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http://www.sec.gov/litigation/suspensions/2012/34-67868.pdf
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Before the
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
Release No. 67868 / September 17, 2012
The Securities and Exchange Commission (“Commission”) announced the temporary
suspension, pursuant to Section 12(k) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange
Act”), of trading in the securities of the following issuers, commencing at 9:30 a.m. EDT on
September 17, 2012, and terminating at 11:59 p.m. EDT on September 28, 2012:
? AER Energy Resources, Inc. (AERN)
? Alto Group Holdings, Inc. (ALTO)
? BizRocket.com, Inc. (BZRT)
? Fox Petroleum, Inc. (FXPT)
? Geopulse Explorations, Inc. (GPLS)
? Global Technologies Group, Inc. (GTGP)
? KMA Global Solutions International, Inc. (KMAG)
? Mike the Pike Productions, Inc. (MIKP)
? Mobile Star Corp. (MBST)
? SavWatt USA, Inc. (SAVW, formerly SAVWD)
? Scorpex, Inc. (SRPX)
? Silver Dragon Resources Inc. (SDRG)
? Strategic Mining Corp. (SMNG)
? Surgline International Inc. (SGLN)
? Thrive World Wide Inc. (TWWI)
? Zamage Digital Art Imaging Inc. (ZMGD)
The Commission temporarily suspended trading in the securities of the above-listed issuers
because of questions regarding the adequacy and accuracy of information about the companies,
including their assets, business operations, current financial condition and/or issuances of shares
in company stock.
The Commission cautions broker-dealers, shareholders, and prospective purchasers that they
should carefully consider the foregoing information along with all other currently available
information and any information subsequently issued by the companies.
Further, brokers and dealers should be alert to the fact that, pursuant to Rule 15c2-11 under the
Exchange Act, at the termination of the trading suspensions, no quotation may be entered unless
and until they have strictly complied with all of the provisions of the rule. If any broker or dealer
has any questions as to whether or not he has complied with the rule, he should not enter any
quotation but immediately contact the staff in the Division of Trading and Markets, Office of
Interpretation and Guidance, at (202) 551-5777. If any broker or dealer is uncertain as to what is
required by Rule 15c2-11, he should refrain from entering quotations relating to the above-named securities until such time as he has familiarized himself with the rule and is certain that all
of its provisions have been met. If any broker or dealer enters any quotation which is in
violation of the rule, the Commission will consider the need for prompt enforcement action.
The Commission acknowledges the assistance of the New York District Attorney's Office in
connection with this matter.
If any broker, dealer or other person has any information which may relate to this matter, they
should immediately contact any of the following individuals:
In connection with AER Energy Resources, Inc., BizRocket.com, Inc., Global Technologies
Group, Inc., and Silver Dragon Resources, Inc.:
Glenn S. Gordon, (305) 982-6360 or gordong@sec.gov
Associate Regional Director, Miami Regional Office
Elisha L. Frank, (305) 982-6392 or franke@sec.gov
Assistant Regional Director, Miami Regional Office
In connection with: Alto Group Holdings, Inc., Fox Petroleum, Inc., KMA Global Solutions
International, Inc., and Mobile Star Corp:
Andrew M. Calamari, (212) 336-0042 or calamaria@sec.gov
Associate Regional Director, New York Regional Office
Sharon Binger, (212) 336-0462 or bingers@sec.gov
Assistant Regional Director, New York Regional Office
In connection with Geopulse Explorations, Inc. and Strategic Mining Corp.:
Julie K. Lutz, (303) 844-1056 or lutzj@sec.gov
Associate Regional Director, Denver Regional Office
Mary S. Brady, (303) 844-1023 or bradym@sec.gov
Assistant Regional Director, Denver Regional Office
In connection with Mike the Pike Productions, Inc. and Thrive World Wide Inc.:
Robert J. Burson, (312) 353-7428 or bursonr@sec.gov
Associate Regional Director, Chicago Regional Office
Charles J. Kerstetter, (312) 353-7435 or kerstetterc@sec.gov
Assistant Regional Director, Chicago Regional Office
In connection with SavWatt USA, Inc.:
Elaine Greenberg, (215) 597-3100 or greenberge@sec.gov
Associate Regional Director, Philadelphia Regional Office
Brendan P. McGlynn, (215) 597-3100 or mcglynnb@sec.gov
Assistant Regional Director, Philadelphia Regional Office
In connection with Scorpex, Inc. and Surgline International Inc.:
Michael S. Dicke, (415) 705-2458 or dickem@sec.gov
Associate Regional Director, San Francisco Regional Office
Tracy L. Davis, (415) 705-2318 or davistl@sec.gov
Assistant Regional Director, San Francisco Regional Office
In connection with Zamage Digital Art Imaging Inc.
