+ h% w2 }7 {" G" M1 U4 O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。7 i7 l2 ]0 g$ u* M
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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?3 C; m, X v* o' r# d7 E; K( S
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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。 ' J& Y3 R9 O9 O+ W L" @, E; u5 ^! P/ h
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。+ g9 T; a$ _$ {! u
! Y( ^" w; B9 S" U* R* k7 z+ f$ U一些演员私下告诉我,他们盼着立法赶快生效。2 o7 a; Q( b/ a7 x
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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。* G7 R( q) c4 x7 F# i6 k! T
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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。 " `, V. y1 q r v w5 @5 q) h( H. }2 H# S0 m5 q+ e
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……. ; F6 |+ U. |0 ~1 Y( s! n. O C& s$ g" s3 _( r0 r
7 a: @+ e; s3 ]6 v+ Y* b7 s# vCalifornia'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" y8 X- d! j: w$ h. s1 U" O
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Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles. . b4 \# ]' D3 X2 A$ z) J* r7 X : L( K7 W, a% II had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things. * h7 \/ s% k% { % L% W3 D8 c# t' e( h: \4 J) c( v. ~+ qWhat I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect.* U1 u, b" Y& `6 }
# T) |' [6 Y. n$ N9 ^/ \- a: E4 R0 aThe porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga. 3 K: g0 u& C! V% \# Q" i3 _5 \7 h$ t, L5 L+ g+ R, |
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. 6 V# ]: m! t- P% q. C/ G, F$ |1 b# [) E+ @5 l
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.7 [- A. E- J8 w4 Y* k: d
: g+ d* V6 i6 L: oOnly 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed. ' i6 Z% l& X0 C) A2 @6 Q$ s3 I* o) X3 Q
Fantasy " ] S- r* q. n# f) F% E# c. @4 ^ D$ E3 D6 [- f& w* x$ f
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.& y3 u0 D U% l3 |& p" Q a: j7 q8 ]
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The problem, increasingly, is revenue.+ K' N' c! p N/ z
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Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch. t. Z+ H4 ^2 y" R9 H0 s
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DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free. 1 W1 c& v* U4 K2 v : n$ \. I: J% U3 T8 ZAnd the economic downturn does not help. 4 J$ b- `1 D. F( t& R- ^3 G3 Z# |. A! ?7 ?
"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully.+ u: P+ d1 K! b" C. u! J& \
; |% N- E) ^1 K3 t: R9 e$ cThe economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations." _2 r+ A7 b5 h: V
9 A# i8 e8 S; [# [- a1 pFor years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms.+ N" V: s( s+ c1 r
% h/ }: d9 I! F1 O" b5 IHealth scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set.: f7 C2 m5 O8 ?9 Q4 Q4 _4 Q
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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. D: b+ K# {' b+ E
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Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. , N% f6 Y* f7 K8 n0 M* r6 d) t% X3 v
A college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years.( z4 P: E* y3 _2 ^" S
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She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. 7 s0 L% ?9 |, E6 T1 b8 b& g( M. z# v' R1 f0 ~2 D, n
"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" 0 }+ Z+ \% s3 p M & w- H& w6 `8 W2 K" M6 D( r& ^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. % M8 e3 c, m h# a1 x9 c ^; u5 W/ z; K& f# e/ J. p- I
Each day would be 15 hours long. - P, _3 ~2 ^1 y+ L" w- D. @ P& V3 z* @
"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. ! h% ]& t# [1 A- N/ E! D( H h& c# H' \% b4 u f9 k
"You get used to it," she smiled. . M$ g0 V0 P6 e7 ~0 E& _ + R: S h9 l, S& ~( H1 q"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" # P- H$ Z0 `& J: B. a% _1 [; L$ I4 ~' {! t
"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." % b% j- n& B( L X v & k0 s7 }3 o( [$ J4 B( b! ~There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. ; n/ v* m. g0 \( ? # ~# d( v$ Y7 XExpensive lawsuits 3 x6 W( e9 q! B0 ?" j" ^) R2 C. }' l, B* I7 S) B& ~
In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. , L# S" ^* H% x) i ) Q/ E+ p, l# J: q0 a9 l$ |* ZA combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it.4 T9 j+ V b. @4 _
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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. - e6 K i2 J4 l* K* o8 c; V0 B5 @8 K& A" a8 N1 @( R
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.- O, y& ^1 Q- ~3 B
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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?"8 n; s7 J' A6 }7 k# c: w
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I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment. 6 ], [% \3 J/ E% m & ]& J9 E; K/ {/ q; S, k; f% cBut 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? 4 m- Q: [1 |# f1 k" A% L $ p) Y- H7 J. @4 ^The authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection. ( x4 T, b! G; D% ~+ `2 V1 s7 T% n# m- ?( D9 O2 O$ Z
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. 4 m. ]& v8 h- E7 x6 F0 o1 O; b
A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them.+ T8 T5 I. X' O% p# h" b
% w0 [% `' A- ~# t+ f: lThe producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants.7 U5 o' _" R9 Z0 P2 b* T
. |( H8 J" x) a. t, m+ |That view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene.: U& p$ X. i: J
9 S) C" W9 a; x7 s9 yI decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. 7 p) M* L! l: i9 P1 A/ }9 n4 }* { x/ _/ n: H) L 9 J2 g2 Y) d6 G# w
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Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004