e$ r0 q6 d7 T3 b, [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。/ O# x) S5 F* @: @5 t, n' H7 o
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一些演员私下告诉我，他们盼着立法赶快生效。 . ?6 a, S0 ^9 C4 h8 K [! a9 V( F9 b( K) n
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。 + i6 x3 J2 A. x B! ^5 s4 n+ C5 a% q6 r
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。1 ^) t. J' H/ V, _: l
3 P9 ]3 V- ]- y/ 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…….! w" w, c8 n" e3 c5 c9 Q: ?( B( K
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Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles / @8 u: G. @1 [. j7 L0 t* _, w% W( a- @
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.5 W" ]) ]6 i) l# i! C
5 |5 a, k6 s- a( I1 zLight drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles./ f# }( F" d: K6 H$ W
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I had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things.& {: X7 s1 [' k( ]
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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.& a( w! C/ S$ ?! a3 m6 F
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The porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga. - J5 v0 ^, Z( X+ H& F( G* j5 j/ k- l. W$ C
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. ( B% T) j8 N" b# b' Q; h) |2 g* P 4 ~/ Y! p5 G; \' A" ^3 ^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./ H. O# l& @8 u' J1 y# y
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Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed. & j6 t/ z& ?) ~) A , g o8 D* ^8 }: t3 X, K5 TFantasy 1 Q9 n( H8 b% E- g2 I4 i2 u& q h, ^' q1 K, S) v
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.. m& y" { s. A) e* M$ b% W0 W. S
. k3 x5 a$ h; r) r. q8 _# i& O. N- ZThe problem, increasingly, is revenue. " R+ s' {# M! n/ h' ~8 Q6 A- n4 i g
Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch. - c# c# `# M, b! u7 ]; h4 T ! B- D& F$ W. w* f- `DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free.3 d6 K2 X C; L
! ^, s, U7 F. g3 DAnd the economic downturn does not help. ' o1 G, c- J: S# I& m" w k* u+ Y" k! q* ~6 t"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully.& | f) j* z; F5 w# b( z( v
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The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. 4 m+ n0 [9 I$ u2 P% q! k0 D( c) Z$ Y# ~ 1 ^/ P$ `$ [& {. V0 y! v5 KFor years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms. . g* S& f# C, w1 C8 H 6 F6 M9 {7 Y/ w( U. h9 O0 kHealth scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set. 8 {6 ^2 r4 p$ o! T / @+ L9 g, d3 b3 S( b8 vBut the industry says wearing condoms on-screen is a turn-off. The public do not want it, it will kill the fantasy, they say. 6 h) |. P; r& K6 q: G @. t ) l, f+ S' R/ i: t* HGonorrhoea 1 H; l1 H) q4 d6 T3 w! @ . D) T$ b2 O8 R1 s! nBack on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. : A$ p! h1 t D7 S% M ! q$ d3 \: g/ U; e4 L4 ^5 cA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years.& l, S5 r2 V, ?
5 W p$ b/ w4 lShe turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure.) \9 k9 Y7 D9 v
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"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" ) E8 _3 s: S8 r( K/ m; F! Q, i 9 j3 R! f/ w6 I) ^/ w- cHer 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. 4 r7 \0 v( H! s; }4 K! ~ $ Q/ s# k u7 z5 v; t) p \Each day would be 15 hours long. 1 l+ P' E/ F; k* d7 f+ U, Z! N " J! b- w2 {0 q5 J8 b9 F"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested.% R/ d- h" e* `
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"You get used to it," she smiled. ; }8 f0 j- b' a5 K , a8 V; Y4 I. h2 v Z$ Z5 I"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?"; l) A8 X' ]; |& t7 `/ x9 Y
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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."8 f4 y2 r1 s3 H1 C, S; Z5 x
1 p2 r X o/ Q2 R+ b$ Z% YThere was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided.) {0 v( J# G, U
0 _. v/ Z0 d# bExpensive lawsuits' e0 u4 v B7 J2 o, P7 \
* g2 U5 \6 y% D5 J r% D4 l OIn fact there was something very Californian about the entire business.: o# r6 \" g5 t* e2 }( A
1 q2 W- T; F# Y! R: `A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it. 1 B/ A: i8 N' M& G+ b. ^$ ]7 Q , \' G u. G3 sIt 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." O) j* l) T4 v1 t ?
' }: b) w: i$ }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. $ t+ x0 n9 D. I4 B1 i9 m. }$ P0 w2 ^: p% U
"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?"8 w* {4 n) {. W; o8 M
# f: I; d& h% r, W0 s. ?4 CI struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment.- P6 \4 J S( Y# L9 l7 J
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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? 0 u3 W' ]- d2 ?3 p2 k2 @( c) c% f+ m% }2 l6 u/ K
The authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection. o7 a' x# H* E
4 p5 w5 i) Y* N- x+ N8 h, yIt 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.# C S8 x. r) J: N3 F
$ ^4 M6 ^; X# y2 Y8 b" I" n2 A: VA number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them. 7 _4 k" J& B% }& ^6 q1 j! s* F. {8 j5 ?7 o8 @% K
The producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants.% T( @+ s# a- o
* L( I+ A6 w- G$ D$ |That view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene.$ b$ {% G; z0 U
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I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. 4 J: E- V! z: b$ g, L: d! P+ U% D& N8 v' b8 ` + f' J0 g# o- E# c8 M% \" S% u0 @
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Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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