P
Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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