5 x/ H2 V* R1 ^演员健康受损害的案例中最著名的一起是在2004年,三名演员感染上艾滋病毒。这凸现出演员中交叉感染十分严重。. a2 y) l @! J: b; Y9 I
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但是,电影业坚持说,演员带安全套会扫观众的兴。他们说,观众不愿意看,安全套等于扼杀观众的幻想。! S% R% S2 G, K6 [, k3 A, A; Y
“没什么大不了的” ( F& B- b8 C: W% V$ d7 P, p0 `3 @# s* q" W% M* u
重返《星际迷航》的拍摄现场,我和主要演员之一宝碧·斯塔尔聊了起来。宝碧是大学毕业生,以前是国家级游泳运动员,专业的双簧管手。短短的27年,她的一生真可是阅历丰富。 7 e: O- `% [" \8 i% E! { * o7 F7 c% o, F8 Y8 O宝碧说,改行做色情电影演员,主要是为了追求性探险。她说,“这是找乐趣。身边的人都高高兴兴,你有什么可烦的呢”? 7 W( Q) p8 t4 f' L4 x- i, T0 v# }) u1 F0 v. R
当天,她的日程安排得很紧凑,两句台词,四小时的性爱。星期二试装,然后就去接受每月一次的体检。宝碧每一天都要工作15个小时。# V4 w" E/ @7 A: r- a: v4 W0 z
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我说,“你一定很累吧”?她微笑着回答说,“习惯了”。 & D4 H5 q6 `/ P* x# ?6 W! R' n5 c9 m. k) Y6 L6 C. {
我接着问,“那么,健康风险呢?你经常被感染吗”?3 k( J7 D/ J; L3 G: b% T
& H3 H, D. l2 ~: Z2 d3 M0 c8 p! x* g, L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。” ; G, u' E6 o2 C" d* t; `4 f# ?9 K' `, {: Q
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。 1 c0 b9 ^9 e. Y+ v# a; \, U& U3 J, P" ]# z. m
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。 3 i7 ]+ u- p. t" y* k) C, t不戴安全套的权利4 [0 b5 y+ k) E; u
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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。; c) |& W5 i. U5 J9 m, ^
! i* e, j9 n$ q( B8 \$ z2 g( l! C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”? # l0 I/ z- H/ r9 i: s 5 d! C* z1 S3 |. Y' y- J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。 3 |( h+ C, z, y: w5 a! _; h * H$ D3 R; I, b4 i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? - L. P* i$ Z" w% A4 x ( U& ?3 F, a) C* ~5 {: F6 W' v2 V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。/ M+ x" W8 S# q5 y
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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。 5 C' i' S0 V$ g% y" p5 C A3 r h( o
一些演员私下告诉我,他们盼着立法赶快生效。 . O; f% }9 j4 y3 R3 E& J4 b3 G9 q7 T
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。& n. a2 k ~7 `2 q6 q
. G. a) O# g9 A" a1 |" R- B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。6 m4 I0 J. G+ D1 s& X, w4 z
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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…….2 b& `* R1 R- N O5 F
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Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles % ^3 W8 W5 k5 \. H+ @5 A2 Y9 @/ [
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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.5 I' N# {1 C3 k& G3 W8 e$ A
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Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles. ( _) S4 v+ V5 E3 I3 k. h - f. w; |# \3 Q8 dI had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things.- ^! b) x' c/ \; `+ O
_# l/ g- X3 r( Z! vWhat I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect. ! ? s9 x- _% }7 I P7 T/ B# l* G# g- Z+ ?8 SThe porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga.4 M8 ]9 y; o& y
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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. ( J k' L6 n0 a5 Q# ~2 n# } 0 ^' a$ I$ z( i9 F7 i1 ?# F" c! dThis 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. 6 { B$ o8 b8 D- K! |& R4 c! Y; S: q) ~+ B; ]. {/ K) d
Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed.- T; G, N) Z# E! G) {8 |
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# G8 ]: R% N5 O) P: K( _$ s# IThe 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. ! h& b0 C5 R/ o+ k" N. ~8 ]! g! v$ R6 t% \$ B+ `
The problem, increasingly, is revenue. r3 O- d& J }8 T" q& ^1 [. n( B
