ITEM
9 DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS, PROMOTERS AND CONTROL
PERSONS; COMPLIANCE WITH SECTION 16(A) OF THE EXCHANGE ACT.
The following table sets forth the names and positions of the executive officers
and directors of the Company. Directors will be elected at our annual meeting of
stockholders and serve for one year or until their successors are elected and
qualify. Officers are elected by the Board and their terms of office are, except
to the extent governed by employment contract, at the discretion of the Board.
Name
|
Age
|
Positions
and Offices held
|
Michael
Smolanoff, Ph.D.
|
62
|
CEO,
President, and Director
|
Stanley
L. Teeple
|
56
|
COO,
CFO, Secretary/Treasurer and Director
|
Bruce
N. Taffet
|
57
|
Director
|
Johnny
King
|
36
|
Director
of Film Development
|
16
Duties,
Responsibilities and Experience
Michael Smolanoff
,
age 62
,
is Chief Executive Officer,
President and Director of the Company since its inception. From 1993 to present,
Dr. Smolanoff has been self employed selling scripts, articles, and music. Dr.
Michael Smolanoff has over 30 years of experience in creative development
fields. He is a Juilliard graduate and past professor at Rutgers University and
Philadelphia Music Academy. He has written and produced a plethora of music
albums, concerts, children's programs, and works for the theatre. He is listed
in the International Who's Who of music, Who's Who in America, Men of
Achievement, Outstanding Young Men of America, and the Dictionary of
Distinguished Americans. He is the creator and developer of the "Pages of a
Rabbit Journal" and responsible for contract development to place this
animated series with the Fox Kids Network as well as distribution agreements for
placement into retail video stores nationwide. He is a member of the National
Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, and the American Society of Composers,
Authors and Publishers.
Stanley L. Teeple
, age 56, is COO, CFO, Secretary, Treasurer and
Director of the Company from March, 1997 to present. From 1979 until present,
Mr. Teeple has been President and Chief Executive Officer of Stan Teeple, Inc.,
a consulting firm specializing in business turnarounds. Stan had joined Dr.
Smolanoff for development of the various assets and interests in the
marketplace. Stan attended Business School at the University of Colorado and has
a strong national brands corporate background. In Stan's 20 plus year career as
a management consultant, sales and marketing consultant, and turnaround
specialist and counts among his business specialties, entertainment,
intellectual property licensing, food manufacturing, the travel industry and
retailing of everything from apparel to fast food. His recent client list
includes, United Artists Theatre Circuit, General Mills, Inc., United Airlines,
Inc., Kellogg's USA, Warner Lambert and Premiere Innovations, Inc.
Bruce Taffet
,
age 57
,
is a Director of the Company since April
1998. From 1979 until present Mr. Taffet had worked as an executive within the
Entertainment Industry. From 1995 until 2004, Bruce has been Executive Vice
President of United Artists Theatre Circuit Regal Entertainment Group. Mr.
Taffet has approximately 30 years experience in the entertainment industry.
Beginning the theatre business in 1969, Bruce was the owner/operator of the
Orkin Taffet Theatres in Jackson, Mississippi. Mr. Taffet has served as an
officer or director with the National Association of Theatre Operators, National
Association of Concessionaires, Variety Club of America, The 2% Club, and MPP
Pioneers. Mr. Taffet is presently CEO of Bruce Taffet LLC, an entertainment
consulting company.
Johnnie King
,
age 36, is Director of Film Development of the Company
since 1999. Mr. King is a creative talented filmmaker who has collaborated with
many of the great artists of this day. His mentor, Jamal Joseph is likened to
such prominent filmmakers as Spike Lee, Mattie Rich, John Singleton and Furman
Lee. Since High School he has been a prolific writer, producer, and director of
films. He has worked with "City Kids" under the direction of Jamal
where he produced and directed short films and videos.
17
Election
of Directors and Officers.
Directors are elected to serve until the next annual meeting of stockholders and
until their successors have been elected and qualified. Officers are appointed
to serve until the meeting of the Board of Directors following the next annual
meeting of stockholders and until their successors have been elected and
qualified.
No Executive Officer or Director of the Corporation has been the subject of any
Order, Judgment, or Decree of any Court of competent jurisdiction, or any
regulatory agency permanently or temporarily enjoining, barring suspending or
otherwise limiting him from acting as an investment advisor, underwriter, broker
or dealer in the securities industry, or as an affiliated person, director or
employee of an investment company, bank, savings and loan association, or
insurance company or from engaging in or continuing any conduct or practice in
connection with any such activity or in connection with the purchase or sale of
any securities.
No Executive Officer or Director of the Corporation has been convicted in any
criminal proceeding (excluding traffic violations) or is the subject of a
criminal proceeding which is currently pending.
No Executive Officer or Director of the Corporation is the subject of any
pending legal proceedings.
Section
16(a) Beneficial Ownership Reporting Compliance
Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the
"Exchange Act"), requires our executive officers and directors, and
persons who beneficially own more than ten percent of our common stock, to file
initial reports of ownership and reports of changes in ownership with the SEC.
