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Joe Francis

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Joe Francis
BornJoseph R. Francis
(1973-04-01) April 1, 1973 (age 51)
OccupationFounder 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".

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.

Francis has been criticized by third wave feminist Ariel Levy for perpetuating what some consider "the new double standard," which equates the objectification of women with sexual liberation.

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.

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. However, the plaintiff dropped the suit after Francis released footage showing her agreeing to be filmed.

Charges in Florida

In an incident at Panama City Beach, Florida, during spring break 2003, Francis was arrested and then released on a $165,000 bond. He was initially charged with 71 separate counts, including racketeering, drug trafficking, and child pornography. Police confiscated his private jet and other property. 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, 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 18 U.S.C. § 2257 record keeping violation and was fined $1.6M and sentenced to perform community service.

On April 12, 2007, Francis was accused of bribery, possession of a controlled substance, and introducing contraband (cash and drugs) into the Panama City, Florida jail. The Associated Press reported that Francis (in jail for contempt of court) offered a guard one hundred and then five hundred dollars for a bottled water. Jailers allegedly found drugs including Lunesta and lorazepam in the jail cell. This is despite the fact that Francis had disclosed the medication upon his incarceration. Francis reportedly faced up to five years in prison if convicted on these charges. On March 12, 2008 Francis was convicted on child abuse and prostitution charges after pleading no contest in a plea bargain. 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.

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. On April 7, 2011, this trial was decided with no award for the plaintiffs.

In April 2011 Francis faced the same judge in Panama City, Florida who first sent him to jail back in 2007. 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 "Girl Gone Wild" by Madonna. 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

  1. "MeetJoeFrancis.com". Retrieved 2007-09-29.
  2. "'Joe Francis Biography'". 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2006-08-15.
  3. http://www.meetjoefrancis.com/joe-francis-biography/
  4. USA Today, 25 Trends That Changed America, 2007-03-27
  5. 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
  6. Levy, Ariel (March 22, 2004). "Dispatches from Girls Gone Wild". Slate. Retrieved April 10, 2010.
  7. Rolling Stone, Wild Thing, By Vanessa Grigoriadis, 05-22-2002
  8. ibid.
  9. David Angier (2007-06-12). "Joe Francis faces new lawsuit". Panama City News Herald. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-14.
  10. Lia Haberman (2007-10-15). "The Hum: Joe Francis Off the Hook". E! Online. Retrieved 2007-10-15.
  11. "The Smoking Gun". 2003-04-04. Retrieved 2006-08-15.
  12. "Girls Gone Wild Catches Break". Emerald Coast. 2006-07-27. Retrieved 2006-08-15.
  13. Associated Press, January 5, 2007"Judge Drops Most Charges Against 'Girls Gone Wild' Producer Joe Francis"
  14. http://meetjoefrancis.com/joe-francis-legal-story/joe-francis-legal-story-page5.php
  15. "Girls Gone Wild founder Joe Francis hit with new charges". New York Daily News. 2007-04-13. Retrieved 2007-10-15.
  17. "'Girls Gone Wild's' Francis pleads no contest to child abuse, prostitution charges". The Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. 2008-03-13. Retrieved 2009-01-10.
  18. "4 Women Sue 'Girls Gone Wild' Founder Joe Francis for Underage Filming". Fox News. 2008-03-25.
  19. "Jury Awards Zero Dollars In Francis Federal Trial". WMBB. 2011-04-07.

External links

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