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Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch. - o. E8 G) g& i7 d, F+ q7 K / J5 W F9 C1 {, u1 R3 {DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free. Z ~% B0 j/ u' u" l! @. a O: W: k4 y" q/ @
And the economic downturn does not help. ! M' T$ ^1 }- Q6 ~/ _) m7 k9 y d2 G7 p$ j" N
"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully.9 a: m. e& I. c7 Q0 U0 n
" ~+ ?# q. G2 O9 i! {: kThe economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations.! x. }: B T0 ]4 L0 _
# d- j& I$ b/ X* e- u+ \/ a yFor years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms. # |" r. O1 {0 b- q; M$ J& g+ m1 u0 |: c& R
Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set. . n/ [4 m" X! a" x6 [( y! q( m: S `% { N) z M& f1 z
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.. B/ P! G$ }$ [" a1 P
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3 F) g6 s4 x3 e; E L5 l" ?Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. 1 [/ Z7 A# T$ G) d2 n& l4 J8 E6 U* |% s! m4 V
A college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years. ) I: Y3 E! Q4 l( a: e$ H 3 w X9 ?3 P9 _/ i w, oShe turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure.3 B! E0 j5 Z# I; \8 U
& R' ^7 V4 k1 a! u8 p"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" " d0 I3 q8 p" T E3 A) J' _7 G" M! e7 d9 |$ h' O) n8 ^; t
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., r# | T7 Q; k5 ]1 @& w9 e, S; ~
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Each day would be 15 hours long. ) A* s7 K4 o1 n9 t1 |5 L4 y0 \7 i + l2 M9 J' }) d4 E"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. - |5 b# Y! {* \8 O4 _) ~ # J& A3 o- P* h5 d/ v! {"You get used to it," she smiled.- n' k- P5 `) i" ], w2 P( ]
2 R7 o# J+ g k3 Q, ~# s"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?"$ O" ~; x& J4 o* k
8 _( E9 V$ l& i! h9 h9 A"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." 4 r/ S0 w) B+ U* D: y! n1 h2 B: ]) l0 @. `* f1 |! F, k# I
There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. ; \# `9 Y! K: k9 M5 ~' I2 _# b
Expensive lawsuits $ N( h; \' \: S, r - i2 Y" n/ V6 L& H, hIn fact there was something very Californian about the entire business.; {' ^- S$ T% H$ W& N
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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. V1 _( X1 a( N8 M1 U/ P. l 0 w" a; T& J6 C- d0 P" OIt 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. : V! n1 Z, r P& x4 ^0 q# l: i2 j: V
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. 1 t b0 V% ~1 ~. R* ~ n% B- |; r; @, d, Z. g& B- n) {"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?"/ }8 A5 c/ a) C m
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I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment.$ S7 }0 M2 A' ~$ l; r' E
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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?- a+ Y+ F) _+ a/ c1 Q5 c; d% e
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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.6 j1 y. {! f* y' Y O! Q& R; u
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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 x+ e8 Q0 R+ r1 C: f 5 c- z+ W6 x* T/ dA number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them. 3 E5 ^0 a2 } A" z1 i N; t% v( U- O: V: k% j# ]The producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants.) o: \9 f. h3 @+ l
3 }) @6 N/ D+ F+ yThat view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene.' b* g+ Y0 m3 t4 _2 O
: j g$ T3 {3 W0 dI decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. 6 V/ J% b7 h1 c5 ` h* f! s k+ ?3 V) L $ q0 a' }% c1 @. `5 I) N. e I" v# \8 E. O) j " I7 y+ t$ n. y& ]
Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004