^0 c) m7 C. `- @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”？ ; q# k* K5 o2 g8 F% x% x8 O8 v! d1 V; Y$ ^4 x7 \) j) n2 D; z8 G
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。; a- C2 K$ r4 B) ~1 |7 I5 H
$ `% N3 H5 y. _$ q/ i2 H! U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？ ! A. S. R- U9 f8 S & D7 m9 X' u; Y2 J4 o$ j L) 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。+ L1 \6 p) a+ k3 a( C- l: C
4 h. g4 H, L- B& {: b. ~$ F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 w& P* z }
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一些演员私下告诉我，他们盼着立法赶快生效。; v ~+ P& s4 K4 ^! K; @
% F& G. b& F1 q$ 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。 & u" A: P+ D! a. R2 A2 Y % K4 _( R6 a) G# P5 P+ G' W* ]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。 ) u6 i& j$ h# Q4 k2 L . {7 K4 c! |- |: i! L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……. 5 |6 K' |. T& G- u l1 p8 y, Z - G/ f/ R; m, C v; i/ g( ?: Y2 V$ O$ R1 P# @2 `; O8 b
Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles . ^$ q" X( s3 D) x9 ]2 T8 T, ] s+ ~) \9 g _( {
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.+ V. s6 p4 Y+ A3 \7 k9 ^( [4 }
4 m# r) L; T6 `; z, |) R( L/ PLight drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles. . {. k8 u% _7 x" Q/ b) A: j' l9 |( S" P8 b u: p
I had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things. 4 d' X! _, T2 I3 c9 E, q 5 ^/ T. E" u4 KWhat I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect. ; g& t, ^7 f3 J# B! Y+ ]% | ) Y, L5 h$ K+ o j8 y+ lThe porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga." I' P; ^. O9 i% O
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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. / X; @9 C3 D! w" x 9 Y. Q0 |' `9 V2 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.' P7 ]' U9 W5 j, i
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Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed. 6 T0 o) I* s. M; a 2 ?4 V5 {" Z% o# \, L7 sFantasy ( Q9 C3 b' x0 U% c% R! _ $ h9 D# R) A% x S$ B3 ~& E2 R5 OThe 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. 6 N7 G/ `* A d2 A# d- e2 V 1 _* @2 |) M# `( w) x2 m" MThe problem, increasingly, is revenue. " w$ ~. O' \# W7 E! P' F/ d- z9 W$ V2 `( ^; u
Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch. 3 n8 j2 h7 B+ z3 q$ r3 x3 X6 I' C 8 y" u4 r g- z9 XDVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free. 7 @' O# s6 _3 ] e6 h+ R' m! C! ^ , @. D' C" S+ M5 bAnd the economic downturn does not help.- V% y5 j; ]; ]
' n0 A' F1 v; R0 _- ~- }7 ^% `"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. 8 R" m( _5 @5 g' j% M * n% w p- R- \* s' C$ _% `+ oThe economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. % l- A5 _3 t$ H$ w! c w$ |& m6 O1 d m; U& V
For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms.' Y/ V/ b& m9 X5 O4 S( I
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Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set.6 Y4 ^) B' C' q
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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. / P) [( A) n; c7 b/ X: E1 }7 F8 S $ I Q/ T/ O' f$ m5 `Gonorrhoea $ |0 Y: n c: a5 `+ \" m 8 K8 o9 @' c: e+ N8 K& mBack on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. 9 B& j8 S; x/ g7 [" ?9 z q, F5 w$ i7 C
A college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years.3 U+ l% z: |* M6 U; z: w0 z, g
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She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. * q2 T& A2 `5 W; z2 m/ m* f) l7 J7 c9 f) J
"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" . _3 j; K) ~4 v/ J# A4 R, t& d$ y2 C % O$ f1 _6 h* h5 LHer 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.3 |0 F9 H) r4 i. w. y5 D4 S. H
3 n7 i% w w1 r: u; l7 E) y: gEach day would be 15 hours long.) H0 N' I3 o0 I5 D
) u4 j4 x9 x; y* X"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested.' w2 h5 P$ ~; R( w
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"You get used to it," she smiled. 6 X$ {& B d% p, i ; v. ~+ x5 i% g+ E"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" + j7 d4 e/ Z& ~7 Q; P" f1 [: e& `8 q5 Z& E L! @
"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." 2 x: v6 t5 x) p) r1 w# U0 \) @$ E 4 b. z! x% y) W8 A/ V9 N9 AThere was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. ! ~% v- [) b% }; L* @8 ~2 `; z; r! Z6 [, P# {
Expensive lawsuits + w4 _ v1 r. W / M- v" T+ ]2 s& EIn fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. - t2 t- R& y+ j1 H8 ? 1 ^5 m0 l' @ QA combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it. ) [$ Z& h% Y* F0 _1 `: g/ A! v# z4 M7 J" @8 \- o$ ]6 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. 0 r3 R) B. F, s- m4 o" L , M( {9 t. o+ Z Y/ 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. $ g; X7 \) K" n0 O1 k. ~ / [6 x2 x2 Q7 j% }9 p"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?" 2 j* _) }% i5 L- v& x5 m. W" E3 H6 v' t$ w: a- p+ H: l% O
I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment., r" ~! N* ?* ]3 f" v" V
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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? + R; {4 w) F- f1 {' P9 e% r- A 3 |7 o" _ V9 r% cThe authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection. ( M9 W2 [8 R" K+ a 4 j3 ~# c+ B& n9 d. ZIt 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. : ?4 u9 d% f* {: R) X4 k$ f: }; ~6 F5 P. x2 t, b
A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them. y/ q, F4 e- j4 B0 z
: {" {5 H7 q# p. z8 pThe producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants.# ?7 v& ~; `) Y. y# p! F
( D2 S/ m, Q4 p$ TThat view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene.5 Q) ]# @* ^- l; X0 `9 O9 p9 F
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I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain.+ ]8 i3 y: I2 \& A2 |. r: f
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Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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