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| Francis' ''Girls Gone Wild'' is regularly referenced in today’s society and pop culture atmosphere and was recently cited as an example of "sexualization," number 23 on '']'''s list of the "25 Trends that Changed America".<ref>, 2007-03-27</ref> | Francis' ''Girls Gone Wild'' is regularly referenced in today’s society and pop culture atmosphere and was recently cited as an example of "sexualization," number 23 on '']'''s list of the "25 Trends that Changed America".<ref>, 2007-03-27</ref> | ||
| ==Controversies== | |||
| On 22 January 2004 Francis's Bel Air home was broken into and he was forced at gunpoint to star in a homosexual themed video.<ref>''Six Degrees Of Paris Hilton'' by Mark Ebner - http://www.amazon.com/Six-Degrees-Paris-Hilton-Shakedowns/dp/1451631758/ref=pd_sim_b5#reader_1451631758</ref> | |||
| Francis has been criticized by ] ] for perpetuating what some consider "the new double standard," which equates the objectification of women with sexual liberation.<ref>{{cite web| last= Levy | first= Ariel| authorlink= Ariel Levy| title= Dispatches from Girls Gone Wild | url= http://www.slate.com/id/2097485/entry/2097496/|work=Slate|date=March 22, 2004|accessdate=April 10, 2010}}</ref> | |||
| Francis and his company has come under legal scrutiny on a number of occasions. Recurring allegations include that footage of women engaged in sexual activity was used without the consent of the women, that Mantra Films engaged in sexual exploitation of minors, and that incomplete records were kept of participants in ''GGW'' videos.<ref></ref><ref>''ibid.''</ref> | |||
| ===Civil=== | |||
| In June 2007, Francis and his company became the subject of a lawsuit claiming that images had been used without the subject's permission.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newsherald.com/headlines/article.display.php?a=1699|title=Joe Francis faces new lawsuit|accessdate=2007-06-14|author=David Angier|date=2007-06-12|publisher=Panama City News Herald |archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20070928060617/http://www.newsherald.com/headlines/article.display.php?a=1699 |archivedate = September 28, 2007}}</ref> However, the plaintiff dropped the suit after Francis released footage showing her agreeing to be filmed.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eonline.com/gossip/hum/detail/index.jsp?uuid=0d2a43dc-c414-437e-aabb-1a90c39a2c7d | |||
| |title =The Hum: Joe Francis Off the Hook|accessdate=2007-10-15|author=Lia Haberman|date=2007-10-15|publisher=]}}</ref> | |||
| ===Charges in Florida=== | |||
| In an incident at ], ], during ] 2003, Francis was arrested and then released on a $165,000 ]. He was initially charged with 71 separate counts, including racketeering, drug trafficking, and ]. Police{{Who|date=January 2012}} confiscated his private jet and other property.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/ggwild1.html|title=The Smoking Gun|date=2003-04-04|accessdate=2006-08-15}}</ref> At a July 27, 2006 hearing, the judge threw out 200 hours of videotape and hundreds of other key pieces of evidence in the case,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://travel.emeraldcoast.com/springbreak/news/article.showarticle.db.php?a=4968|title=Girls Gone Wild Catches Break|work=Emerald Coast|accessdate=2006-08-15|date=2006-07-27}}</ref> and on January 4, 2007 dismissed almost all of the charges, ruling that "the evidence did not support the allegations," and the seized assets were returned. Francis plead guilty to several counts of ] record keeping violation and was fined $1.6M and sentenced to perform community service.<ref>"Judge Drops Most Charges Against 'Girls Gone Wild' Producer Joe Francis"</ref> | |||
| On April 12, 2007, Francis was accused of bribery, possession of a controlled substance, and introducing contraband (cash and drugs) into the ] jail. The ] reported that Francis (in jail for contempt of court) offered a guard one hundred and then five hundred dollars for a bottled water. Jailers{{Who|date=January 2012}} allegedly found drugs including ] and ] in the jail cell. This is despite the fact that Francis had disclosed the medication upon his incarceration.<ref>http://meetjoefrancis.com/joe-francis-legal-story/joe-francis-legal-story-page5.php</ref> Francis reportedly faced up to five years in prison if convicted on these charges.<ref name=news0413>{{cite web|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2007/04/13/2007-04-13_girls_gone_wild_founder_joe_francis_hit_.html | |||
| |title=Girls Gone Wild founder Joe Francis hit with new charges|accessdate=2007-10-15|date=2007-04-13|publisher=]}}</ref><ref>{{Dead link|date=May 2010}}</ref> On March 12, 2008 Francis was convicted on ] and ] charges after pleading ] in a ]. He also pleaded guilty to charges related to having contraband in his cell during the time he was held in jail. He was sentenced to time served (339 days) and more than $60,000 in fines and costs.<ref>{{cite news |agency=Associated Press|url=http://www.latimes.com/features/magazine/west/la-na-francis13mar13,0,7528939.story|title='Girls Gone Wild's' Francis pleads no contest to child abuse, prostitution charges|date=2008-03-13|accessdate=2009-01-10 | work=The Los Angeles Times}}</ref> | |||
