% p0 b6 v3 y1 p2 { g" S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。 0 F `% B; b6 M1 S+ K8 C. G * F4 V l7 } ]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…….( t! w9 v7 C" l |* V5 ^
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( d1 x, M9 i& j8 ]# ` I: TCalifornia'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. 4 o/ A6 W+ ^, }& ?4 M4 H( {/ S. A/ O8 N- P- s# U7 l1 y! C* j6 X6 `' |
Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles. : y3 A q9 X0 W; Y' m% v$ k5 g4 n1 T2 R$ h/ u4 g
I had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things. & i8 n* t+ \, K4 i( d- v4 l$ F7 X5 m% e4 m5 S1 x; c# S5 l
What I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect. , l& U( X1 X `' r( O6 @! q0 U U1 b0 {+ z% ~
The porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga.3 J5 _: V& Z k, b; j7 I
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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.# C' z! g: b9 Z% z
* A) p& H& a% d$ _3 d+ o% t7 k. qThis 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. e9 h' `& L% T' G 2 B& B5 Y9 \! u3 yOnly 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed.. u$ g: a- I; f' d+ M: S
( `- r6 B0 @% \: h+ vFantasy# c: j9 x: K7 I8 |5 e4 S- J
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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. ) R' y( f4 k8 u! [) Q& f% M; P0 r- I. x% b r9 }) s' ^4 L, _( w
The problem, increasingly, is revenue./ ]* N& ]. K6 R( R8 O
# n; u R, @3 g, ALike the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch.3 u6 |0 m7 ]" p' _! N$ h) S4 ^
W5 ^! Q! z& m* R: P0 E" _DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free.' V: `. ^% k; Z3 l& O
& U5 a4 Q* L0 w* X5 |( VAnd the economic downturn does not help. 1 S3 h8 M' E; b' }# a6 ^ ' _* n+ W5 n. V' G* G2 X- v"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. @ Q, W( P2 j& [/ u8 T8 N6 a6 \; v, p8 M6 o3 C
The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations.4 p- V+ M6 A0 ?& s! B2 e
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For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms.: i9 `% X8 R$ ~, \( R
7 g. U8 b& R2 [Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set.; S* [/ r0 m6 r8 [6 @( @5 c
. q+ d" X8 H4 kBut the industry says wearing condoms on-screen is a turn-off. The public do not want it, it will kill the fantasy, they say.% g4 h& U5 y0 Y
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Gonorrhoea % o; }0 F2 ^& j7 C! j 2 S$ k& Z" {4 @/ D- G. J5 qBack on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. + J4 z* ~0 N4 i! d7 [3 O1 \) ~) D& M! a. d5 C9 G
A college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years.% E5 D/ {( U! \0 O1 z! G$ M' O8 M
% W8 x1 K' x1 u0 x5 \, F1 wShe turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure.' a! ?0 }2 ~$ W" J8 H5 O
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"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?"' ?) Z: d6 [& R: H8 |2 j9 w
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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. ! l! p2 s" N: F2 U# y% o0 E1 R2 Q8 S0 e7 m- r" q8 S( _
Each day would be 15 hours long. 9 h3 U' w" X9 i7 y5 j1 G" {- c4 W5 i( ~- R# ~6 x
"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. ( T1 o# @& n2 K/ y1 s( e+ M6 m) C" w* Y
"You get used to it," she smiled. # D+ M T; w4 m# h6 { % R% q* D- R7 O"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" , L y1 Z# r. E$ p& B: O- N ) m& I- @4 r. b9 w) _' r: V, A"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."- F5 l9 x; Q! Y5 _
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There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided.- l8 O/ Z. v- e5 i1 p1 k
; G# n6 {( Y4 `# uExpensive lawsuits& L, S, l. [2 q& [( u+ p
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In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. 6 O8 u4 m$ u1 J: U& b, b- t4 R ! B6 }% I4 a* F: _A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it.* ?4 x5 i; r3 }3 F/ ]
5 r- k$ K7 ^. l* F& F% IIt 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. 1 a7 K- f& |6 ]+ s7 \+ L+ Z {& o0 z9 r+ r2 S( C
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. 5 n- H" U: Z6 H1 O! [0 Y $ e7 u! K' F& R1 t" n2 c9 M4 B"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?"7 ~/ Z7 Q- |0 s- e: u) Q* K" A+ P
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I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment.( p6 k' Y' V1 u7 G2 h
# ^3 u7 }# }9 C: e5 t: h! BBut 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? # V" j# `+ a4 @" g' P! v 0 [) G# @! U+ ?1 c/ GThe authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection. 6 E- K# s/ q9 N0 ? % k/ d0 m; H. rIt 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. . j Q9 B! q# ]$ s' l 4 Q8 L+ H+ H& T! {1 {/ E3 J! KA number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them. " ], e4 A* s$ T! L/ D+ z6 @( T3 Z% z. E. Y8 _
The producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants. / {. \% O6 z. R! [3 w 1 [1 W3 ?8 U9 ^4 G' W# ^% nThat view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene.' @, ]7 {7 r$ S' \' j
* t3 h4 H8 O* s& r% E* E8 `: xI decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain.. B( q- b# V6 x# ~5 Q
* x/ A% V- N! x7 E X8 M: q* m3 _ ) y8 P5 E7 s- s! D( F- A8 H# J- }; ?0 `7 H: v6 y 2 T$ |/ {& T# x, ~4 L' }* I) OCalls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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