Karen Martinez, (801) 524-5799 or martinezk@sec.gov
Assistant Regional Director, Salt Lake City Regional Office
Heres you chance
http://www.whitesecuritieslaw.com/tag/mike-the-pike-productions/
SEC Suspends Trading in the Securities of 16 Companies in Ongoing Effort to Combat Microcap Stock Fraud
The Securities and Exchange Commission recently announced the temporary suspension, pursuant to Section 12(k) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, of trading in the securities of the following issuers, commencing at 9:30 a.m. EDT on September 17, 2012, and terminating at 11:59 p.m. EDT on September 28, 2012:
AER Energy Resources, Inc. (AERN)
Alto Group Holdings, Inc. (ALTO)
BizRocket.com, Inc. (BZRT)
Fox Petroleum, Inc. (FXPT)
Geopulse Explorations, Inc. (GPLS)
Global Technologies Group, Inc. (GTGP)
KMA Global Solutions International, Inc. (KMAG)
Mike the Pike Productions, Inc. (MIKP)
Mobile Star Corp. (MBST)
SavWatt USA, Inc. (SAVW, formerly SAVWD)
Scorpex, Inc. (SRPX)
Silver Dragon Resources Inc. (SDRG)
Strategic Mining Corp. (SMNG)
Surgline International Inc. (SGLN)
Thrive World Wide Inc. (TWWI)
Zamage Digital Art Imaging Inc. (ZMGD)
The SEC temporarily suspended trading in the securities of the above-listed issuers because of questions regarding the adequacy and accuracy of information about the companies, including their assets, business operations, current financial condition and/or issuances of shares in company stock.
The SEC also cautioned broker-dealers that they should carefully consider the foregoing information along with all other currently available information before recommending these investments to their clients.
If you purchased these investments at the recommendation of your financial advisor and suffered losses, you may be able to recover those losses through FINRA arbitration.
To discuss your litigation options, please call the securities attorneys of The White Law Group at 312/238-9650 for a free consultation.
The White Law Group is a national securities fraud, securities arbitration, and investor protection law firm with offices in Chicago, Illinois and Boca Raton, Florida.
For more information on the firm, visit http://www.whitesecuritieslaw.com.
The CEO openly stated in the video posted on MIKP that he jumped in bed with Kistler. Kistler Gave mark PINR/MIKP in return that mark pumps the company so Kistler can sell his shares. Then after kistler dumped his shares Mark was given PINR/MIKP. Mark ran a series of scams trying to pump the stock until now becoming a film guru. Mark has written press releases for a living since his pop on the scene with EESO. All the while claiming he is the good guy and everyone else was the bad guy and he knew nothing about any of this. Well his day has finally come. What more do you people want. If mark gets out of this without being charged for fraud I will be very surprised he knows it and he is just buying time. When mark is charged what happens to all the supposed assets of MIKP? Wake up people!
Brian Kistler ... Wanted for Stock Fraud
Gee I wonder if this has anything to do with MIKP?
Wait who gave PINR/MIKP to Mark? Of yeah thats right Brian Kistler! Very interesting. Why did Kistler give PINR/MIKP to mark?
I don't see anyone trying to take defaing legal action for these hundreds of posts!
http://investorshub.advfn.com/Dirty-Rotten-Scoundrels-12681/
This board is for posting known rotten crooked individuals that are involved in scams to get innnocent penny investors money.
