* C6 q: K. R- s; h! y( O; W4 N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……./ I1 d' } S7 y9 b
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Californian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles ) b O" y. |- Q7 c( S
8 y# ]0 Z4 [! s# w/ t; h; ^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. 3 K7 |& [/ V0 B& `1 L/ X4 a3 U: z i: l
Light drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles.% V- m/ t$ \8 _- |
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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.0 B4 s" J% }7 ], h3 i5 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. * c+ _! y6 ^, [9 o l2 z4 j( M " f) ~' j6 A2 b; j/ iThe porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga.; G4 ?0 A' M* {1 t
( \, _/ |: R2 {8 ?5 SPerformers 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. " ^4 f5 M2 r$ d D * N% J4 m0 ^' M6 ^ `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. - _0 L) B( ~" J2 {6 r' T! o$ I- _- G2 q$ G9 r5 t. @/ T- B. K v! o
Only 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed.% [; g4 J+ X4 e9 l) D) L
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2 u( W9 _9 M M# g) bThe 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. e# z" a3 K6 }- m
4 P+ i! e4 n% ?( cThe problem, increasingly, is revenue." W+ K, m5 u8 O3 t9 I# F7 O+ O: \" d
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Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch.! w! B7 k T5 e' @4 W
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DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free. 9 b4 N: @# c5 _" R2 I 0 p/ d, u) G" P# ?( cAnd the economic downturn does not help.8 Y8 L! W5 Q4 F: b2 W& Y: q
1 o1 r) p; b% ~- p"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully. 4 k+ X6 ~( W9 M " D4 C X+ @+ \! C$ p" a* }The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations. 3 Q- w2 }+ u2 _ 4 i) D! C1 @+ Y0 PFor years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms.# C6 h$ r/ [" l O7 h$ t. C
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Health scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set.0 d7 u9 d9 l" e" y: e
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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. - h/ t# Y7 t! j2 [1 C* b0 z( \/ X ^6 q* D; F
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4 ]: D1 m6 {, ?: w$ W- M( ]* ]2 H/ LBack on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers. ( y+ V* C F8 k6 F$ x3 ?: k8 [ j/ ]0 M* R
A college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years.( Z$ i+ [9 H! `3 i
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She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure.# r# J9 F* s$ m, u' J
/ g$ X1 z# a! L& R8 T"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" % [$ _$ Q, T; I: p b , [. U0 k9 `. M0 t9 E7 ^5 ?- 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.+ z8 r Z4 V: u9 ]. p; g8 y
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Each day would be 15 hours long.- X6 X, @* e2 @) X4 a
5 G, e; E- v0 Y4 F5 n"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested. 9 I* {4 }' \( | 0 f ]3 H! p1 Q6 ^1 I" f2 U9 D"You get used to it," she smiled.9 u' h8 K& g3 u+ @+ D: v
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"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?"' e4 x- ~9 m1 _: @" _
8 v8 z- P; C* U"Well, just chlamydia a couple of times, gonorrhoea - nothing much. Anyway, we test each month so, when you're diagnosed, you just take your medication and you're good to go. No problem." ; G) W/ R. D" c+ B d/ ~1 T3 Q; i& q( Q) V( q; P
There was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided.9 K2 Y2 z# S: G- G* h7 f
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Expensive lawsuits 2 W7 H; W$ G2 b( Y6 A+ z( Q4 J' m ) P8 V+ @) T0 H5 S5 Q4 ^% IIn fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. : q0 S1 } ?- k( l5 B. g: i9 \) Q- M0 |. ]8 N; C
A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it. F$ |5 V( g- V
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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. 8 n/ z: a0 U+ _2 R0 @6 u3 K0 {. v: a8 O6 a8 z
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. - e7 g$ y7 C g 8 l X' U1 K+ B6 | i9 P1 f"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?"1 n) r- i* R& n; S& ^( B
1 L1 n* N6 {' ^I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment. 0 O1 d) Z- @( H: r6 P : R2 x* f8 l* R! I! M2 YBut 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? " G/ c- ?/ v5 D' U5 t/ F! p ) m* L$ z; K( h4 xThe authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection. & X* g; ]' V. |' s. G, B. n8 ~ 0 U6 _) m3 f( ^% m4 D! }: p5 uIt 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. ( V* l& C1 Y. m: O0 S+ S: H 9 `2 t1 V2 x# cA number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them. - N& I1 B) ?% t7 m5 F0 [% B: ]" K3 I+ y
The producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants.0 s8 d! V6 g4 e. `6 @$ 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.1 P0 G" x0 D* e a
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I decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain. 7 C% Q% n' Y) n" b9 @) m1 K E# q b+ B1 K; ]4 s2 R/ N% [2 Q, f. l ( w& d# b/ c0 a. o5 L( L/ ~ , f. e' }" u8 p6 v # L; d w+ U8 R& z! g4 ACalls for greater safety increased after actors tested positive for HIV in 2004
