2 R( t; L9 I, u% x8 u: F* ^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”?: \, q3 Z6 ~" K% a* A' e
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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。* Z! W& R" k- j6 O9 b
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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? ! x6 _* d2 h" g. c1 p8 X, X6 ?$ q; ?0 v+ [
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。 ( Y9 e$ t) ]" y9 v' a0 e, {, B+ I, d- x
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。 - r3 T o! r u$ U( r1 u I2 Y; ~
一些演员私下告诉我,他们盼着立法赶快生效。. q K s7 G* B, O+ V9 ?
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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。 # L' C% `3 M8 O) h m ^" Z1 `9 o) n& C4 h; L0 M4 t( ]& E
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 ^& m& a& }5 W$ h: i
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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…….$ V4 J+ I0 Y. M
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Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles 8 d; c" J: ^4 J; t
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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.+ b# e) G4 {" m/ R( Z
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Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles. ) B4 \6 [% D: f8 C4 o; g) X0 D& v( C ! b) B' j# W7 E$ J0 kI had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things. 8 F7 p! g E: R5 }* c9 _% J/ j* z0 @8 ` N7 L. B
What I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect.* u; V/ l0 X, {3 L& d( e( q5 @
6 {3 ]0 O, n0 Q% U& U# iThe porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga. ' W( t( u/ B) n: w, m* t4 U ; ~ Q9 }( I# N3 XPerformers 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. 6 |8 s; d, d% \2 J; M' b 7 z) K* R0 }$ O7 M. o% o& I! c' tThis 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.! a# y0 b7 o4 O) A1 s
6 h6 S0 c& ]( x& l# w9 i: Q) g3 b5 X: XOnly 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed. , s0 _! l6 W( s! P6 u. s. ^$ b1 C0 ?7 {% }! F) \3 X w
Fantasy* C& Y8 n3 K5 I# M" U/ 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. ( Z, V6 P" {+ o& g4 s0 L 3 B" t; Q) I6 z, CThe problem, increasingly, is revenue.) ^7 H3 I* @1 e$ Z9 ~3 ?3 c f
7 e* Y$ K6 {6 J3 C- p7 q/ K* ]8 PLike the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch. 9 ?5 X G: y( h; J) k! O% h" _& g* r4 O/ @
DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free. I7 x J9 h5 ?( B& X+ m0 L* V3 [" ~( J+ _, b0 o+ |
And the economic downturn does not help.- A) f" z/ Q: ]9 W7 H2 {5 p
% v; h' Z5 Y l H: k"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. 7 f2 q, R! x- V( y& `/ B" Y3 ? ( O( M+ c& n9 }2 l6 ^The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. 7 C6 M: K- L2 `1 R$ T! J4 v; Z3 }% `1 N
For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms.: ]! `0 \" x" |8 m0 H& d
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Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set.7 C4 x. y0 C1 B m2 z3 _
% {/ ~% A' A9 R2 Q3 T W* zBut the industry says wearing condoms on-screen is a turn-off. The public do not want it, it will kill the fantasy, they say. 0 S/ h2 H: P. H" K! X3 i! b7 j$ K: o0 F b1 v6 x
Gonorrhoea : h: e" j" \6 P6 w8 @6 P5 F: ?2 S+ I
Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers.% I1 H3 g. F5 Y% r- G
# Y3 W Q9 Z. x0 X5 @3 W7 Y) [A college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years.9 X9 D* f$ t2 q, w
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She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure.8 [7 [( s# Q) a" S$ R" B
% b- _0 d& w- f4 ^1 t"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?"& f+ f! i+ I' h7 a: [6 `
r2 j% Y8 b* U% [% gHer 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.1 ?0 Z5 Y' B! w. x
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Each day would be 15 hours long./ O* j3 r" y+ \ a* _5 K
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"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested.* T+ [$ i6 J+ w4 K( U% F( ^
, |3 d. E3 a+ l5 D"You get used to it," she smiled.' u$ E3 }6 T% D2 p! i
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"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?"; F& M- M3 |9 N. x" q0 i
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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."+ V5 [8 O5 _" U5 z
% d* ]) G7 a4 q1 i' jThere was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. 1 O; F' o2 P) u. J) ^4 B3 D. }& Q0 q _7 c& `1 R$ W* G
Expensive lawsuits $ r% p/ j* M0 z3 ^9 F2 Y / o9 t* F7 h5 lIn fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. . f0 N3 v/ U$ P- {, w! q: e+ C; T- C6 w2 @. k; d( U
A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it. : z- N2 a- e% X) X, D3 X8 p' Y, F$ D8 n. j8 ]3 u! G
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 m q5 [5 T0 N! N
6 ~9 a" y, d7 {( |: Z9 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. ) u: m% H3 U+ g0 s% w' v 7 f. Q/ S' ~) }. \2 r, A# z* f"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?" - \& m2 |% \2 S. ?* s 0 g* k! j" y- cI struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment.& W# R* @) m" W" I9 M+ d* f. c/ m
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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?- S9 o' ?! M# u5 p+ E0 ~; H
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The authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection. ! Y2 \2 R6 K M! _4 ?( I1 T7 |' R1 _2 s6 \/ l
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.% x+ a. v4 l& d# f" P3 y
4 l3 P* L. e8 [2 g# p4 v4 KA number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them. & ~! X' b- q& Q2 k$ h# j8 t, _! m/ P( c) q
The producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants.: ~2 B- u7 Y% O/ c) S7 Q4 G$ A
n4 M$ a- \2 _That view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene. i9 p% i7 o- n; w/ W' a7 _, t/ C
1 P; W0 l1 w6 O$ ?! z( ?I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain.7 q1 N5 @2 j7 e- Q2 I0 c7 p
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Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004