9 W W0 Z% n3 y s过去许多年,当局一直要求色情影片中的演员在拍摄过程中必须使用安全套。 # E- r& P9 x7 R1 \% M" D4 Q5 [# C5 V. s
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。 : `; }1 J$ [# i+ C' x' l; L 7 I5 T" |, O& c( L W p( B' R* @! E8 A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。! W8 ^3 f G: r2 L& ]$ N& U4 h X G
“没什么大不了的” ! q& P) u, K! ?/ _- s" a& l! V1 [5 x' C! x4 Z8 u# Y
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。: d. _- R- U. h1 ?+ F
0 @8 l+ x9 B0 V) s8 F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”? 9 @5 G3 |2 [6 ~8 t# C ! v9 j/ w, J, ~$ X, C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。 . D' x! N) S9 j4 v( t5 C" K5 z+ j, Y' T
我说,“你一定很累吧”?她微笑着回答说,“习惯了”。 3 n$ c0 s* W! w; e+ V% ^6 a# L' U$ f2 F/ E9 ^
我接着问,“那么,健康风险呢?你经常被感染吗”?8 T4 d9 Y9 i3 K( V, H4 E# u. l
& O& i/ X* G' o S/ D
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。” : l: P6 ~- L3 j9 ?# Y0 g O# p7 p( }0 U" t4 q" l
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。 % ~3 W' ~$ d: X0 z8 }- v% B6 J. a5 W 6 a0 @6 H: V' l/ m. x; p( @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。 % k+ W* D5 ~; ~# l不戴安全套的权利 & J2 O: B \8 U# Y/ y ( H) K2 v- u0 o; I( w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。9 T8 p4 B& e1 s _4 u4 q5 S
. k& f! B% Y0 u- \6 W8 uCalifornian porn industry's 'perfect storm' of troubles $ [0 L8 g6 ]+ E Q3 z: B0 W6 m4 r6 n
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., D3 J g; ~; c& f1 o9 k
' D. Q- w2 t* |; R& L% lLight drizzle was falling as I pulled my car up outside a low-rise warehouse studio in northern Los Angeles. t; |' N4 K. a) E9 o( E4 u5 B* U* X5 K
I had been told just to pitch up - it would be fun, they had said, to see how we do things.0 e6 D8 z: }" N5 c( q. n# s
- \# y% \" g( y; o1 V& s2 i2 y
What I did see at first did not quite match my expectations but then again, I was not quite sure what to expect., I. {: K6 p' n, E% r
% Z: z( @4 q- Z3 a7 D [+ s+ ^# H7 UThe porn shoot was Star Trek, the Next Generation - a triple-X parody, billed as a humorous tribute to the iconic TV space saga. ; ?' r0 O, R4 v; B, ^9 W: d ! P& G% a- w1 ?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. # J0 i# X. C/ { y/ p! @) y: p4 f) }9 M- y0 `
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.: _( z6 x& N- J0 k* K
1 }/ B& u& M6 C2 V, x: zOnly 30 minutes of this two-hour sex film would involve plot, he sighed. / G/ l& ]7 W& g3 t) p* ^. \+ B2 h) N! @/ K& m7 `) i' ?; E$ w
Fantasy% D7 d! C2 O' q: }9 ~$ W
: z B* Z+ G0 z: J! k7 T
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.2 I. V, R" m2 a. B- X5 f
5 i+ J a( Y$ o" s% h4 X% B* aThe problem, increasingly, is revenue.( |" q2 o: j$ i) I i; v; y
/ p" s9 [/ @& x P" V g: A. \Like the music industry, pornographers are struggling to persuade their audience to pay for what they watch.; r& n, B+ ~7 p5 ~# {
2 ]9 R7 Z. h6 p
DVD sales have collapsed. Online, a great deal of porn can be accessed for free. . J# A+ T' a: ` ; o2 q; m! f8 NAnd the economic downturn does not help.9 U# U/ \3 \! Z
3 |- b- z4 B/ i# q3 Y( ~& _( i
"What with the recession and piracy, we call it the perfect storm," one leading producer observed wistfully.2 ^) b' h8 f* j% U# H
: n1 W, g! T3 F6 ^5 N
The economic climate also means the industry is even less keen to accept California's increasingly stringent workplace regulations.: x% E" i% D+ i
( X$ |" n3 V. I
For years, the authorities have been demanding that porn performers wear condoms.+ n% S! s, z$ z# S6 d+ b0 n2 h
