9 k- l/ }( n9 Y. }" L. a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" L. O) \+ d( @% u) m
: t0 v' w# G, I: [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。 ) `: C8 d9 S8 H: L$ k: b( G2 d) w2 z+ b0 D; c- R! a' ]
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……. $ M4 b; m+ j3 N# o ; o7 {+ X9 J6 [: K8 v, S# Z; }2 u! D* y* ?" I2 s* b! F: k3 M3 I
Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles 6 x& L6 p0 e* L1 B 7 C$ [% P {( X; ~3 j# F& A; R, BCalifornia'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. * ?+ e/ K9 A8 N) R! e8 ~& }6 o- a
Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles., x% P- o8 V# y0 o& Q
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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. ; {: z' c% f+ S% W9 V! e 2 {. ]. P W( I4 ~What I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect.2 L- K7 n" H/ v% `2 w2 f" z
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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.9 Z& n0 [$ C1 D2 Q/ x7 |
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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. . o# c4 D/ H6 B+ w0 {% n9 Z( E % O2 u3 F$ @) N: l2 T. o1 g oThis 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." p- O( M3 @4 `+ G
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Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed. $ n# X- J$ E. n- x8 P" S, c& Z8 M& x+ A& ^
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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.& M0 J n% s! ~- C8 d7 w
6 f' z" Z5 e. gThe problem, increasingly, is revenue.& l/ h$ x) H2 B
5 k2 ^; f& S2 `* f* Z. b# SLike the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch. ) c5 k6 k* `4 W c% h5 B& u! Q6 A# \7 S" }
DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free. % R% t2 ? B; f- E6 t9 N ( R" Y9 o' b _. OAnd the economic downturn does not help. 9 d' m) E6 M! H0 w. R) B( o1 W) @ 2 I( t2 p2 k) v% P. S5 x; a"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully.* i0 x6 U) D' b9 g% Q
5 D% ]0 g, K+ X0 FThe economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations.5 o$ n( h1 k' v) y" k
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For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms. / X6 w( W- ~! h. Q Y4 F+ f$ W( P" s' Z0 f
Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set. & ?2 }& _2 T7 `! @4 F; a. _) d/ B8 I7 L5 r3 J" W" r/ U
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. 6 _- l0 `3 f- o; b) y, l& C& ~" E; ]) M2 v7 V1 D. s! D. I
Gonorrhoea / C" e' D8 }7 |( o - e H( T4 j8 U: V' Y' W5 ZBack on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers.$ J, y1 o1 V- ^, I
0 Y! q1 `( `, J" b6 Q' k4 ?A college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years. , {& e! u$ C% `( D/ w( L( f) e+ ?) d1 X+ }
She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. * {: ^* Y! X8 N! z2 b& x0 W ) `3 w7 h4 e7 z3 Z" W"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" ( ^! M2 }5 S; _& M7 b) J9 @/ p/ \! r. p' k8 S( W: A$ F
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. % ]3 {( @9 W4 K" s" E2 |/ S1 E: M& l! j# D5 N6 c% G4 T% T5 `
Each day would be 15 hours long.3 ]' W$ T& ^! \+ H) U% {3 X
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"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. / T- N# M6 `6 S7 _+ z4 Y $ X' o! o% s6 |# V0 Y3 h% s"You get used to it," she smiled.' e( \6 S1 s0 v$ Q; I2 l* `- Z5 l
( r8 G) q) s0 }"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" 2 A+ X& V# u$ z% c; D; l8 W& Q4 h! L
"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."" A; \+ y3 D& q/ O
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There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. 0 U5 p& i6 F* f; o, o# L2 E8 b) T+ b0 N. L9 a+ X l
Expensive lawsuits; j/ G, h$ V+ o$ Y$ V1 T; N
+ ]% s7 Z0 f- p$ \In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business.* P. t* t, _/ ]5 G
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A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it. 8 f& o+ R* S( ~" V; J; S+ B3 `2 ?, g( t3 ]% |9 R/ d: Y
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. ! f& K( W+ _5 m' k V# p7 L. n4 q
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. D# [9 c. R) S# I5 D# v! U1 ?$ `6 P; i3 O+ c, |) G
"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?" ( z0 d" }3 u% F7 U6 c( G+ J# ?* N
I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment.9 q b9 L o$ P- _% n& N* y6 n( A
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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? b6 X' Y+ ~( G. V' i6 z- `% p8 R& ]; a$ p+ z% M
The authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection.2 Y0 p- c! I/ S6 ?7 Q
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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. % o3 V" b' k$ T% @: L- {& T/ {0 ]7 l8 Y5 j! R ?* @# k( S9 ?
A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them. 3 `# Z1 |& O/ x1 ~) @: c" l3 ~8 S% G4 `% k" V2 T& u+ [; F$ B1 ?
The producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants. 5 R$ S) Y7 T' V/ I1 l( ?; O! n4 N& ?: W5 J
That view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene. 9 V6 R6 x+ b/ |. A7 I0 j . x" p1 m: q6 w$ M0 e4 SI decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. % C2 t5 k+ W: ?2 Q8 {( {1 P# G & V, O6 \) T5 W1 h6 m4 H; C" p/ Y3 W, N* X6 c2 I0 z6 ~+ B
" Y [5 T7 \. q $ p, c. }+ Y! y; E' R$ J4 ]4 x9 ZCalls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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