If a stock you are involved in, or are considering buying, has any connection with any of these individuals, run, do not walk away.
Please post your experiences with these people. Including: Name, company, and a small tale about what they did or do.
Here's the ones I know about.:
John Josef Fleming ... TBLN, GMFX, GZFX,
Paul Taylor ... The Prince of Freaking Darkness
Stephen Carnes ...
Kistlers ... Brian, Duane, and any family member
Brian Kistler ... Wanted for Stock Fraud
Henning Morales - EWRC printing press
UPDATED - Bad Guys http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=40600940
Nope this company is and was a very real deal fraud.
Dude MIKP is nothing once you all realize that you will stop expecting a grey sheet run. Mark should be worrying about being fined and charged for fraud.
No just investors finally realizing this MIKP is a lost cause and dumping there shares on bagholders.
LMAO and all those film guys are the best they have 18 years experience and have filmed so many films like fight club. Give me a damn break. WAKE UP YALL!!!
Good to know mark can afford an iphone though. Wonder if he still uses a iphone 3?
LMAO ok these guys are such major pros but it is taking them years to finish a film.??? Hmm I feel sorry for anyone that believes this guy.
Ta gagged ungagged makes no difference MIKP is done and it will probably take a whole nother year before the defenders of this stock realized they have been scammed and even after that there will still be believers is this garbage worthless stock. MIKP is done done done. the recent volume means nothing. SGLN was suspended at same time as MIKP. They had the same run recently and if you researched that you would see they had the same bullcrap millions in revenue scam and they are a nothing company that played a good game. Now the game is over. Where all the investors are going wrong is letting months go by without suing MIKP and soon it will be to late for those that lost money to take legal action. I would not focus on the buying of shares but rather who is selling the shares.
LMAO good for you. Mark is a scum scamming ceo don't worry about defaming him he defamed himself. I feel sorry for those that believe anything the guy says. Send him that!
This happens in low budget films. They have an idea of what they want to film then when they try and edit and piece it together the film is crappy. They tried to fill in special effects but the movie was wack.
White Space is still there it was just garbage. The did not film enough of the movie and when they went to try and fix it through computer/digital effects it came out crappy. Thats what happens with low budget films with crappy directors. So it is garbage. Good luck!
So you are assuming since we can not visibly see asks and bids on L2 no one knows what is up for bid or ask? That is to funny.
There are many scam stocks that have had the exact same volume the past couple weeks. SGLN that was suspended at the same time as MIKP sold just the same amount of shares last week and it is for sure a real deal scam. This is just people matching trades. The buyers have always been there just not the sellers. It should concern everyone more that shares are being dumped not bought. There are plenty of people willing to buy still thinking there will be some huge payday. Well White Space is an incomplete piece of garbage and i will say IMO. Even though the word has already hit the street.
Seems the word is that white space was filmed incomplete. The director messed up big time trying to work on a small budget. So they could not even piece together a full movie. So they tried to fill in space with some computer generated stuff but movie was crap. So good luck MIKP. Now you know why White Space has never gone anywhere.
I won't beat the dead horse (MIKP) anymore. No need to add insult to others injuries. Good luck.
You are right SEC is done and so is MIKP. LMAO always a one upper.
I would love someone to point out to me any stock that has a CEO known to have associated with major stock scammers. Who himself committed fraud that changed there colors and did the right thing for its investors? Please someone email me one stock ticker that is involved in false PRs that turned there company around and made something good out of it. PINR was given to the CEO mark by scammers with the exact instructions to make false statements so they could sell shares then Mark could own the shell that he renamed MIKP. Well as it is written the curse be upon his childrens children. Anyone who defends such actions are interesting to say the least. These IMO is a joke and for anyone to defend the CEO or these falsities that he keeps pushing may be out of reality. But again best of luck to you all. I believe one day in the near future you will all understand what I have written and finally give up. But maybe not I have seen suspended stocks that people still defend the stock years after. It is often hard to take responsibility for making bad decisions.
