We’re all pretty psyched for today’s release of Piranha 3D. Someone who is less excited however is Joe Francis, infamous founder of the Girls Gone Wild series and possible frat boy genius. It’s not that he doesn’t think the movie is going to be awesome in its campiness, he’s more worried that a character mimicking him in the film will sully his good name.
Not only is this funny because his name really isn’t all that good to begin with, but as the character in the movie (played by Jerry O’Connell, who deserves a comeback for sure) seems only to be doing pretty much exactly what Francis does in real life: party and get girls to take their tops off. So what’s the big deal?
Well, according to THR, a letter was issued from Francis’ lawyer spouting off about not “maligning Mr. Francis in promoting the film or otherwise.” The big issue is that Francis is upset at O’Connell for outright telling news sources that he is playing Joe Francis, rather than his character Derrick Jones. Francis’ says:
"I appreciate a good parody as much as the next guy, but to associate me with drugs and the filming of underage girls crosses a definite line. Jerry O'Connell has repeatedly and emphatically stated on the public record that he is ‘playing Joe Francis,’ NOT a fictional character based on me. Mr. O’Connell has done this despite having been warned by his own lawyers not to admit this."I feel like maybe the ACTUAL filming of underage girls is more of a line crossing than just playing someone in a movie. But that’s just me.I don’t have anything against Joe Francis. The dude made his millions by selling videos of girls lifting their shirts up. It’s mad genius at it’s finest and I can’t fault him for having a good time. However, if that’s how you’re going to make a living, you’re going to open yourself up for “attacks” like this which really just parody the real life you’ve created. Whining about it in open letter to film distributors isn’t going to change the movie.So go see this movie today. It’s going to be a good time.
