; s" U @/ u* Q! |但是，电影业坚持说，演员带安全套会扫观众的兴。他们说，观众不愿意看，安全套等于扼杀观众的幻想。1 w2 s+ n5 j/ ^* j
“没什么大不了的” $ Z1 |' x( n8 G' } : c8 ~2 w% J# f+ G$ Y: |重返《星际迷航》的拍摄现场，我和主要演员之一宝碧·斯塔尔聊了起来。宝碧是大学毕业生，以前是国家级游泳运动员，专业的双簧管手。短短的27年，她的一生真可是阅历丰富。% z% f) p; H3 ^3 {, ]7 ^& ]) X& U
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宝碧说，改行做色情电影演员，主要是为了追求性探险。她说，“这是找乐趣。身边的人都高高兴兴，你有什么可烦的呢”？3 c8 T* r6 }, `8 \7 h2 h
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当天，她的日程安排得很紧凑，两句台词，四小时的性爱。星期二试装，然后就去接受每月一次的体检。宝碧每一天都要工作15个小时。 m: F; ]8 {5 V/ U P4 g# V6 e6 p) z
我说，“你一定很累吧”？她微笑着回答说，“习惯了”。+ ], A; C. U0 F$ u& n) T1 v
6 v! N# c0 m1 I) A我接着问，“那么，健康风险呢？你经常被感染吗”？1 Q6 U) b: g; K
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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。”+ l" m/ o1 \' K
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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。6 }1 X" k+ y2 v0 ~2 j
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1980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。* Q. O/ Q& f! h4 R' H
不戴安全套的权利/ `8 J" M+ {% y. B4 s' }4 k! S! Q
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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。 & ]1 a- v3 q+ g+ K9 E - q% l" \- Y8 ]' B7 [0 D) g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”？# ]) y5 P. t B" l
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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。 $ `" c+ `! Z3 D5 U7 q , x4 J* }! m" a' j9 u; K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？ & i3 ~ q4 q" k9 g- P. J. D % r4 M8 ~( n) ?! d4 e* s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。5 b# [ H7 c- D8 V' K- T! g
; }# V4 w) J0 r4 A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。" s6 l; F9 B) z w3 h0 D% R: V
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一些演员私下告诉我，他们盼着立法赶快生效。 - g2 l2 Z" Q6 l* k# j$ R: J+ O1 q3 y" Y7 d
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。 5 g! m- Z& g; A$ q/ m/ G; g/ |( P- X5 y: Y8 }
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。 5 O- Q9 o( [& p, {4 p( l ' `! E1 R3 J+ _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 g4 c4 F Z9 d+ y/ L% y
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Z1 A# h! ~% ~$ r- k! @Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles ' U6 p" ]; C/ G6 b0 z * [4 ?. _- A, uCalifornia'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.1 S& J8 j5 u1 r% Q" }1 y' f! h
' C2 K; E3 s1 i) _ j/ mLight drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles. . s3 y2 k: w5 p' p9 ]0 a/ k0 ]! i# b9 s F6 @
I had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things. " P- b9 r* P; F: c6 X 0 O% K4 _/ u; x& I$ bWhat I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect.& t7 d& `: _5 C
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The porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga.: R+ \$ U6 O7 p( k- I) |1 M& ^7 C
2 K7 n5 N) r4 fPerformers 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. . ~ b+ e' K; a+ ? * V2 c8 c2 W7 o: _3 p: y- t3 I: }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.; d# h8 C( y% P$ Y! T) m3 V
( A o) d3 B O! J) [9 VOnly 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed. 8 f2 h0 } e& b5 m0 |1 z( y: p8 P
Fantasy * Y+ ?7 \8 ~* g& A! W % k$ B5 v5 @. H6 [1 k% sThe 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." Z8 v6 M- j H- c: U$ R
' F9 b" e8 P1 kThe problem, increasingly, is revenue.4 W6 r6 L# S2 i7 E; H: b
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Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch. 2 {3 X! t+ @) h+ w& {( X, a0 [) g5 Z6 z. H
DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free.3 {9 \4 o/ A7 M k, |
3 P! Z% T; @ A, kAnd the economic downturn does not help.* ?3 D# d$ H0 S! |/ n4 A1 k
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"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully.- R# D9 x1 H3 i
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The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations., `+ r& }9 D4 W( o
3 Q- y: E- p. [2 UFor years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms.% o4 G$ M9 `* A+ G3 B3 ^! _
% f- d4 A, l# H, P& eHealth scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set.; r% {3 N. j g; |" f
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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. 4 _* }& L& F2 @, t6 T! e : `( F' A+ q2 q. _8 x: ZGonorrhoea9 _5 {5 j, k; p5 \# D
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Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers." k- }% d$ A/ b9 H
, R; _/ o- p' y9 tA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years. @( }2 i$ {6 O: q / I, e+ M9 z) z4 Y% P3 o- NShe turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure.& c) V( A9 b4 U# p- [1 [4 L, l* x& t
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"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?"" g; k, L% W) {( t
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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.2 q. x n9 K4 v& Q
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Each day would be 15 hours long.* c. [! P/ G- J" O% [& P
' y, \( Y9 N( }" c"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested.1 U' X- I4 m5 Z7 F! e: h7 o
& a9 e: @, b* Z' k/ }"You get used to it," she smiled.6 I$ V1 s! `4 L1 ^
0 L+ [- u% A: p: ?8 |) x/ t"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?": @' D5 v& ]4 i Q
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"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." # U7 F" `* u- K$ ~* K ) U' E, \8 l: o) A1 TThere was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. / p( _+ H3 }: G4 P9 O4 b4 } # ~7 @! F# q% TExpensive lawsuits ' r) V: g, Z) ~ | M2 X5 u5 r# d, [! h. m8 ^+ N# E4 F
In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. 5 p4 M" U- o9 a. z/ A. ]8 G1 ]9 T1 i L/ N7 K- W" }
A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it./ ]6 I8 d- w, ]4 p. U- K6 r9 ?' f
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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.2 O4 d7 e, i7 Q$ W1 |; n
; N: k+ I. f& Y$ o3 N, E: T1 A3 j7 W1 E8 hNow, 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 x" _" ~( |' T2 m8 a2 X$ m
; i! T0 e0 J0 t. J" Q C"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?"/ C7 ], P2 F& w" D8 t
- k4 E/ F7 p- ~I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment. * k* J) l* g2 n, v9 [$ k! {$ B) [
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? 5 c( c( A" z {; R: ` ]" g/ T& d2 p: y) w4 }+ S2 u3 P& q8 u4 Z: q
The authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection. 1 b, R4 K/ Z F, h, G 2 r7 N B/ v S) l2 ^: oIt 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.5 ^& a* a" v; |
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A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them.) P( e0 j# _' I, S9 f9 j
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The producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants., g5 s/ G; w) h2 |$ l
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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. / P3 c+ ^- }* U' \% _4 W6 o ' Q) o5 q" D, XI decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain.# s8 L6 J# O4 M# p! t3 l$ ^" ]
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4 m9 D2 o9 ^) u& e% W: K 0 z! J4 ^+ f, Q- }3 T% W+ o j3 RCalls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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