% |' ^9 }6 P$ d' ~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。( }2 I' A( _0 a, @' P7 R }
) B! }& `3 }2 r" q/ T" R& Z& [3 |6 x+ b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”?, P3 h* K( {, q+ N
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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。% R6 x$ e; B I) \% [ c
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我说,“你一定很累吧”?她微笑着回答说,“习惯了”。 7 W& p, }. [* e1 T6 P# [: i* Y; a, [+ F H7 _6 Z" z" N
我接着问,“那么,健康风险呢?你经常被感染吗”?4 e/ D! p2 d6 Z: i
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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。” + O, n* ?. J n/ x1 [ 5 l0 ~2 m' z# O0 m* I! D3 M* }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。 9 C1 o1 T) `( n: H5 R1 x - A) I ]4 g2 H' V B3 \, N* T0 Q1980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。, T$ B! ^) v( }& Y" B
不戴安全套的权利3 R8 }3 s4 q& Q& f
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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。- u6 R- e* a. r5 W
" K* X' P" Q2 _8 m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”? . p9 X0 B' n$ |3 l( k4 E, a, L' H/ m5 C- D$ c6 O* m
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。 $ T5 ^ B1 a' R. Y 1 L% D/ d9 l" P' P7 r; 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? 5 \* i+ h& j0 N5 p+ A ; l$ N4 v5 y+ W2 w' Q: W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。$ C! [& ^0 K6 D2 s$ A1 c! @. k
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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。 ( k: N) |& Y" h8 V8 K* ?1 v! V5 Z: E3 N0 X- e3 B
一些演员私下告诉我,他们盼着立法赶快生效。 # {9 G# a7 b* f; @5 g3 N5 X# c) V9 z5 k( T
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。4 t- G* B" Q9 i* [1 h$ m! A
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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 b' M0 z. m# D% h# y' k
; `4 I5 ^$ C, {$ 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……./ d. P, n: d, W' b/ ]7 u' V
- u1 A) ^' i ?# r5 t 5 P7 j. P, d) `; ?Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles * a* ~" i7 M" ~; o) r- K6 } * C" |# i0 t: M- GCalifornia'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.! C; {$ L: d' N- h
; E& O# ]5 r9 G4 T( wLight drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles. - w8 P. {' H& i9 Z# ?- g1 @1 t% M+ _& }) x9 v
I had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things.; n8 a' D: X( {- b$ N# J
: m: C* f/ `) l3 {4 l: w" Y: HWhat I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect. 6 X" g" |4 f) j X+ e$ ~9 n6 N. v& R1 W
The porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga. 6 @- l# _& B) J& g9 t1 i7 o 8 O7 N$ Q, _2 j. a0 d1 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. ; H: r5 B$ Z+ O; k' K( k! A3 G1 T( v: N7 J
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.4 N: a, n8 F7 I
) l4 l6 ~8 I! j( X/ W8 W8 m LOnly 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed. ( R8 D: R+ }, q; ?& [) l2 H' T, J# `% [2 R- g8 C0 b
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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. . W( }! }- {0 a5 Q. c2 n; A $ { I4 _! q- V& h& y. TThe problem, increasingly, is revenue.- @2 W" O: S! \ G; m
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Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch.# ]: d. n2 Q. t) e1 v
7 D: q1 u8 X6 N2 FDVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free. 2 t! Y* {& q6 g& y" g L L& M. x* `8 t) i# f" v3 r
And the economic downturn does not help. - h5 D6 p3 B4 Z! W6 u 2 A% h: [ V3 O! _+ b"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. + \! \. e2 i2 Y1 K6 g# P ' u2 J$ a4 f/ I5 D4 |! l' @& pThe economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. % `+ S- n' r- d- j! m; b/ x6 M: O" F
For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms. ) l1 Y% O) Q# t4 Q5 S) C# G) f1 d) u2 m6 ?# {1 {
Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set. 5 p e) A- c2 S' W W" v7 C* y( A; M$ o" @
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., v7 A2 W% l: t! X0 b3 i/ h. J) O
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Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. + i8 \& d3 ^# @" Y2 O/ j6 I ( K) s9 B: y+ H5 O5 A% LA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years. , E9 ~) [5 z. u; n) t3 {! ~ Z) R3 H* C
She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure.. }2 g; w+ N4 T0 {
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"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" " s% {5 T4 l6 V; ]: O N# `4 G* x' P1 q% ?
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. ! I& [: i0 e9 ]4 }0 F' G, S t- p6 u
Each day would be 15 hours long.- o, K; J( t" C$ a5 d. j
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"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested.* E7 B$ v8 I& `3 g& c& v6 ^
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"You get used to it," she smiled.- ^2 c/ @ O" H7 ^* x; e- {
$ J+ B ~; _! t8 j/ y5 X"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?"6 P+ k9 k& {* s# M1 d- w( V
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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."1 p, {/ Y- j9 Z; E/ S( P. D' O
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There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided.; _4 O' h* N0 F9 _ H- H2 B. m
( N: ~1 i5 n- vExpensive lawsuits9 W0 e- e- x9 F d+ C
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In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. 1 g+ V( {+ y% X3 ` + f/ | P# @3 ~1 m" g' pA combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it. ; T% f5 K1 P% `! z. C/ t4 B& n. i. ~0 _
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. % x8 i5 ~% z- v8 m2 @; j ) j, j$ n! R$ p% l5 X, \ qNow, 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.& q& O4 V9 R! _) B2 \/ o
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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?"* V6 c( C4 |! g: C' Z
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I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment.; M& E) ]! I# Q
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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?/ w3 f) r3 r/ m, r: W0 y- A
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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. + `9 I8 b& L' ~# t; N ) S2 J8 L- I% R/ T2 qIt 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 o( O; Q3 Y# t6 F% a4 r" U7 p+ m- d1 y4 R$ w1 O. |& g
A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them. 5 `( A' @! x0 N! k/ H, S3 n3 J0 _: i( F( ~" ~6 h6 R$ Z8 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. , c8 R% U( w7 `; t! Z! g3 T & q0 A: L- u2 J( vThat view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene.9 q5 J; V! [8 m9 ?9 J7 R
& f$ e: a) {/ B1 c2 U# g$ YI decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. * K" Z* ~" \7 ? o- S 4 w, E; G ^0 P$ f* z 5 l9 Z; |9 o! M! o/ [4 m; `$ D: G) c5 \$ R 4 l, K. r7 F5 N
Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004