I never disputed that IMO MIKP filmed a shady movie with all B list and less actors. Now estimating 10-15 million is a joke IMO. There is nothing that will guarantee anything near that number. There has been no trailer or teaser at all that resembles a plot or movie. Again IMDB and actors talking about a movie means nothing. IMDB is loaded with crappy movies that have gone nowhere. There is nothing saying MIKP will generate anything from this goofy film. At one point Mark compared it to Prometheus which is a total joke IMO. Fund Skin Trade. Again when I see it I will believe it. AGAIN MIKP IS BEING INVESTIGATED FOR FRAUD BY THE SEC. MIKP is currently worthless and broke. When mark released the PR saying the have made all there money back from the B or lower movies SJF is supposedly selling there was financials released after that PR with nothing in them but some sort of untangle asset worth 2 million dollars. Which I would love to know what this asset is? You said it $700,000 no money and worthless. Everyone here is depending on the sale of a shady movie for 10-15 million $s. You may have more of a chance winning the lottery then if you did win you could not even claim the ticket because the stock is on grey sheets and being investigated by the SEC. What a bummer.
If you look at the debt of this supposed company MIKP compared to the non existent income. The company IMO is worthless. Someone please answer me what the debt of MIKP is? Then please answer me what the minimal supposed take in for MIKP on there supposed film White Space? After supposed income from film and debt completely paid how much money would this company even have in the positive as far as net income? Currently it is not even worth .0001 with its debt to income. So everything in my opinion about the future of this company is pure speculation to say the least. We have seen in past PRs that all movies being sold by SJF have made the money back that was spent to make the B films. Well since we supposedly had financials which i viewed all of them I never saw any substantial amount of money. So on another note lawyers cost money for any legal filing. A business costs money just staying up to date with the red tape of being a public traded company. Has anyone even taking into consideration Mark of MIKP may not even have the money to file any of these financials because he no longer can sell shares? In my opinion MIKP is completely broke and my opinion is more then logical. All that is ever spoken about are forward looking statements. Truly we have seen nothing to prove this company has anything legit. Ok there is a facebook page and most 8 year olds have the capability of producing a facebook page in this day and age. Ok there is a website well anyone can have a website for a couple hundred dollars. There is a IMDB page well IMDB is like wikipedia there are 100s of post production films on IMDB many never come to being at all and many more go right to DVD with tiny sales and no one knowing what they are. There is nothing in my opinion that points to any bright future at all. Not to mention MIKP IS CURRENTLY BEING INVESTIGATED BY THE SEC FOR FRAUD. No one can deny the facts.
LMAO
What are these movies?
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2396617/
http://www.shericandler.com/2010/10/30/equation-for-independent-film-financial-success/
You cannot skip any of these steps if you hope to make money from your films. This point was made crystal clear by a person who knows about making money from independently made art, Bob Moczydlowsky of Topspin Media. I interviewed Bob for the upcoming November issue of Microfilmmaker Magazine about how Topspin is being used by musicians and now filmmakers to build awareness of their art, engaging in conversations online, acquiring a relationship status with fans and using all of it to make money from their work using the software the company developed. Here is an excerpt from that interview:
“Filmmakers should be asking themselves: 1) What am I doing to make my audience aware of my work? 2) What have I provided to that audience that engages them, or inspires them to pay attention and then take action? 3) How am I acquiring direct connections with my audience? This generally means email addresses, mobile numbers, Facebook Likes, Twitter followers, MySpace Friends… etc. Connections that allow you to communicate with the audience directly. 4) What are my plans for monetizing this audience that is connected to me directly? What amazing, non-commodity product can I offer these fans who have gone on this journey with me?” said Moczydlowsky. The article goes on to point out that only offering DVDs as product on your site is NOT going to sustain you in future. Check it out on November 1.
