Jan. 10, 2009
There's nothing subtle about the Girls Gone Wild bus.
Large and imposing, this white vehicle, labeled with half-clothed women and five-foot-high red lettering proclaiming, "Girls Gone Wild," made its way into Chico on Jan. 6 for auditions at the Crazy Horse Saloon, causing people to stare, sneer or take pictures of themselves next to the bus with camera phones.
Mantra Films, Inc., founded in 1997 by Joe Francis, a University of Southern California business and film production major, has been controversial since the "Girls Gone Wild" videotapes first came out. The videos, which feature women showing their breasts, and sometimes more, have grossed estimated sales of more than $40 million a year, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Many of the passers-by, such as Cristina Moreno, a Chico State alumnae, who was taking pictures of her relatives standing next to the bus, seemed to have no problem with the idea.
"Like it or not, he's a brilliant entrepreneur," Moreno said.
Her companion Cynthia Gallegos saw no problem with the bus and thought it was cool, she said.
No one is forcing the women to pose for the pictures or video and, as a woman, Moreno wished she had thought of the idea first, she said.
But what brought the bus to Chico?
Crazy Horse Saloon owner Brian Buckley said it was the result of Mantra Films contacting the business about holding auditions for local women for the "Hottest Girl in America" contest.
Generally the bar features major recording artists as entertainment, not something like "Girls Gone Wild," Buckley said. However, management thought it would be a good partnership since the bus is scheduled to stop in Chico at least two more times in 2009.
Although there is nudity and some sexual content in the videos, patrons of the Crazy Horse Saloon should not expect the same sort of behavior inside the club, Buckley said. And he also noted that Chico has a very strict policy of no nudity in city establishments.
Whatever the "Girls Gone Wild" crew does in the bus or their hotel is their business, not the Crazy Horse's, Buckley said.
"We're strictly PG-13 up there," he said.
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