; Z4 p" ~0 G4 y8 W2 F7 H1 \( x一些演员私下告诉我,他们盼着立法赶快生效。; F, p' t( U4 h9 n
$ i2 |0 L% e4 I
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。 % V H' g' z7 B5 i) H - _3 m ?# B" t" `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。. ~/ H8 @: _( J/ e/ J
- X0 [% E3 {" L: x
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……. ) X! b2 H4 q# N/ Q9 ]. \+ m 3 c' d+ z6 \; N2 Z7 `4 n& i. b; C+ S" Q0 N8 K \7 p
Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles & c- Z9 C* F6 c9 y3 ^. [- \: D) a: l: }) y
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.0 G4 s k/ h/ O
+ q" W. `. ]2 A* t) {
Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.8 C, @' y2 t4 Z8 i q
: R$ m* ~" W% ?I had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things.: T! N3 l3 t( a$ V+ F" s4 z3 x
5 a! N+ ?* x, g# r" W, bWhat I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect.. J! }7 E) n+ N" p( Y) M' m s
5 J5 ]/ m2 r0 o4 \7 m6 fThe porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga.) g/ C+ ] c2 i# P6 X
5 i3 r1 ^9 m! j; ?* \
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. % V% U4 O; ^# L. v# u : a) I5 D! H# ZThis 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. ) Q! d1 S4 u: o, R# f! P * r+ u) J/ B4 J' r0 z) _Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed.8 q; P! K2 F5 l- W# n- m
) B: x' \4 o+ [0 t% U2 X/ rThe 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.* E- M& A% g) r& K7 t" f u3 f
- t+ O7 b" |5 ? B' `9 t
The problem, increasingly, is revenue. ) V& x/ G, v& P" R& f* F* L( ^4 Z8 y
Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch. 9 q6 ?4 K8 L& o, K% |7 N0 a3 ? 0 X9 W3 r( j1 d* c. Q& a; oDVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free.: S/ F+ M9 i) m+ {; z- Y ]$ p
" y3 {; v$ t. W! G
And the economic downturn does not help. 9 A" l" B$ G% ?0 }& A, q% F+ Z$ O8 R 9 D% g5 |1 b8 u! W$ ~- Q/ ~"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully.4 s, t$ S ]% v
2 A+ {/ j2 K7 Y
The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. 3 S' T. a9 B( B$ u& v, [+ X+ K' _- @6 O- {, N( A
For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms./ g5 k3 W+ |% F- C" v; h
}- V6 Z6 K6 r0 q) E9 NHealth scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set.4 \. p: c( ? u% m8 l
2 X; ~! M7 Z/ b: [: n) HBut the industry says wearing condoms on-screen is a turn-off. The public do not want it, it will kill the fantasy, they say.8 d- g6 @4 {2 \5 M1 J" N
p3 [ C9 _. a, x/ ?. IGonorrhoea& K O8 f& h$ x9 _8 `
% {. J" [7 O; G; A% M- Q/ SBack on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers.( g# s$ P3 e1 e% O( \- f
# J H7 W- \0 n; c- s- h- g1 ZA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years. 0 t0 O. _2 H2 t" u+ O; N+ k # x7 m* a; D4 i& bShe turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. ' G; B$ R: F' i* I; U* x0 S( Y' B O) V, b! [" T1 v/ e4 k" p
"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" / x9 T A* [ }& T7 E7 T0 w3 b6 o, A% x0 g- g1 @* d! a {! m
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/ K3 s% W9 L
A; c8 i7 O9 q$ m0 @
Each day would be 15 hours long. - B6 p1 n4 d9 S6 R1 K- p# J2 w% ]" O+ v% H9 J
"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested.# [" S9 i ^: B; W4 |9 |. y
; t* l6 g$ ]7 ~8 \( g8 ]9 i"You get used to it," she smiled. 8 j# k0 Z+ S8 |( s7 W6 Y& f$ `. ~, j
"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?"6 N5 r& q8 J, A& B. ~4 l
/ W& v h/ w. Q8 U) Y, E$ D( v
"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."; }; h5 T5 g, V6 _) X
( V! @+ F9 O( \1 K2 `0 rThere was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided.7 j6 H5 C* g' i- a. l; z( B& o9 l
1 o# V$ Q$ `! ]In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. 7 {& v0 t0 y& P" W' J& Q/ P$ Y - L$ `' n* \6 mA combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it.& C9 y1 {# H* z/ j
# m5 @/ h0 l+ m- i& G2 `& `) T. `
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. 7 E' {" g9 w4 h4 q6 G: p+ D8 `, l2 C9 A$ @' e
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.5 P/ w/ k2 t/ y9 T* A# t
8 R1 ^! [, D+ u2 g9 g2 t( }"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?", d, R$ b1 B) a ?0 ^
7 \8 V2 z4 L {0 c% e1 JI struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment.6 J2 s/ p, |8 G8 a& G: D. S
0 t. \ L" ?3 @- v$ j6 N& o
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? ! e5 A) m% ]" J# w% N2 p) X7 h- ?; P0 w/ y9 \
The authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection. $ P& K+ O' S0 `* B 4 Q5 A B) S* JIt 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. 2 y( B. a2 o! d8 G7 ]3 \! _7 ^9 H0 c) [
A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them. 3 _; T# w0 }- O- \" }+ g' h3 A. _% S; n D: R* k0 N6 u9 C, `* g
The producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants. . x- r+ `5 B& P9 O4 |1 T7 M, W1 N4 x4 [
That view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene." _; h$ C8 ?* Y- M( G( D8 F6 e
0 b# U9 X% ]8 n" ?" bI decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain.8 J r( _: l( j! x7 N1 l
( `6 } k7 Z7 T; S * a3 ~$ I9 ?2 v8 W4 U- `* y% G2 X+ W) G) o% e+ D, `) ]5 }! N . K7 q0 j7 @7 H2 F
Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004