I wanted to make more of a point about this because increasingly I am being asked about how to build “buzz” as if that is all that will be needed to make money from a film. Buzz is indeed needed, but it is only the first step. You can’t skip from awareness to money as the studios do. Hollywood studios do this effectively because they spend millions of dollars on spraying their message to the masses, mobilizing their press network to write about it everywhere and hoping for the best. They do not engage with that audience in conversation and they do nothing to acquire them for further releases of their films. Their process immediately starts over again for the next release. An independent production cannot afford to take this route; building an audience will take lots of time and lots of work but the idea is that you want to keep that audience loyal to you and your work so that you do not have to start over again when a new project comes out. The earlier you recognize this and can start on this work, the more likely you will have a sustainable career devoted to doing what you want to do, make films. I am not going to go into the need for producing superior work, that goes without saying (well, it is said many times in film courses so I think that point has been discussed repeatedly). No amount of marketing and advertising will save a poorly produced product or a film that has little to no audience.
Awareness is the part everyone gets; bringing the news of your film into the minds and hearts of its potential audience. It is the part that outside companies are hired to do and the thing that is always requested from a film’s creator. In the online world with its overabundance of noise, it is much more difficult to achieve without some big money to spend both on staff resources and media buys. Engagement and acquisition are much more labor intensive and it is not the work outside companies do best. Who besides yourself or the team involved in making your film will know the project intimately enough to accomplish engaging personally with its audience? If you are using social media and grassroots screenings as your marketing tools of choice, that is what you will have to do. Having written out advice for a filmmaker on how he could be doing this better and all of the work that will be involved, it turned out to be a 5 page document! Do you really want to do that every time you have a new project? Wouldn’t it be better to build an audience for all of your work over time?
Acquisition in this equation means collecting a way to communicate directly with your audience because they have given you permission to do it. You won’t be relying solely on a third party, like Facebook, Twitter, iTunes, to communicate with them and deliver your work to them. Why not? Because technically they own the permission to talk to your fans. When you speak through a platform, that site could change its rules, go offline, shut you out and you have no way of reconnecting with the base of supporters you built. In the case of iTunes or any third party distributor, they collect the personal details of your buyers and can use it to sell future products. That information isn’t available to you though. Really think through whether you want your buyers to go to outside services to buy your products especially when you have put in all the work of awareness and engagement.
Besides creating a dialog with your fans and connecting them with other like minded people, social media pages should really be used to drive them to your website where you collect information and sell to them directly. Both tools are very needed, but they function differently. A big Twitter or Facebook count looks good, but few of those people will actually buy; be mindful of that. Psychologically, those high counts do motivate people to join your page. Think about it, everyone wants to be in on something that looks popular, it is a human desire. Just don’t be fooled into thinking those are your sales numbers. Far more reliable numbers come from your monthly web traffic and the size of your email list so you must focus on growing those numbers too.
I go into how to do this in depth during the workshop I do with Jon Reiss for Think Outside the Box Office. We have another one coming up November 13-14 in Atlanta, Georgia hosted by PushPush Theater and Atlanta Film Festival. If you’re a filmmaker in the South, consider spending the weekend with us. This opportunity doesn’t come up often outside of the major cities and I assure you it is money well spent. Why make a film if you have no idea how to tell people about it and get it out into the market?
http://www.yourinvestmentadvise.com/filmmaking.htm
FORCES of OVER-SUPPLY & FLAT DEMAND:
There is a huge over supply of indie movies. The numbers indicate that at least 30,000 new movies and videos of all kinds, indie and major (including exercise videos, concert videos, etc) are released every year. There's NO way that consumers are going to buy all of these movies annually in significant numbers, no way that physical stores (what's left of them) can stock all of these new titles, and traditional distributors are never going to handle all of these new releases. There's so many straight to DVD movies being released that distributors literally don't even have the time to sift through the piles of movies in order to find that one diamond in the rough. Even a movie that does have a great look, story, and acting faces a major uphill battle to get a buzz and generate any kind of significant sales. Twenty years ago filmmakers had to shoot on film, video cameras and computers hadn't come of age, and as a result there were much fewer movie releases. Back then independent films could get shelf space in physical stores like Blockbuster and Wal-Mart right next to major studio titles, and generate significant revenue. But ever since high quality digital cameras (beginning with the Canon XL-1 and most recently with the Red One camera) have become cheaply available to small-time aspiring filmmakers, and low cost home computer editing technology has come of age, there's been an explosion of new home videos being made. With this over-supply of product, the prices paid by distributors for an indie movies has been in a tail spin. Furthermore in foreign countries outside of the US, demand for indie movies has evaporated because locals are now able to make their own movies.
