6 G% n6 W# L2 S |% x+ ~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 o- Q9 g. p1 h& e1 ^9 O- n4 [9 C" N/ p, g$ Z7 U
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。 , ?3 w$ e5 C2 A % z& `. X/ `" X6 S! Y. x% i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。/ [ w6 w3 p& a. W
% M2 K3 g! W0 k' Q/ \ e: b一些演员私下告诉我，他们盼着立法赶快生效。 4 P. y! r% \) \9 h; P7 m- L 2 H: Z9 U$ B9 _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。7 s" t1 N, w; ^1 ?2 \2 {, ^2 s5 t
* x( @# ~3 y# {. ]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。/ z1 M6 u; ^, F% O% r2 l
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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…….! s4 ^ C# |6 t# c" I
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+ N$ b9 p, P7 G- V) h" \, {! ]Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles 4 d. o: N; q! b, K7 v
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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. / n6 V- u8 Q. }1 R, Y+ x" e- |! y- ^
Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles. % L- f- L& p/ Y0 J+ W& k 6 o& u# y! q7 H; w* a5 f* X& g) MI had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things. ! T# T5 H- d7 i4 y, o+ k. y , A. ^2 b9 p8 l7 k8 DWhat I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect. " [( S k# S, X& q5 n# s: e6 h7 F 3 ^# |( R& \3 p$ n% _: MThe porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga.2 Y& I% E& V: c% F
7 ~9 L& x" O8 f: P7 f SPerformers 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.1 N* }/ N7 M: j _1 f
3 k/ W/ B; W) M* l z- XThis 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. * X8 Z3 m; \: F6 F0 M. b X: W. \0 q( w' g. l0 c
Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed.1 r+ }: ^2 r% U8 {
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* D- ?* Y" a E1 |( q+ CThe 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. , R2 T2 B: L2 r$ s0 C# z 2 J6 i; _" K7 B( G, t. GThe problem, increasingly, is revenue. 4 M3 s: ]$ H1 W0 ~ ?- m) n) \' I' z+ g5 X# [
Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch." n" j" Y7 \2 U% C
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DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free. 5 p" o7 G4 S- `% _- J4 }6 E; }, M, Y. r4 J' s: }+ X0 D
And the economic downturn does not help. L, y6 C# H6 i5 B6 |# ~" ~
0 A7 O+ _ f/ a( d0 J" ?) i"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. 2 D9 {+ G o- z( Q * n* e l7 s) x: ~8 ^& ]The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations.& y, \$ P- }" s- g0 M
# z- ^" V! j) Y: ^: cFor years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms.; p1 a0 p! z3 I+ D' G
. g( m% e. M* }7 W$ g# K2 p$ bHealth scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set.7 e# s0 Q0 s/ E C* l w% H; ~+ H
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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.! j. _3 y: W T8 O0 S8 P7 J3 R3 s9 u
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Gonorrhoea ' u7 k: I/ X9 W6 d- g2 Y7 w+ G1 F! @2 I1 H
Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers.2 ?6 T0 B2 s1 b/ R: _) E
+ B/ \% f! \8 e" n5 EA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years.+ {$ \ c, {+ d, H# ~
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She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure.* a) Q+ W& n3 t$ \: i
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"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" ) J* r h' U& d$ d2 W1 T4 g ' J. y* t. m$ EHer 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.- I. a1 Q' J9 G8 P$ X- b% |7 t- k, i
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Each day would be 15 hours long. ; `4 c: F6 V5 _& C+ I. a" l. {; U$ f: X1 |( ]
"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested.' I! }- k; j2 U3 V) z6 b V
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"You get used to it," she smiled. 4 I0 Y$ Z# X5 R" w; F+ j1 T- r% Q3 ?. X2 j
"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?") h6 ^' f3 W' P& K. ~2 e$ w$ E
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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." 6 y+ ?- z6 F! L/ E " B' f$ U: O' q, \There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided.: {, o0 g6 A, v; Y4 A8 a
3 ^; ^7 s# M+ j8 f6 _Expensive lawsuits / D5 Z6 o! n9 o6 y 0 b; N2 z. x7 F2 _In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. ; i" ^6 U& U$ l* Q4 F1 {3 E " o; D: K/ D( o+ i* NA combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it.. I% c% e8 j, n: H
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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./ H$ E8 U' Q6 J/ O( R
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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.4 F) V0 [0 c8 X p8 A5 s
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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?" 4 ?" S8 U8 a- l! W. D1 L4 F i+ `( d- j7 e' Q
I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment.- z7 u7 x+ u* j% b
& w" L) A) p" j! t: c vBut 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? 3 D* Q. {$ A S% T4 S" q, R [3 ~4 ~5 V" a% g
The authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection.6 Z$ P' a. J/ I
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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. ' G: s6 F- i \7 H1 `. _) M* S0 M7 s
A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them. # p8 A! L- j. p3 y) J " i; y" ], K; M/ U4 m1 Q4 w* e- TThe producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants.- f/ B Z7 V8 W$ \7 R3 i
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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.) f' U; W% ~: k1 Z
0 N& N, k3 z, q- V$ JI decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain.6 V$ U2 o4 w( u+ U
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Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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