) C/ a* b# M# ~. i5 Y0 oHealth scares - most notoriously in 2004 when three actors contracted HIV - have highlighted significant levels of infection on set.3 k2 z% o& P# \: s Q. I0 w
& d+ Z, K3 D* |+ Q$ B3 u8 S
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.( d& ^) H/ I% V$ s
5 F, n2 n$ \) _+ `+ C5 g
Gonorrhoea 4 E# E8 Z' A1 G' M) Q: P0 B7 k8 j2 R# t' t* i: u7 k
Back on the Star Trek set, I talked to Bobbi Starr, one of the lead performers.$ Y. f5 h, o' F, O6 y
( g5 J0 y p: l3 OA college graduate, a former national standard swimmer and professional oboist, she seems to have packed a lot into her 27 years.$ V6 ], a% P; A L2 I
3 C* Y0 |2 e5 @6 {! e0 ?She turned to porn, she said, out of a sense of sexual adventure. : R$ ?# p1 w, r2 x0 J* ~7 Z- ^. o+ ?# o4 Y9 T. w& O
"It's just fun," she said, "and when everyone around you is having fun too, what's not to love?" 7 j* I% X4 C! n- o8 O) o2 a $ ^) |2 B) n4 ^' u7 B8 [, zHer 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. " N* q% X0 D5 U, q# _6 k- s" Y 1 t# m1 N& b' \Each day would be 15 hours long. - {% v/ {0 i8 n0 U, h$ Y: i) D" l- T) ^ ( N0 g, v& O- P+ l/ X% ^) Z) U$ i"Wow, you must be exhausted?" I suggested." Z7 a0 {5 J2 |5 D1 [: v
' G3 \. l. l& `( _6 v) e, s"You get used to it," she smiled.8 q* I2 A$ x2 R; n
, Z. J6 R, [, ?. v"And what about the health risks," I asked. "Have you had many infections?" # y" m; a7 Z- Y4 \$ m- n6 J, ?; I4 f9 | q0 x2 h4 {
"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." 0 s! q; V1 b1 u# B# b$ C, u! ~ 8 s/ o$ j' @3 i% {- Z% ZThere was something very Californian about Bobbi, I decided. P4 u0 z- Q' e5 j6 y- U% q8 S7 n) s7 i, ~
Expensive lawsuits. J4 [7 M: {. ?- O
. A. f0 [0 _/ ~) [: A$ R! \8 y6 [- K: v
In fact there was something very Californian about the entire business. ; X" W0 W1 e9 N( B# x, r . r. T% p* z0 W3 ^A combination of determined enthusiasm, combined with a rebel attitude, a sort of libertarian defiance towards the forces ranged against it.: ]5 z0 A9 ^0 G' e8 \! D0 |
2 O' I9 m: d) X, Z# [# x6 kIt 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. 0 |' |9 e3 E: F# R3 f: V; Y4 M- \1 d$ @9 @) ]% g/ i1 w
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. # Y1 T1 M8 b8 D& ?" w* |6 t4 s8 A( a 2 M1 S4 i+ ~. k) ]5 K' C" w& ^% @6 G3 N"How can I express myself as an artist," one producer said to me, "if you're going to clothe my performers in rubber?"# [2 Z5 o2 r+ {+ a: ~* t( h
" M/ {" I+ ]1 z) e8 ~1 a2 w
I struggled to picture Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson having this in mind as they penned the First Amendment. , ~6 a/ b( R! v q9 ^! Y, n |) c. p2 b
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? + f2 ?, z1 c$ z4 }+ `, ?% Y' b6 `, u8 w3 h6 |1 @ o3 b- L; C
The authorities though are adamant. Construction workers wear hard hats, miners wear masks - these actors have to have suitable barrier protection.' b+ X& t M4 u/ M9 o
5 V- P# T; B* M/ N6 [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. 1 q' k) u/ b, z. z , [$ u, k& y, RA number of actors told me privately that regulation could not come soon enough for them. ! x% S/ [9 E( N/ ^4 s7 R5 A0 a5 z& f8 K/ X1 R, |+ B
The producers say this will not help workers but will only force production abroad, or underground - the public always gets what the public wants. 4 z+ z% Y! P. |: b2 f $ _) O( }0 K% M" Y! qThat view was echoed by Bobbi Starr - her parting words, in fact, as she began to disrobe for her epic sex scene. " ~+ E6 i/ ^. o0 C' g ( E# M6 K" c+ T% V- X0 z( v: A( aI decided I had seen enough and slipped back out into the rain.& g$ @% @2 [$ F! O4 g7 d; f. U% J2 w