Mantra Films

Type	Private
Founder(s)	Joe Francis
Industry	Pornography
Products	Pornographic films
Website	mantraent.com

Mantra Films Inc., or Mantra Entertainment, is a softcore pornography production company created by United States media guru 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]

Mantra in general, and Joe Francis in particular, has been involved in relatively high-profile U.S. controversies in recent years.

Contents 1 Civil litigation 2 Administrative proceedings before the Federal Trade Commission 3 Failure to document age of models 4 References 5 External links

[edit] 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]

[edit] 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]

[edit] 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]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Mantra Films, Inc.
• Mantra Films at the Internet Movie Database
• Mantra Entertainment at the Internet Movie Database