| On March 25, 2008, four women filed suit against him in Florida for filming them while underage, with one girl claiming she had been 13 when filmed.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,341430,00.html | work=Fox News | title=4 Women Sue 'Girls Gone Wild' Founder Joe Francis for Underage Filming | date=2008-03-25}}</ref> On April 7, 2011, this trial was decided with no award for the plaintiffs.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.wmbb.com/Global/story.asp?S=14400644 | work=WMBB | title= Jury Awards Zero Dollars In Francis Federal Trial | date=2011-04-07}}</ref> | |||
| In April 2011 Francis faced the same judge in Panama City, Florida who first sent him to jail back in 2007.{{citation needed|date=December 2011}} Francis represented himself in a lawsuit against him in Federal Court in Florida. Four female plaintiffs alleged they had suffered emotional distress from being videotaped and shown in Francis' Girls Gone Wild video series. After being reprimanded by the judge, threatened with jail time and held in contempt, Francis hired local lawyers to finish handling the trial. After eight days of trial, the jury found in favor of Francis and against the plaintiff. | |||
| ===Madonna & Superbowl problems=== | |||
| On February 4, 2012 there has been a mild controversy surrounding the song "]" by ]. Joe Francis, known for his franchise with the same name, threatened to sue Madonna if she sings the song at the performance of her Superbowl XLVI. The claims between the song and the franchise was that she had "Violated Federal and State trademark laws by making unauthorized use of Mr. Francis' trademark Girls Gone Wild in not only the title, but subject line of her various advertisements in order to lure potential consumers to purchase her latest musical effort." In reality, the song was never on the playlist for the Superbowl and Francis' threats were largely seen as a publicity stunt, even if they went largely unnoticed. | |||
| == References == | == References == | ||
Revision as of 21:14, 29 March 2012
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| Joe Francis | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Joseph R. Francis (1973-04-01) April 1, 1973 (age 51) |
| Occupation | Founder of Girls Gone Wild |
Joseph R. "Joe" Francis (born April 1, 1973) is an American entrepreneur, known as the founder of GGW Brands, which produces the Girls Gone Wild and Guys Gone Wild DVD series.
Francis grew up in Newport Beach, California. Following high school Francis attended and graduated with a degree in business administration from the University of Southern California.
Upon graduation Francis worked with his father's business, then for various media production companies, where he founded Banned From Television videos, using clips not suitable for mainstream broadcast from the studios he worked at to market on a direct to consumer basis. Banned from Television made Francis a millionaire by 24. It was from Banned From Television, that Francis developed the concept of college girls exposing their breasts and marketing these videos direct to consumers as well. Initially marketed as College Girls Gone Wild, Girls Gone Wild was born from this concept. Soon the videos of the young women exposing themselves became wildly successful and Francis became even richer and more publicly known.
Beginning of a brand
Francis' first video, sold through commercials, was a series of private clips and news footage deletions of fatal accidents that were considered too graphic for broadcast. Banned From Television was considered a commercial success and it spawned other sequels. One of the videos that Francis had licensed contained footage of female college students flashing their breasts during Mardi Gras and Spring Break. Seeing the marketing appeal, he titled that footage Girls Gone Wild (GGW). He eventually stopped licensing the material and began producing it himself.
In 1997, at the age of 24, Francis founded Mantra Films, now known as GGW Brands Sellers of ‘Girls Gone Wild’ Videos. Building on Francis' discovery that he could film college-age women "going wild," including baring their breasts for the cameras at spring breaks and other locales. Mantra also spun off the Guys Gone Wild DVD series.
Francis' Girls Gone Wild is regularly referenced in today’s society and pop culture atmosphere and was recently cited as an example of "sexualization," number 23 on USA Today's list of the "25 Trends that Changed America".
References
- "MeetJoeFrancis.com". Retrieved 2007-09-29.
- "'Joe Francis Biography'". 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2006-08-15.
- http://www.meetjoefrancis.com/joe-francis-biography/
- USA Today, 25 Trends That Changed America, 2007-03-27
External links
- Joe Francis at IMDb
- "'Girls Gone Wild' founder Joe Francis on life in jail", transcript of Fox News's On the Record interview with Greta Van Susteren, October 19, 2007