8 f" `0 `) Z+ v" f2 @/ f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' B4 l7 C8 z9 J- X% Y4 C4 t 1 c/ K' J* S/ v, U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。& \8 L. J5 d$ s7 ~7 A7 U) G2 o
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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…….& i# s [2 L. o! X; b
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Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles , t5 K; l& l$ N7 T5 j T9 y, f' t# G2 p- F- B3 }7 Q; t2 B S
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. * d) g$ w- D) i2 M/ k - m% a' D5 M( c( U" F: OLight drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.# h J8 I# ]7 B! [( S& H* c' r
5 T5 `8 i% x, I- i3 FI had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things.8 X7 K3 n) E+ ~
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What I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect.3 e$ {9 G2 V; E$ q
* P, i. X# O* D; B- ?The porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga.# r5 y8 _& Q! S5 m6 L0 v9 d
/ c* L' c( i$ |; s( I$ ^$ m. G4 lPerformers 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. . h! c' y; |/ I% a( L z! z4 p - R) |) T8 r6 ~& n% H0 wThis 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. $ o# U) p( H' q2 C+ L8 N+ ~& w) U& d" E/ {+ x
Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed. / s7 ~" q% p& O# l; @ D" E $ o7 y5 T2 s$ y+ iFantasy; G5 ^( a( |' n% H+ }
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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." }( n: @# \/ j7 I; ]+ N* E) f& V
! w% v z; i( M$ r3 F$ pThe problem, increasingly, is revenue. 6 Z9 F* A5 u y/ o D& w7 B. Z+ `3 X9 Q# \1 t
Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch. 2 ^/ \# y g c9 N+ C! c' ?3 W5 t. l9 j0 n
DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free. 4 E5 t+ O6 P4 E0 _ y) _$ g5 f4 B; u
And the economic downturn does not help.1 x1 l* v. q( R, U* @+ r0 x- M* x
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"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. q4 l0 @1 f, x+ n
8 g D+ S3 C6 e A# F9 }The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. : x( D' M1 u8 S/ W* p* g x2 X2 _& J* p( G' U, r
For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms.4 e% V. X! }# E* Z; q) ?
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Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set.5 y# ^% [% ]/ S s
7 }. \" v# c+ v o! f9 JBut the industry says wearing condoms on-screen is a turn-off. The public do not want it, it will kill the fantasy, they say. 7 x5 L8 u) f- \+ X' R8 \- D ! |8 t4 B4 @, d* S+ W! c5 wGonorrhoea ! j* w6 I; D2 ?5 G4 G" l0 H5 e' q9 Q& T8 e5 s4 d5 q
Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. * @. K7 s$ J+ {0 a; h' }$ T; @# S 9 [* J3 y' ^$ |4 i8 p' LA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years.1 V5 g% G5 ~: v- |7 x. e) P8 C
# b& E. a4 P1 d3 ~0 h8 N; bShe turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure.7 [: ?- D2 Y/ T/ d( D
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"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?"3 T+ o, H4 e3 U4 V
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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. % t* G) r7 I3 L% T% y" D7 U9 [4 Y v) O6 t* }' w; B' z9 Z g
Each day would be 15 hours long.) Y' ^: e7 L. I' C. \ Z+ m
" C( f" u' L6 M* m( }" {" f6 z"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. 7 V1 g% p( e& v, s8 ^0 l5 l* W2 w1 g" ]. E/ a- P' y
"You get used to it," she smiled.! T& d9 A2 K6 A u7 g
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"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?"# d$ R' O$ I0 i' w
. s2 w4 B3 h9 T% l( K* Q U: W"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." : K3 v4 a4 Q0 I7 G ' Y2 h( g1 J8 w" j# v3 KThere was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided.7 v8 {' w' q0 I9 g5 j
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Expensive lawsuits : _/ P3 x- ?+ y$ q. X9 X $ \- G/ H6 O0 N0 w' RIn fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. 8 W1 a1 b8 t9 a$ ?( A9 n) s1 w2 N0 k- q' I5 J7 x- g
A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it. @7 h: u1 f6 f P
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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.1 i4 h: [9 Y: }6 C
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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.' C+ |. M |$ U3 y. M6 Q* v& X
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"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?" 9 \7 b4 K3 O8 A7 F$ u h, Z/ \5 @+ X' \ x5 ]/ R
I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment.% m! n- A. o% R; w. o6 q5 U
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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?* w; r2 Q. R8 V. ?% q* U8 [& X. G
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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./ J9 c& s0 ?, A! V; y+ r
; ^# r7 Z: w. H& L- I+ @ c8 ]; F3 lIt 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.( r5 M: S; q4 a' A5 Y
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A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them. D3 R: x% G+ E9 U8 G0 ^ _: E
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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.! W9 x4 k( B" H. C
# v3 e3 y4 c/ B1 P5 A, cThat view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene.8 Y2 O# x+ W) [
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I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain.1 s. J3 Q. P& |5 ^& p2 C/ \
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/ }. B- T- A5 U. X+ E/ H' i, ]+ H7 [ 6 D L0 S! g. U" G I. i6 yCalls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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