Executive officers, directors and greater than ten percent beneficial owners are
required by SEC regulations to furnish us with copies of all Section 16(a) forms
they file. Based upon a review of the copies of such forms furnished to us and
written representations from our executive officers and directors, we believe
that during the year ended 2004, Michael Smolanoff, Ph.D., Stan Teeple, and
Bruce Taffet filed all forms 3, forms 4 and forms 5 on a timely basis.
Audit
Committee and Financial Expert
We do not have an Audit Committee, our board of directors during 2004, performed
some of the same functions of an Audit Committee, such as: recommending a firm
of independent certified public accountants to audit the annual financial
statements; reviewing the independent auditors independence, the financial
statements and their audit report; and reviewing management's administration of
the system of internal accounting controls. The Company does not currently have
a written audit committee charter or similar document.
We have no financial expert. We believe the cost related to retaining a
financial expert at this time is prohibitive. Further, because of our start-up
operations, we believe the services of a financial expert are not warranted.
18
Code
of Ethics
A code of ethics relates to written standards that are reasonably designed to
deter wrongdoing and to promote:
-
Honest and ethical conduct, including the ethical handling of actual or
apparent conflicts of interest between personal and professional
relationships;
-
Full, fair, accurate, timely and understandable disclosure in reports and
documents that are filed with, or submitted to, the Commission and in other
public communications made by an issuer;
-
Compliance with applicable governmental laws, rules and regulations;
-
The prompt internal reporting of violations of the code to an appropriate
person or persons identified in the code; and
-
Accountability for adherence to the code.
We have not adopted a corporate code of ethics that applies to our principal
executive officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer or
controller, or persons performing similar functions.
Our decision to not adopt such a code of ethics results from our having only
three officers and three directors operating as the management for the Company
in 2004. We believe that as a result of the limited interaction which occurs
having such a small management structure for the Company eliminates the current
need for such a code, in that violations of such a code would be reported to the
party generating the violation.
Nominating
Committee
We do not have a Nominating Committee or Nominating Committee Charter. Our board
of directors in 2004, performed some of the functions associated with a
Nominating Committee. We have elected not to have a Nominating Committee in that
we are a development stage company with limited operations and resources.
Limitation
of Liability of Directors
Pursuant to the Nevada General Corporation Law, our Articles of Incorporation
exclude personal liability for our Directors for monetary damages based upon any
violation of their fiduciary duties as Directors, except as to liability for any
breach of the duty of loyalty, acts or omissions not in good faith or which
involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law, or any transaction
from which a Director receives an improper personal benefit. This exclusion of
liability does not limit any right which a Director may have to be indemnified
and does not affect any Director's liability under federal or applicable state
securities laws. We have agreed to indemnify our directors against expenses,
judgments, and amounts paid in settlement in connection with any claim against a
Director if he acted in good faith and in a manner he believed to be in our best
interest.
19
Board
of Directors Committees and Compensation
Compensation
Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation
On September 20, 2002, the Board of Directors appointed a Compensation Committee
consisting of the Board's outside Director Bruce Taffet, and R.H. Casto, a large
investor and stockholder of the Company. The Committee has the obligation to
make recommendations to the Board regarding all compensation issues involving
officers of the Company and that those officers be bound by the recommendations
of the Committee. Before the appointment of the Compensation Committee, Michael
Smolanoff, President, oversaw the compensation of our executive officers.
Compensation
Committee's Report on Executive Compensation
General
. As noted above, the Compensation Committee of the Board of
Directors consists of the Boards outside director Bruce Taffet, and R.H. Casto.
The Compensation Committee is responsible for setting and administering the
policies governing compensation of our executive officers including cash
compensation and stock ownership programs. The goals of our compensation policy
are to attract and retain executive officers who contribute to the overall
success of the Company, by offering compensation which is competitive in the
entertainment and film industry for companies of our size, to motivate
executives to achieve the Company's business objectives and to reward them for
their achievements.
Overall Policy; Significant Factors
. The compensation decisions made by
the Compensation Committee in respect of our executive officers were influenced
by two major factors. First, our start-up nature brings with it all of the
normal capital requirements to sustain growth, therefore certain stock
compensation was granted in lieu of and in satisfaction of accrued salaries,
commissions and for services rendered. This practice may be extended into the
future on a case-by-case basis and accordingly filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission. Finally, as we continue to mature, certain additions to the
executive staff will be required. As we are required to seek talent in the
outside market, we will be required to provide a competitive compensation
package.
As overall policy, however, the Compensation Committee continues to believe that
long-term compensation tied to the creation of stockholder value should
constitute a significant component of the compensation to be earned by our
executive officers. In this respect, it will be the Compensation Committee's
policy to attempt to restrain base cash compensation (subject to competitive
pressures), while providing the incentive for Management to increase stockholder
value by providing such officers with significant numbers of market-priced stock
that will not confer value upon the officers unless and until the Company's
share price rises. The Compensation Committee expects that stock options will
constitute a significant component of the compensation package provided to
executive officers.
The Compensation Committee believes that cash bonuses are, at times, appropriate
based upon the performance of the Company's business compared to our internal
expectations and general business conditions.