7 N0 r& ^/ ?6 t. V$ l( d" w一些演员私下告诉我，他们盼着立法赶快生效。 , n, i8 R8 c* l $ E# a$ J8 v: {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。 , X1 w, K1 `. ]5 k& Q; |3 G' z7 m0 s/ J0 z
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。; J/ s' @: S, G* l
$ j$ b6 R. k( i6 K- f0 z/ ^& |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…….2 I0 n7 ]0 t7 U8 t1 | h- f
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Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles . ]; K0 n2 b; e5 O: Q1 l( C
. G9 G0 D' f5 n4 KCalifornia'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. ^1 f( {7 [7 E3 g6 Z9 p: W
5 X% ^% m- S3 r' }8 H. x0 iLight drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.! L, z% N6 k* d
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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. % y* o/ L7 w6 I" V& z- k8 { $ ~2 d2 S( a* Q/ j! O* qWhat I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect. . N1 }2 t& o2 B* Z7 o2 i( O) U; z5 T; e+ z
The porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga. ' Q, i! H. E: C" r2 P * p0 L! G7 e- ?% J' |% DPerformers 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.5 p' y* w* e8 F+ d+ G1 k: A/ \ l8 u9 r
+ \* w, h+ }6 ~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." C$ Q) t& o4 ^: O0 k& L1 T
5 U9 M% e& ~* Q) ~Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed.3 h: W- X/ y% @) Z
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1 g: }: e9 n7 x0 x6 a- l/ rThe 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. 1 v; n! f0 |! C8 W" K. U7 P' p+ a4 K1 h y
The problem, increasingly, is revenue. 2 B' B* l& N$ Q V6 Y9 e$ [" L2 h j# {9 d8 ?( l7 a9 @
Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch. e/ U+ W, P# Q! ^ ) u% |. _+ T+ N8 _4 DDVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free./ }1 Z9 u/ s0 d& m
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And the economic downturn does not help.6 W& |; B3 x7 h2 T: l% L4 V4 |# V/ G
' T3 d( f8 v* W- u" K"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. ) i. K; x/ e# S# b/ \% x! L0 a3 V: t3 G" B
The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations." q) ]1 U$ a$ c
* r. u5 P0 X/ p6 b" sFor years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms. 7 k! c2 e9 L6 W/ Y3 e# i8 u" J' W& o( p: p: J
Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set.; f3 }: [. P+ A& d4 ?! z
. i; F4 i3 |, o8 E0 G5 UBut the industry says wearing condoms on-screen is a turn-off. The public do not want it, it will kill the fantasy, they say.) V* w0 V8 r2 ?9 {9 S
0 X/ F) }, u9 S- p3 GGonorrhoea : Q! ~1 E0 X1 H% x* f" Z/ W7 r $ U% {$ _9 T( E3 q8 I8 J2 E" mBack on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. + K: }6 A# H" R4 G/ `4 T) @8 e% }6 l9 J& _
A college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years.8 }7 V) u0 b/ Y" w
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She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure.$ D% O9 b+ b. P" u0 U
5 H3 |; O {, \" E"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?"6 H! k( P* ~- c+ W& w5 n
' x/ ?7 g9 t+ kHer 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. 6 j6 v8 H' |4 w/ l3 } 8 {8 v( L& L2 }8 V7 A5 yEach day would be 15 hours long. 9 {1 v* Y4 @# V6 p% g: [( Z) i & \6 ~3 `. a1 i# f"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested.' t( V+ p. X/ e3 b8 W
; W/ T' b r8 I- u1 l"You get used to it," she smiled. ( n8 B" D+ h( L2 H" J* W7 f / H8 r5 z# |) h9 O# t"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?"4 o7 |7 a, p1 Z& Q6 w2 R
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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." . @; X2 N6 R* c# e" Z. t( X 4 u" N' q% f6 }$ d8 [4 w5 R( GThere was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided.8 E, L) `5 P; ~* `3 b' J
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Expensive lawsuits ; u! k& }& l4 @! Z8 z# D; N4 U0 r4 O" b' Q
In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. : q, E4 @% Y0 P& I; u, |" y" J m1 F- }( N% t# s+ o
A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it.- Y v2 X# z" c; t* f* M
$ z) d3 L% M _2 L2 j$ ?7 ZIt 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. ( @& ~# {% v0 R% e1 G7 ?, x. ^. ~" `" z* c
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.0 B$ ?# T- C* \2 V7 @
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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?" % V. C' t, I9 a; D! H0 G1 c, X: ?" Q4 i9 ]8 {
I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment. 7 X7 E5 p# Q! ]: J & A& O' G* B, i9 u$ a5 `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? % X1 ^% u. d; x: W; l6 g, {0 ?/ S4 a& l
The authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection. 6 i, D6 g5 I% I6 A( r& n- p ! s1 t& Z& I2 S" n& TIt 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. 8 U" _! D1 Y v" [ T) s( U6 P2 A1 s) [8 N; ^; E
A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them. / ^8 R. j) o5 Y2 j# u2 m5 J+ @. C$ k# y$ v# U
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 o" r5 N4 c
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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.7 u4 t" A$ @7 `/ t+ s" a5 `7 b
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I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. " k' G, X3 L* c / W" P4 w: v) ~+ o! d4 Y0 s$ m 2 l5 ~1 _2 v" G$ D7 o# n, k9 b: T: `/ z, p1 J* A " n6 J4 N) d5 t4 N+ T9 i" Y! v _# l
Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
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