- Mantra Films
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Mantra Films 
Type Private Industry Pornography Founder(s) Joe Francis Headquarters Santa Monica, California, United States Products Pornographic films Website mantraent.com Mantra Films Inc., or Mantra Entertainment, is a softcore pornography production company created by Joe Francis, chiefly for the production and distribution of the vast United States-based Girls Gone Wild and Guys Gone Wild enterprises that he leads. In addition to this work, the company also produces "Uncensored" versions of reality dating shows such as Blind Date and The Fifth Wheel, which feature extensive (mostly female) nudity and sexual content that cannot be shown on mainstream television.[1] [2]
The company is based on a business model of getting young women to bare their breasts on camera in exchange for a t-shirt, then selling the resulting videos directly to the consumer. In the early days of his company, Francis obtained this footage third-party, and some cameramen who sold Francis footage did not obtain releases from those being filmed. This resulted in lawsuits, one of which was settled for $10,000. Today the videos, which sell for as little as $9.99 apiece, contribute to a total sales figure of $40 million a year for Mantra Films, Inc.[2][1]
Contents
Civil litigation
In January 2001, Francis was found liable by a Los Angeles jury for misappropriating the idea for Banned From Television, a series of extreme videotapes that preceded Girls Gone Wild and were distributed by Mantra. The jury awarded producer Les Haber a total of $3.5 million on his claims against Francis.[1]
Administrative proceedings before the Federal Trade Commission
A 2003 complaint against Mantra Films, Inc. resulted in a $1.1 million payout by the company. The complaint stemmed from Mantra's practice of enrolling customers in continuity programs without their consent. The penalty was partially to redress the customers who were harmed and also a civil penalty.[3]
Failure to document age of models
On September 12, 2006 Francis entered a plea agreement in a Florida court for failing to properly document the ages of models depicted in certain episodes, and for failing to label the DVDs with information regarding where such records are kept, as required by federal law. Francis agreed to pay $2.1 million in fines. The law in question is designed to protect underage minors from sexual exploitation.[4]
Tax Delinquency
As of January 6, 2009 Mantra Films is delinqint to the sum of $651,115.35 to the State of California.[5]
References
- ^ a b c Hoffman, Claire (2006-08-06). "'Baby, Give Me a Kiss'". Los Angeles Times. http://www.latimes.com/features/printedition/magazine/la-tm-gonewild32aug06,1,4548814.story?page=1. Retrieved 2006-08-15.
- ^ a b Grigoriadis, Vanessa. "Wild Thing". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5934268/wild_thing. Retrieved 2007-06-21.
- ^ "Sellers of ‘Girls Gone Wild’ Videos to Pay $1.1 Million to Settle Charges of Unauthorized Shipping and Billing". 2004-07-30. http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2004/07/girlsgonewild.htm. Retrieved 2006-08-15.
- ^ Hoffman, Claire (2006-09-13). "Maker of 'Girls Gone Wild' Runs Afoul of Law on Minors". Chicago Tribune. http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/la-fi-francis13sep13,1,4511858.story?coll=chi-news-hed. Retrieved 2006-09-13.
- ^ "Top 250 Delinquent Taxpayers". 2011-06-05. http://ftb.ca.gov/individuals/txdlnqnt.shtml. Retrieved 2011-06-05.
External links
Categories:- Companies established in 1998
- Pornographic film studios
- Film production companies of the United States
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