2 f! I* K# x) |% s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。8 N7 C; e @9 x# {4 R
6 @6 G+ F6 q6 K0 _6 v. d" }, w
一些演员私下告诉我，他们盼着立法赶快生效。7 j$ K8 S: @# [* A t7 L4 Z
+ R: a( J6 g7 z' z6 L, ?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。 6 x H2 A! Y+ v& p ! h9 i, F9 e4 A6 D! h& 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。 + p) u( `1 H* @$ G+ d' M% I0 V8 ?! B
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……. 3 B8 D, @0 U0 X* H+ U$ h V0 _5 C' x. i3 Y
$ {" n: D* h* l# R$ {
Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles : m) t. ~! b# P' E. n
0 h/ e) Y: D1 C2 p7 U7 b9 XCalifornia'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. 3 U* Z5 `3 C, E+ z6 f9 z w# m+ y, G5 v4 c" v4 z( ]6 o
Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles. * G. o* ]' x+ V5 D& a- r5 `: r' n( n8 s: D" \. V2 m
I had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things. 5 D3 t& t2 |& B1 l) J. X8 D- G+ G5 A h0 I. a8 u
What I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect.( b; J' k& J0 e* |9 P2 X& k* V! {
; J8 ~. h6 |7 M8 }5 ^$ UThe porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga./ Z4 P$ ^$ R: D
3 n! j+ ?* J/ q9 m7 N/ N7 uPerformers 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.6 V& t5 r2 f0 ^* M7 f
5 W- A+ c; `0 o8 {5 G9 `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. ! z3 |; a, d6 f 6 _! w4 I: L/ z( d- MOnly 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed. ! q, }, a* S% s. r3 s4 ]& C7 d! b0 w( z$ j9 R% i
Fantasy0 f/ n) ]% K5 z3 O7 [
3 _' X: r& a( z" W; w& n
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.& U( s4 s0 ]3 f+ s* O% c& v
$ s; y& S/ W w( K* f0 L
The problem, increasingly, is revenue.1 `3 [+ g& \: C- c% F6 l
M6 {. L5 u0 I+ K) N8 YLike the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch. ; @. r; q& S3 D( z: U: u4 Y( B4 j0 [! |7 ~+ Z
DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free. % B7 | I9 y! \8 | : R" A! `% s z% x! tAnd the economic downturn does not help. 2 x# B A2 U' ^9 L @# X- A2 M( q; S! i/ t
"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. l: N3 ^2 G, q& L" i$ i6 }; a! R% ~9 ?* }/ k; y# I* B
The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. 0 G$ x S: _/ T- D0 Z, u# F ; u9 a) O" P0 MFor years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms. 6 p: a& R; u6 C# p% M' Z8 ~ F4 ]" U
Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set. . ?+ d5 Z' \$ z: ^0 t% p( _7 I4 L4 h& m
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. 9 v6 n9 t4 ], b' V, v% U5 G ; g* B" ]# O" G5 nGonorrhoea 8 M0 x: e% A( h/ j5 ` 2 y& J. V. n2 H: B3 yBack on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers.! Q( C4 P$ x7 w$ ^9 E/ [3 Q7 X( v
: a% b; h# v7 d( j2 oA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years. & w1 P' b/ X- O8 F+ p @( \" U3 J+ t& M- n c$ ~
She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure.* Y5 j7 ~: h' N& t+ ?. ?
3 j) Y$ O9 G/ p* K"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" 3 B8 x1 G m$ S6 X8 L+ x* p" @0 m8 D+ U
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.7 Q+ J6 p* b+ b
* k ~% F$ L- I4 g4 ?
Each day would be 15 hours long. " N' t" D! d9 A: Q# i2 ~$ ?7 @7 O0 z- b3 q
"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. 6 z2 c& M2 R& J- k6 {' V 1 B S+ h/ I$ P1 u \# o"You get used to it," she smiled.& I6 L- \: U& X/ E
* b2 Q5 H, U' p" Z5 x; o
"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" 9 W; v0 M+ [$ b7 `% i& v% O. A/ e' u# I/ I s6 D2 y+ `4 w* d: I
"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."* E( S; }6 I1 E' N* \
* H5 x* ~( J1 y( }# G3 V* {+ p/ KThere was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided.% e. Q! V3 G: C X u5 ?. Y
1 \" }0 w* E" I0 N2 Z. m* a8 j0 {
Expensive lawsuits( E2 l7 C! a9 F3 U! S
4 x" X" g8 w. G% R$ rIn fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. 9 z1 ]/ i* F/ e3 V4 {+ M 5 R# T6 t# R8 M- h! m& @" c. DA combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it. 2 E# m1 i, T( U+ C, x3 i8 H% s1 @4 w) d& R3 h$ ~! u1 ^
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: I8 x f9 D
0 ^8 j& v! k' a$ i7 S/ r
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. * x6 R- d6 |$ C$ c& Y( i/ L; U! k. l
"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?"7 w& g' k9 }3 M
. o* f5 g1 O# zI struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment.; A2 Z# X; ^( d
' }: @9 O# E4 ^; {" X L5 s
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? 8 q2 e* i2 K. ^* H! O0 F # b7 e2 L6 X3 ~1 S+ W9 ? zThe authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection. : ^6 }# u% t! F5 p% K h, {9 C: G. v# a0 U
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+ e1 [/ J& ~3 }* G
- T4 E; z4 y: o% y, a: `7 R( t5 kA number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them. , V2 D1 ~, H# i a. e7 H+ [ 0 ?! i$ M9 a$ `7 r4 n5 JThe producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants.2 V( j4 {. L6 R% |1 `* b
8 d) u: W" V$ B. D1 o1 e$ ?& xThat view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene.. d. c1 F# x$ A3 F' \
' T$ d; Q7 r0 B& A3 G# P
I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. % g: y; x8 n/ ?1 |+ K0 ~% x: ]! x2 h3 G9 U ! t3 B0 Q/ b" o3 y5 q& p 5 Y4 z+ [+ `' R! {4 a0 R. k- a: \7 u( K5 D% ~
Calls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
0 R. k- a: \7 u( K5 D% ~