! ~: _) I9 q8 s% i2 d. k6 `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。7 Z% @9 J, L. s3 R6 s
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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……. 4 T u- v9 u$ J, V * p& [. s) K* s4 V4 |, X* H( N8 a! r6 s* c* }# b
Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles $ D! i6 G" t& {* H& U) i $ T' B) N0 F5 f& J4 O3 ACalifornia'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. 4 M- O' b, P) w- P* _/ t* g& M- |5 J , Y) G; q4 C* ]' TLight drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.* x7 j7 i$ h2 u/ W3 y$ r" v) m- ^
9 B6 v) y, c AI had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things.: |) ]' c, a5 J: X+ \6 B
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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. 4 U6 E% ~: B! f. B: l$ b( s+ v( q; \
The porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga. 7 n; f; i6 [$ [. Z5 q2 @/ I; k* w8 I; P* P; ?
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. . S7 i, j! w7 e6 G3 L7 ?' X+ d( t0 R; J # e, t+ y3 V, u' d3 ~( EThis 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 C8 B3 v, B+ X7 I. p! t% y7 z $ a, k: i8 p; m9 i. }5 POnly 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed.% }+ s" T d. K! c3 i# U: F
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Fantasy , X# p- m3 t5 U, m3 l- a4 r: \6 w $ e' T0 a, ~/ U4 O3 K" WThe 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. 7 _) k) h+ j' l" g5 z2 d" ~# E9 @# Y. U2 v% H
The problem, increasingly, is revenue. ( U# i1 Q$ x0 m' K, Z) D+ T : T# ~, w$ ]/ u: |; e1 jLike the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch.* j; A% q! K0 ?
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DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free. / q! N$ v, x( ]8 B6 i' m - Y7 o" q c0 A \; NAnd the economic downturn does not help. : m- A9 T1 J e* v1 t9 X9 b1 t/ V* `/ }8 I0 v8 t" W. O
"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully.6 w; o! ^& m4 z% h! J
6 W2 R; r5 O6 m! w3 C/ V8 QThe economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. 7 Y A+ B% r0 J - s- p* V C. N' O0 G k# C# GFor years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms. 6 C6 F/ _' Y& y& d! h6 x- G, f; U' R+ o# T
Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set." z. n1 o; s2 t `
5 r* I7 R* u8 e8 h @3 yBut the industry says wearing condoms on-screen is a turn-off. The public do not want it, it will kill the fantasy, they say. * a5 b/ o4 u- A8 A6 ~4 d- A. v8 e + I4 t+ k4 {% V7 j6 U1 GGonorrhoea ( R( z$ ^4 X: _: ]3 o; N7 W2 [$ A1 ~
Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. % w0 m: e/ k! p0 @ ' B2 W) ^/ E9 {- z( M1 c3 K3 rA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years.! B1 }$ ~4 v7 F$ S5 r$ d
! z8 ~+ x& V7 P7 h3 g0 kShe turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. ; m% S9 q8 E4 V: O4 Y # f; I& S; [ R; j1 M: L"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" # ~+ b8 M& [3 B- w# S/ L 6 r+ P5 @4 X+ }* l1 r% yHer 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.% C' o8 x9 P. Y4 E
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Each day would be 15 hours long.# a+ U# y3 _. Q, l0 m
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"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested." c. B5 h K! ^0 p3 ~; m
& w# P- x u) D4 R9 x' \, b- `"You get used to it," she smiled. ! i$ p+ E2 h# H) o$ w9 k! Q3 X x/ Z% g: E5 T+ ~: x0 s
"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" ! ?" |+ B6 S; B: _ S" ]- R 7 U: J) {, c0 X: r"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."- L+ z* r$ x- w% I9 ^6 h/ @
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There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. & n$ L8 G" \( |: O1 _' v$ K/ p( E8 l$ |
Expensive lawsuits5 s' q% B. p9 O+ S/ y
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In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business.; `$ {6 ~8 _' ~( V g% c
( I; o* ?; m" O5 ?; `$ y, VA combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it.: ?6 [3 S. B% \, P) Q) }( T
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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.+ ~+ N! a/ }$ n. n% X; ?* n
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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.6 z+ X% J( Z- U2 z3 d+ m
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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?" 9 }0 z7 L7 k: f: F& b3 Q) ?/ [$ e* Y5 N7 h' |. [
I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment. * e" P& r# x9 e& P& W, j& s. b9 l E: T8 Z0 F
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?/ y) p' b& p* b* J1 h! \' ~
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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. ) J* v/ K! t* I4 y8 S( f8 p, E8 Q4 k% ^ H4 S2 N0 ]
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. 8 v/ ~( @7 T, J4 p) s1 y' H0 J" Q/ o- n
A number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them.$ k' b+ d4 x9 |; J- R# d$ r' g& P: [
# c# F. D G$ F' H2 q: W& }$ `The producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants. . M, f7 ?+ f) n& K3 | , }8 Q. v/ U; M; y, qThat view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene. 1 [0 ?2 r5 W, n' c* {( `8 {# l5 p5 C1 T _& A6 T% l
I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. + _, \% c5 I# y& S5 }, p* A6 ~7 ~% | k- \7 L 6 X. O7 ?% m& s2 E 1 h8 N5 a$ l# v1 f + {; J1 V* [# a, ~7 ~Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004