MTP Begins Casting on ‘Horse’ With International Celebrity in Lead Supporting Role

LOS ANGELES, CA–(Marketwire – March 25, 2010) – (PINKSHEETS: MIKP) — Mike The Pike Productions, Inc. has officially kicked off casting for the fictional underworld of Fort Wayne, Indiana in MTP’s crime fable, ‘Horse,’ with Fred ‘The Hammer’ Williamson in a lead supporting role.

Williamson, a Hollywood icon, was born in Gary, Indiana, is a former Oakland Raiders/Kansas City Chiefs football star that rose to prominence as one of the first African-American male action stars of the “blaxploitation” genre of the early 1970s. He has worked prominently in almost every aspect of film including writer, director, and producer. Williamson is also an award winning and Emmy nominated actor. His resume boasts over 100 film and television shows including classics such as ‘M*A*S*H,’ ‘Inglorious Bastards’ (1978), ‘Black Caesar,’ ‘Hell up in Harlem,’ ‘Police Story,’ and recent hits such as ‘Pushing Daisies,’ ‘Fast Track,’ and the Owen Wilson/Ben Stiller vehicle ‘Starsky & Hutch’ as well as the Robert Rodriguez/Quentin Tarantino feast, ‘Dusk ‘Til Dawn’ to name a handful.

“We are thrilled to be working with Fred Williamson on this project. He’s a legend to most of us Cinephiles, and is a known supporter of independent film, international business and several worthwhile charities,” says award winning Producer and CEO/President of Mike the Pike Productions, Mark B. Newbauer, who is slated to helm the crime thriller penned by Cam Clark. ”Fred’s a sublime prototype for the role of Chuck MacArthur, which requires a delicate duality that I feel he will handle quite perfectly. It’s an honor to have an esteemed writer/producer/director on set with us and it’s a testament to the project to have him on board.”

MTP has signed a deal with Williamson which entitles the artist to a Producer’s credit on the film as well as 10% of the gross foreign sales. Williamson has intimated his willingness to approach his industry contacts worldwide for film distribution/sales, on a best efforts basis. Williamson launched his Po’ Boy Productions in 1974, directing and starring in close to 40 films under this banner including several international co-productions, resulting in a substantial world-wide following for Fred as well as extensive experience and relationships in foreign sales. He is particularly adored by audiences in the Middle East and also Italy, where he spent over 10 years of his career harvesting many profitable features.

“Aside from being one of the coolest people on the planet, Fred is a highly talented actor, and if you’ve met him, you know he’s an incredible producer as well; with abilities to increase production value tenfold, he’s also one of the most effective, if not blatant, self-promoters too — dating back to his taunts against Green Bay in his NFL days before his Super Bowl I game. I think he’ll be a tremendous asset to the project as producer as well as performer,” adds Newbauer.

Mike the Pike Productions shares in the remainder of foreign sales equally with screenwriter Cam Clark in part of an exchange for the acquisition of his story/screenplay along with equal splits on the domestic gross sales as well. The film will be produced under MTP’s HorsePlay, LLC.

MTP is anticipating further cast updates in the coming weeks as the HorsePlay team spends the remainder of pre-production finalizing cast, locations, crew, schedules, SAG compliance, etc. toward principle photography later this Spring with a final cut projected prior to AFM (American Film Market) and other 2010/11 conferences and festivals worldwide.

“Once ‘Horse’ wraps, we’ll be into pre-production on our second feature for 2010 which will be announced soon by MTP Studios as the second in a slate of low-budget features which will give shareholders additional, revenue generating assets and sales. In the meantime, the company plans to increase its authorized shares by 500m-1b shares to allow for self sufficiency in marketing, operations & acquisitions within the MTP universe while also supporting development of larger budgeted features on the Studio’s overall development slate including ‘Fish in a Barrel,’ ‘Dresden Sun,’ ‘Shadow Market’ and ‘The Skin Trade,’ among others.

In other divisions, MTP’s ServeNation has narrowed its CEO search to 3 candidates, all well-positioned in the prepaid industry and well-rounded in skill-sets and knowledge base, including C-level negotiations, advanced education, prior successful entrepreneurial ventures and historical achievements in increased sales and revenues exponentially for larger corporations. ServeNation is currently servicing due diligence requirements for its prospective issuer and in discussion with its intended processor and network(s) as well as hard load locations for the company’s proprietary trademarked business model of General Purpose Reloadable debit card and stored value gift cards that ‘Pre-Pay it Forward’â„¢ in a Passive Givingâ„¢ strategy for the active consumer with every purchase, load and swipe of a ServeNationâ„¢ card: a Powerful fundraising tool for charities and non-profits. Recently issued financial projections were described by these prospective parties as ‘possibly even conservative’ pending ServeNation’s marketing strategy and budget outlay as such.

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