There's a big disparity between the have's and the have-not's when it comes to media (music, movies, books). Consumers prefer a small minority of "the hits", while the vast multitude of obscure titles just get completely lost in the shuffle. It's just the way it is. The disparity you see in music sales is bad. It probably gets much worse with movie sales. SoundScan reported that out of nearly 30,000 independently released CD titles in 2001, more than 24,000 of those scanned LESS than 1,000 units. So 5/6th of them really bombed! The average independent album sold only 1,438 units in 2001. And we are comparing a medium (CD's) that consumers actually buy -- not rent for cheap, as consumers favor to do with movies. We are also comparing 2001 with 2011. Impulse buying and renting of DVD's in physical brick and mortar stores is all but a thing of the past.
Try this... The next time you're at a friend's house gaze over their movie collection. Can you find even one obscure low budget movie in their collection? Chances are that all or almost all of the titles that they purchased are familiar, big budget movies that you've seen and heard about a million times. That's just how people are. It's human nature.
THE INTERNET HAS WIPED OUT INDIE FILM REVENUE FROM PHYSICAL STORES:
This is not 1995 any more! Chain retailers like Best Buy and Wal-Mart have all but stopped carrying indie titles in their physical stores as they used to. And the big studio titles that they still do carry are sometimes actually sold at or below cost (as "loss leaders") just to bring people into their stores. Stories of mom & pop stores actually purchasing DVD's from Wal-Mart rather than through their distributors are true because Wal-Mart has been known to sell DVD's below wholesale cost!
And instead of rental stores like Blockbuster ordering several thousands of copies of indie DVD's for their many individual stores we now have NetFlix ordering typically just a measly 60 DVD's for the entire nation! The latest rumor is that NetFlix has actually stopped ordering new indie DVD's. All of this amounts to huge lost revenue for indie filmmakers. Still thinking about going to film school? Still thinking about remortgaging the home to finance a movie? Are you crazy?
The good news is that everyone can get their DVD distributed. The bad news is that everyone can get their DVD distributed.
INTERNET "SHELF-SPACE" IS INFINITE and so there is no need to do back flips to get the attention of those dreaded old "DVD gatekeepers" (traditional distributors who pick and choose what gets listed for sale and what doesn't). Non-traditional distribution (Internet stores, On-Demand) is taking hold over traditional physical store distribution. The good news is that everyone can get their DVD distributed. The bad news is that everyone can get their DVD distributed. It sounds like a paradox but it's true. On the one hand "Joe Indie filmmaker" can release a DVD that will be accessible to shoppers across the world via the Internet on Amazon.com and elsewhere. The problem is that there's an avalanche of Joe Indie filmmakers out there getting lost in the great vastness of movie releases being sold through Internet stores.
"10 years ago nobody would have ever questioned whether or not a sales agent and traditional distributor were worth signing with, but the Internet revolution has changed all of that."
http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/09/many-more-indie-films-are-released-but-not-very-widely-study-finds/
LOS ANGELES — Toward the back of an annual statistical download last month from the Motion Picture Association of America were some numbers that reveal the changing contours of film distribution in the United States.
The statistics point toward a seeming explosion in the number of indie films being released. Over the last 10 years, there has been a 74 percent increase in the number of movies being distributed by companies other than members of the M.P.A.A. — to 469 in 2011, from 270 in 2002. That happened even as the film count from those big member companies — Fox, Disney, Sony, Warner, Paramount, and Universal — and their units fell 31 percent, to 141 from 205 over those same years.
