"...a review of court filings and government databases shows many of [Farnsworth's] inactive ventures have drawn ire from consumers, investors and business associates, sometimes resulting in legal action." - Miami Herald

"Three other ventures — XStream Beverage Network Inc., Purple Beverage Co., and vitamin marketing firm LTS (or "Live The Source") Nutraceuticals Inc. — went public while associated with Farnsworth. In each case, share values fell 99 percent within three years, rendering the value of each at less than $1 per share" - Bloomberg   

"Beyond these business woes, since 1990 Farnsworth personally has been liened 11 times for failing to pay federal income taxes on time. The most recent IRS settlements, dated February 2018, were for more than $100,000 for taxes due in 2016." - Miami Herald

"With a track record of business closures and nonpayment, Farnsworth is an unconventional choice for CEO of a publicly traded company. While it is not unusual for a business failure to end acrimoniously, said University of Miami business professor John Mezias, a track record of multiple lawsuits involving different entities is unusual." Miami Herald

Farnsworth's compensation was $8.9 million in 2017  - Helios and Matheson SEC filing

WHO ARE WE AND WHAT IS THIS ABOUT?
We are a small circle of Helios and Matheson investors (the majority owner of Movie Pass) and Movie Pass subscribers.  This site and petition are simply an avenue to provide the public with a background on the CEO of Helios and Matheson (the parent company calling the shots behind Movie Pass) and an opportunity to put pressure on the Board to replace the current CEO (Ted Farnsworth) for the sake of the company, the business model, its remaining investors, and its loyal subscribers. 

A NOTE TO INVESTORS:
Investors in Movie Pass's parent company, Helios and Matheson (ticker HMNY), have seen their equity investments reduced to nothing over the last two months on the back of a 99% drop in the stock price and a damaging reverse split.  This hasn't necessarily been the result of a poor business model behind Movie Pass (while the cash burn of the company is extremely problematic, high cash burn companies can become profitable with the right business model, management team, and strategy). Instead, the core cause of the drastic decline in equity value has been result of massive equity dilution at the hands of management.  The weekly (if not daily) issuance of new shares by management has not only decimated the current share price, but has reduced the voting power of current shareholders to almost nothing.  Ted Farnsworth, the CEO of Helios, has repeatedly been interviewed on high profile news programs claiming there is no immediate threat to the company.  However, the company has been simultaneously issuing hundreds of millions of shares of stock to raise emergency cash, changed the terms and conditions behind Movie Pass subscriptions almost weekly, and is being named in a number of lawsuits for fraud.  Further, in its own 10-Q filing with the SEC, the company noted it won't likely being a "going concern" in the future (accounting speak for bankruptcy is likely).  To detail Mr. Farnsworth's character as highlighted in the news quotes listed above, Ted has registered more than 50 different companies in Florida over the last few decades, most of which have gone bankrupt and/or were defendants in a number of lawsuits (a number of which included fraud).  Yet, Ted was compensated $8.9 million in 2017 for his work at Helios.

As investors, this petition is a mechanism to make sure our voices are heard regardless of dilution of voting rights.  While replacement of the CEO will not immediately fix the financial and strategic woes of Movie Pass and its parent company, it would be a signal to the investment community that the board cares about the viability of the company and its few remaining shareholders. Further, to not replace Ted after the firm's performance in 2018 could be considered a violation of the board's fiduciary duty in the eyes of many of its investors.

A NOTE TO MOVIE PASS SUBSCRIBERS:
As subscribers to Movie Pass, the company has repeatedly changed what subscribing to their service actually means.  Pricing has changed at least three times over the last two months, unlimited viewing options removed, annual subscription plans eliminated, viewing choices limited, theaters blackedout, and peak pricing schemes added.  To shield themselves from massive lawsuits, the firm claims these drastic changes are permitted by their terms of service.  They even went so far as putting a clause in their TOS that states that you waive the right to participate in a class action lawsuit against the firm.  Additional clauses include removing the requirement to inform subscribers of pricing changes, eliminating refunds on the back of outages, and the inclusion of surge pricing. Per the company's terms of use, "IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO CHECK THESE TERMS OF USE, AND THE MOVIEPASS APP PERIODICALLY FOR CHANGES. YOUR CONTINUED USE OF THE SERVICE AND THE SITE FOLLOWING THE POSTING OF CHANGES WILL MEAN THAT YOU ACCEPT AND AGREE TO THE CHANGES.”  Hundreds of thousands of subscribers have likely cancelled their subscription weeks ago on the back of the myriad of pricing changes.  However, for those who continue to believe in the model, felt victimized by the company, and/or those who still find value in Movie Pass, we encourage you to sign this petition to help investors remove the CEO of Helios to prevent this level of misdeed from continuing.  

TO THE BOARD OF HELIOS:
We hope you understand the financial impact your actions and the actions of Ted Farnsworth have imposed on your equity investors.  Your remaining investors are largely retail investors, many of which legitimately believed in the value of Movie Pass (your core holding).  Most, if not all, have lost the vast majority of their investment and all meaningful voting rights on the back your equity dilution schemes. We further hope you understand the impact of Ted's actions on your subscriber base.  Your 3 million plus subscribers have been put through now weekly changes to their subscription  (most of which could easily be considered "bait and switch" from what they originally subscribed to).  Both your investors and subscribers believed in your business model, yet Ted has repeatedly let them down.  We hope you find it prudent (and to a certain extent, explore your legal duty) to replace him as CEO before irreparable damage is done to an otherwise useful service.

Interested in reading more?
A trail of lawsuits and a failed psychic hotline. Meet the Miami man running MoviePass.
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/ article213952134.html

The Man Behind Moviepass’ 1,151% Rally Has Had 99% Wipeouts in the Past
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-10-30/man-behind-1-151-stock-rally-has-overseen-99-wipeouts-in-past

 MoviePass is no longer too good to be true
https://www.theverge.com/2018/4/27/17291242/moviepass-unlimited-movie-deal-repeat-viewings-theater-blackouts

Here Are All the Changes MoviePass Made to Its Terms of Service In the Last Six Months
https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/8xbmzx/here-are-all-the-changes-moviepass-made-to-its-terms-of-service-in-the-last-six-months

MoviePass changes its subscription plan once again
https://www.consumeraffairs.com/news/moviepass-changes-its-subscription-plan-once-again-070618.html