/ p# `. ?/ t' i: X+ A& U3 J我说,“你一定很累吧”?她微笑着回答说,“习惯了”。 2 y \6 Y+ W9 x; P $ \# |) A/ H9 s我接着问,“那么,健康风险呢?你经常被感染吗”?+ O( l& ?) o1 F+ ?# a% o
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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。”) K% a5 x# y* {9 P4 G* ]$ Y$ ^
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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。 $ k' F2 X" |4 V6 M H6 m* n' F/ _1 y( i# c0 C' r
1980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。" h* @, Q1 X. G4 n) x, u) ?
不戴安全套的权利 2 z' b6 `6 s- I8 V/ y5 `$ K7 O; h4 a4 K3 f6 }4 t" E7 L+ l/ X
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。 0 R; u4 t; Z. E2 N# _ + @2 a- v* C9 [7 T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”? - u J& B6 O) E: n' R4 n9 ]. n! O3 ? _" q! l3 y: B/ y
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。 ' i9 w/ c, Q7 z* O 1 T: `- j) X5 h7 G) a! ^: d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? # V' y, Q& [' ^; g4 W4 A! s5 K6 A) H! s4 K' h! O
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。 2 f9 Z1 Z; R: e2 g" D, e: ~ ( @ }+ v U, k: G6 ^1 z4 R7 {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。 6 w2 S# V0 D: d, b 8 p/ D* ]! A8 z! Y R一些演员私下告诉我,他们盼着立法赶快生效。8 F0 H. Z2 W! f
7 A6 Q+ X0 Z. S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。+ k" i% a" Q+ W9 t# ]; G3 z
/ C ~7 Z6 Y( g( M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。 , p0 t3 v+ Q2 `. A, I! A& V5 x( D
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…….; u7 m o1 A6 M) ^, {% F
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Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles H- k5 x: J8 i, V4 T $ @9 Y# k5 s' ~3 n$ W+ ?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.6 k& n" C) g4 \0 E+ o; y- n1 f
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Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles. 3 g: n: q- B0 O( m: @0 B' v " }# f: C' T) N* V( |7 WI had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things." u+ V' h5 u8 }8 s
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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.) m* @. g3 g8 j3 l
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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.8 F, k0 C+ ~7 k4 E [& {" k" l1 r
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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.0 w' h: m2 O2 L+ W
, f; G4 q# a+ c4 h. G. a6 UThis 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. * ~8 ^& l0 t5 y$ x7 N, z: z. }5 T4 }; C8 K" [" z+ _% f$ h Q
Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed. ( N1 d7 D/ t! }3 R5 d% _2 Q# P2 a; i7 x& y7 r0 @
Fantasy 6 f6 c! t5 b/ f! ~. ~1 a. ~) d# Z$ i( ^
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. & b0 O/ p- ]& p $ O, P( J8 P, i. rThe problem, increasingly, is revenue. ) `3 \: [) i5 r+ _0 v* m% c& Y, T! A) E5 v
Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch. 2 ?* i9 M: _. B1 }' P" { o2 a0 z + K$ X' n/ i# |* s2 }$ A1 LDVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free. . C1 f/ x+ _8 y) k6 _: q# ^ 7 K, C( q$ u& E% MAnd the economic downturn does not help.. P1 b- z1 L! i z0 S
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"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully.# }: \' a" x' K/ W% X. r @
: H7 E7 k7 i/ k( U8 c$ |The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. $ A6 Q) R- ?( }' d& _8 k* T* T. ^$ n: X
For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms.) g+ W! e4 s) r8 ` \2 l
: f' _! A9 I$ ~/ @. GHealth scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set.1 Y' Q, L7 A9 g2 f
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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.1 ?$ u8 r/ V; b( ~# X7 d
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Gonorrhoea# l d8 ^! ?7 p( c/ e0 f
4 `) T' q3 B" j: K' uBack on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers.' {0 P0 r; v1 H! ^
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A college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years.' _, z- R! F0 A ~$ ?, k# |
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She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure.5 G5 R1 J3 G s5 {. e' n! }. k
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"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?"* z1 V. K1 T. m- e8 q& U
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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. , \& `+ `' f6 T, |) S' `2 G # Z' x2 X1 [0 K, ]- T+ s5 BEach day would be 15 hours long.+ m, F5 G+ {( j' |
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"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested." m2 ~. M: J1 }6 `3 C$ m# n. ]6 j
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"You get used to it," she smiled. ) n+ O5 }, M& d7 M: h( i6 ]* R2 r; X( H
"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?"; B# ?2 Y! a. U5 s
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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." 3 C) y+ Z: C5 M % Y. l4 k B3 s1 O) v, uThere was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. ; o1 i. k8 ~: L! K8 ^8 g# i" ]* x/ Y6 g2 Y" [
Expensive lawsuits2 ]. o6 F2 g ^2 C
/ r) H' G! f7 Q& [In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. 5 p( C) @3 `, x& b% d" Z % {2 R) a( A4 z- o; y$ \' V# z$ A+ f7 kA combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it. E1 }! e9 U- m9 x+ S" W# X) c! m" y3 b5 _
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.% K( \2 J7 `" e F6 t2 I, f
5 w7 x! P+ a, ^6 Q7 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.# p n/ r8 q8 }& Q: j; ~
8 q8 P8 Y+ O# a4 Y' T"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?" 6 f/ z! S# U" E& @1 y; u G2 a: w- _# X9 {( N8 _+ ^/ \% a& y# e! [
I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment.* j. e& v: |8 q4 V
( N& q* D( _ v1 ?5 {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?. m6 y( E1 ]8 b
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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.) F+ f, f! v6 x0 e
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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. F+ I. L" U. t/ P: ~+ f2 Q, q$ h* }: k5 a- Q9 w+ [* y
A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them.# g# a" J: m6 r* Y; e
: C* O V% l# Q5 H* I9 [The producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants. 2 X8 a$ Y9 K3 \: L$ j. R/ {8 b% {* R
That view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene. ' O; ]2 U0 e, p2 N. M1 M , B; D& k, E$ E% o0 z- h' V+ z+ `1 TI decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. 0 g9 c6 ]6 ]. x : ?9 {/ m$ D8 t' g N& F0 f2 ^8 s' e) R# u/ Q8 {
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Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004