But a closer look shows how the nature of an independent release has changed as well, and not necessarily in a way that puts those movies in front of more theatrical ticket buyers. The figures showed a near collapse in the number of films being released by the studio specialty units, as Disney sold Miramax and Paramount diminished its small-movie presence. In all, the number of films from the subsidiaries, which had been relatively well heeled and often gave their pictures a fairly wide release, fell 55 percent, to 37 in 2011 from 82 in 2002.
What’s more startling is that about 29 percent of the growth in the number of indie releases appears to have come from just two companies, Magnolia and IFC Films; both enterprises specialize in matching what is often an extremely limited theatrical release of a movie with an overlapping video-on-demand presence. The strategy helps brand a movie by getting reviews in New York and sometimes Los Angeles, but generally relies more on video than on the box office for viewers.
According to counts compiled by Boxofficemojo.com, Magnolia and IFC together last year released 66 films in theaters (often in five or fewer of them), up from a combined total of nine films (most of those on a larger number of screens than today) in 2002. In all, the theatrical output from the two companies was up by 57 films since 2002, not quite a third of the 199-film increase in indie output for the period, as noted by the M.P.A.A.’s study.
http://www.greencine.com/static/primers/b-movies.jsp
Q: Do B's still exist?
A: B-movies haven't gone away so much as changed their skin a bit. Today they are more defined as a film with a low budget and little or no studio backing behind it. All B's, both new and old, seem to share some or all of the following characteristics (thanks to FlixML for some of these):
Low budget
Working in a genre (that is, not a drama or comedy per se, but science fiction, action, horror, gangster/film noir, etc.)
Offbeat premises
Unpretentiousness
Creative, idiosyncratic camera angles, lighting, sound and other technical characteristics that may later influence major studio releases. B's offered a chance to see future A-movie stars and crew at work, in the process of becoming major talents. For example, highly regarded directors Jonathan Demme and John Sayles got their start working in B-movies; so did actors like Jack Nicholson and John Wayne).
Conversely, many B's offered the chance to see B-movie actors (Charles McGraw, Marie Windsor, Mamie Van Doren) and directors who worked strictly in this world; Roger Corman was a B-movie factory all by himself. And then there are the actors who begin their careers in "A" films before shifting into a second life in "B" pictures; a notable example of this would be Vincent Price, whose career started in some fine Hollywood movies (Laura, Leave Her to Heaven) before starring in many solid "B" pictures (House of Wax, House on Haunted Hill, etc.), mostly creepers in the horror genre.
Q: What's the difference between a B-Movie, a "cult movie" and a "midnight movie"?
A: To define these by way of an example, think about The Rocky Horror Picture Show, which could be all three:
Rocky Horror is most certainly a cult favorite, meaning it has developed a rabid underground (and over the years, more mainstream) following;
It's had frequent midnight showings at movie theaters around the world. This is what the term "midnight movie" originally referred to, although with the decrease in real midnight screenings, the phrase now usually means a film that is "adult" in nature (sexual content) and/or disturbing in some way, and often one that did not get an official rating from the MPAA;
It's a B-Movie because it did not have a huge budget, did not get much attention upon its initial release and is in many ways highly campy.
http://filmschools.4filmmaking.com/film-schools-in-los-angeles.html
Film Schools In Los Angeles - The High Failure Rate
Despite the glamour and reputation of LA film schools the actual percentage of graduates who achieve success is dismally low. One respected film school educator has estimated that over 90% of top L. A. film school graduates fail to find satisfying work in the industry and will completely leave the field within a few years of graduation. Many in the industry agree with the following list:
Film schools are extremely expensive for the quality of instruction you get
Film school degrees don't guarantee a decent job and are even considered a joke by some in the industry
Even the best film schools don't teach the creativity, entrepreneurship and independence that marks most successful filmmakers
There are quicker and less expensive ways to learn filmmaking skills
It has been pointed out that a business or law degree is more useful for getting the highest paid executive desk jobs in Hollywood. If you are interested in real hands-on work creating films on a movie set then you might want to consider some of the very low-cost personal study educational options reviewed here before you sign up for a 4 year film school:
http://www.palmstar.com/2011/03/14/the-skinny-on-film-financing-investors-pull-back-the-curtain/
Whatever the structure of the film-financing deal, those entering one hope for a Hollywood ending, i.e., the film is a smash hit and everyone involved gets fabulously wealthy.
