& ], C$ R2 `- w9 a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。 7 D9 K- \4 N6 Q+ h# W! G * M1 t0 T' f6 k P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。- I$ B; s1 | _8 i5 G# f! A% g0 g8 F v: {
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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……. }+ H* V6 R- T- A) C* } 0 j# l9 V- g/ t) g& K% X. J2 s) \5 F 8 Z, B4 Z0 k9 y. DCalifornian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles 8 b4 p9 }. \3 F. i. U8 M ]
8 q3 [1 Y* @4 _5 @- n8 oCalifornia'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.9 f3 r% O' p$ p
+ s& o5 U6 R4 h( x0 f+ jLight drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.# Y9 j% V" B3 \, G
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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. ; U* B7 ~: X' e7 _" x * z" h% c, ~& \. MWhat I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect. 9 N6 I6 q; t4 g( h3 ?* Z6 i: B4 ^1 d. r+ p
The porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga. - Z- c0 l3 J8 a u8 W2 K& S: Y6 ~8 |# C7 ?4 l
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. # J" y3 b8 g5 ], g- e 5 e& W: S6 Y H, a/ u7 B- \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. M' ^9 \, c# C* g( b1 @% E) d4 r 7 P7 U P; X+ o' h# F8 O4 qOnly 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed.7 p6 O$ F6 }/ E
# s- v8 }. Z% \1 o+ |3 \Fantasy 8 V. {$ L1 b) A/ c % Z* N# q+ e6 r7 I7 ~" W; d7 mThe 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.4 K( W! O! @& d i! h% u! x
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The problem, increasingly, is revenue. ; z" R6 _# Q5 K0 P0 n: B8 X1 Q- y/ i , p4 `/ r' o4 y$ N5 J6 \$ y/ TLike the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch.! `/ J) W) W( Q6 p/ B% j g$ o
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DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free., ?7 @; C. k- z! K6 b
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And the economic downturn does not help.5 `9 l: d9 Z u- |
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"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully.3 X% `( X% r: |; w0 M
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The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. - h, x7 i3 E# O7 o% H $ K- d6 A9 V5 L! n/ y* `* p( eFor years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms. / A5 Z b3 g, O( B! O& X- J- r1 k; a' q+ i }' h+ l
Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set.9 d/ [+ h! {7 v- B$ C
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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. + C* M: U3 r- A; i$ u) a C4 u; k8 O
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Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. & h7 n7 ?+ j( D7 W6 H I( C. N' Z4 a" z, S; a! sA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years. 1 N# S) |; B1 L% V8 l$ ^4 J& N% _2 W( @
She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. 5 q0 A+ e3 w5 a z( Z+ o5 x7 ~4 S3 O. `3 N9 A+ d% a$ Z
"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" ( {! v1 v/ T5 q' N: M2 P" ?* V* @6 H
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." k. v3 t) ^2 l! d" m3 u3 |7 y
# n8 G: q! ~( u: J& c; PEach day would be 15 hours long. . r1 s! K* N& e; o t% l$ b" ?' i( G
"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested." P+ U% K: Q4 u" ?: D1 C% D
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"You get used to it," she smiled.# p* R0 d3 a5 p5 p
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"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?") \6 p) W% @6 J* Y% G( {# [
- a$ S- ?# D& ^5 k9 i3 ]$ W7 u. Q"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."# \& G( D7 i% \: a8 B6 j* A
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There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. - @4 g2 n5 P1 j , ]. h( \9 @2 q4 Z$ u0 hExpensive lawsuits 3 T( f8 e4 D+ R& _, S3 h" `; u 9 S0 [/ G0 _1 rIn fact there was something very Californian about the entire business.& q! h6 A3 l3 y M! R9 ^
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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.9 o% w, Z1 ]* _0 F
; G' g) Q) ^4 Q4 X k/ x9 uIt 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. + {/ _5 K: K7 ^$ Q) h4 ~: _, k* g
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. 2 z( [6 I$ t" L0 Z/ w% E: X; \" x w
"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?"7 N* D) I, v- \1 `! N7 b
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I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment.0 y! F& Q ^% S$ q+ ]4 }, b Y: A
2 C W9 Z/ \4 c1 f. Y; z1 r) c/ CBut 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?/ f' O- v' _: s! U
+ P; z8 a8 @( f, cThe authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection. ' s6 d% K L5 ]" ~+ M5 c3 y& K) l m- b" E( J; F- U
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. ' ]' j/ w {( W& B+ h1 t- z) M/ Q7 X: p+ f
A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them. 2 p1 v6 O$ O$ U0 K7 f7 p6 j# c. M* @
The producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants. , @) q9 A0 {( k* B _' k: I: F/ j4 K2 {9 N& L5 }% l
That view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene. # m* T- U3 @2 V. o5 j+ A2 h6 Y4 f) h. Q# ^: t* H# \6 J+ T! [2 R
I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain.9 }- X) i7 K m2 D
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+ ? `! c% C C6 Z % s* g! E) e# N9 z! ~) X: D% qCalls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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