The odds, however, are stacked pretty steeply against this. A large-scale, independent studio making 12 films a year will probably get “eight losses, two break-evens, one pretty good film and one hit,” says the hedge fund manager. Smaller-scale institutions with the wherewithal to make only four films could find themselves with four losers and end up closing shop.
As a business proposition, it’s better to spread the risk over a larger number of films. That’s an ability the studios have always had—they can release 20 films over a season and, says the hedge fund manager, “are virtually guaranteed, if they did their math and everything else right, to make a profit because they would distribute risk and return expectations in such a way as to have a normal statistical distribution.”
A slate of films, as it’s called, probably won’t bring great wealth but will prevent the investors from losing their shirts, and that’s often the goal in film production financing—not to hit the ball out of the park but “not to lose everything. Because it is one of the most volatile industries that there is.”
Borrowing a page from the studios’ book, hedge funds and other investors entering the film-financing world decided to create their own slates. Slate financing is a “term of art” for a financing arrangement in which an investment group provides capital to a major studio-distributor or its subsidiary. Every deal is different, but in an article on the subject, entertainment lawyer Jeffrey C. Foy says that generally, the investment is in the multi-millions and the studio receives a distribution fee between 10% and 15% and is allowed to recoup its marketing costs before splitting the profits with the slate investment group.
Slate financing funds can offer senior, mezzanine or equity packages, depending on investor risk appetite.
Good Luck with this I reported to all the agencies that need to be informed. I have no need to post anymore. I said and posted all the scam facts and there is nothing else to be said. Again the stock has been suspended by the SEC enough said. When drug dealers get caught they blame the police for there crime. When penny stock promoters get caught they blame the SEC. MIKP knows what they did and they will never get out of the pit the dug IMO.
I also posted I sold and goodbye did you find that one? Also if you went through my posts you would see I have never spoken fraud of any stock or spoken badly of any stock till now. That posts says nothing but what I felt the truth. It was amazing what the did. Those two ran a stock that had no chance of going anywhere to massive profit. I fake debt reduction and fake share reduction. Again there was no cash for for debt reduction and the shares were not retired the were put back into treasury they could be sold back at any point in time.
I already posted all the evidence go back and read I have no need to repeat myself.
Lovely. Time will tell everyones beliefs and facts from fiction
Again yes if you spent time to go through all my posts you would see I have never said bad about any stock. I have never slandered any stock to buy shares. I have only promoted the stocks I own. As far as MIKP and how they ran the PPS up it was an amazing horse and penny show one of the best i have ever seen. That is why I also said in that statement that it was amazing that someone could do that. They ran a good show and made many lots of paper. I have only disclosed facts about MIKP and the crew that surrounds it. I can't wait to see the great White Space be sold for any profit. It was supposed to have been completed 2 years ago and every year it is the same story. Where is this film were is the trailer. First of all IMDB is not much different then wikipedia. There are tons of films on there they have never been released. There a many many films that are filmed every year with b list actors that make nothing. White Space is one of them.
You will see very soon how he was informed. I don't own this stock nor do I have anything to prove so I don't need to post links.
It did take genius to scam like they did. I will always give them props for there day in the sun. But the sun is gone now. They made bank I made bank and all is good. Good luck to you!
This stock can't go much lower if I wanted it I would just buy now. If it was going to make such huge gains. There will come a time when most will be happy just to try and sell at .0001. But there will be no one buying.
I am sorry some took loses. But even more the reason for whoever did to take legal action why you still can. This scam stuff happens every year after year with these subpennies. When the ones that took loses start excepting they have been scammed and take legal action the less inclined new scammer CEOs are to pop up. If you take no control then they will keep abusing the system. There will come a day when all of you realize you were scammed. It is sad but true.