‘Mr Pikes’ Feature Hit With Cease-And-Desist Letter From Publisher Of Ibiza Hotelier’s Autobiography​on February 12, 2025 at 9:00 am

EXCLUSIVE: The producers behind a biopic on legendary Ibiza figure Tony Pike have been hit with a cease-and-desist letter by the publisher of the late hotelier’s autobiography. Lawyers acting for MT Ink, publisher of Mr Pikes: The Story Behind the Ibiza Legend, accused High Fliers Films, producer of Brian Cox feature Skelly, of “misrepresenting” its […]EXCLUSIVE: The producers behind a biopic on legendary Ibiza figure Tony Pike have been hit with a cease-and-desist letter by the publisher of the late hotelier’s autobiography. Lawyers acting for MT Ink, publisher of Mr Pikes: The Story Behind the Ibiza Legend, accused High Fliers Films, producer of Brian Cox feature Skelly, of “misrepresenting” its   

EXCLUSIVE: The producers behind a biopic on legendary Ibiza figure Tony Pike have been hit with a cease-and-desist letter by the publisher of the late hotelier’s autobiography.

Lawyers acting for MT Ink, publisher of Mr Pikes: The Story Behind the Ibiza Legend, accused High Fliers Films, producer of Brian Cox feature Skelly, of “misrepresenting” its film as being based on the autobiography.

The dispute hinges on a previous agreement MT Ink had with Layer Cake actor Tamer Hassan‘s Skylight Media Entertainment, which was working with High Fliers on the adaptation of Mr Pikes.

Skylight had an option on the book between 2018 and 2022, during which period Trainspotting writer Irvine Welsh and his Crime co-writer Dean Cavanagh were engaged to write a script treatment. When the option expired, MT Ink teamed with a new producer to develop a separate project.

But last month, High Fliers told Deadline it was working with Welsh and Cavanagh to create a film titled Mr Pikes. It said the project is based on extensive research and material about Pike, a bon vivant of the Ibiza party scene, already in the public domain.

High Fliers’ project is titled Mr Pikes, similar to the name of Pike’s co-authored autobiography, notable for the extra ‘s’ at the end of Pike’s name that was also used to name the hotel, Pikes Ibiza.

Matt Trollope from MT Ink, who co-authored Mr Pikes: The Story Behind the Ibiza Legend and published the autobiography, told Deadline: “In using the name Mr Pikes for their film project, we believe the producers have been misrepresenting their film as being based on the official autobiography, when it is not. Our lawyer has written to them accordingly, also pointing out that we own the exclusive rights to Tony Pike’s life story.

“This misrepresentation is not only damaging to our reputation and interests but also highly damaging to the commercial interests of the party which legitimately has an option over the film, TV and allied rights of the official autobiography Mr Pikes: The Story Behind the Ibiza Legend.”

High Fliers Films, which has been looking for a director and finance on the project, rejected MT Ink’s accusations. “I categorically dispute the claims made by MT Ink and the publisher,” said Zach Rothwell, Head of International Sales & Distribution at High Fliers Films. “This project is an original screenplay based on extensive independent research and publicly available materials.”

It is not clear if actor Hassan and his company Skylight Media are involved in the High Fliers feature. In January, Hassan told Loaded Magazine that he was in preparation to play Pike. High Fliers has, however, not mentioned Hassan in its comments regarding the film. Deadline has asked High Fliers about Hassan’s involvement and contacted the actor’s agent for comment.

High Fliers told us last month its pic would delve into Pike’s journey on the island, his unapologetic hedonism, and the indelible mark he left on the world of music and nightlife. “His story isn’t just about building one of the most iconic hotels in the world — it’s about the hedonism, heartbreak, and unrelenting passion that defined an entire era,” added Welsh at the time. “Dean and I have poured everything into making this screenplay a fitting tribute to the man and the legend.”

We contacted reps for Welsh and Cavanagh, who declined to comment.

Pike was a larger-than-life character, who was once called the “Hugh Hefner of Ibiza” by Boy George due to his hedonistic lifestyle on the Spanish island of Ibiza. Pike disliked the comparison and always claimed to be respectful of women. He had earned notoriety in the early 1980s after establishing the Pikes Hotel, a former rural farmhouse, which quickly became a haven for celebrities and musicians. Freddie Mercury and Princess Margaret were among the visitors and George Michael even shot the music video for Wham!’s “Club Tropicana” at the hotel, with Pike making a cameo.

The hotel hosted some of the most extravagant parties ever seen in the Balearic Islands before Pike sold it to Ibiza Rocks in 2008. It was relaunched in 2011 with Ibiza Rocks owner Andy McKay at the helm. Pike was its first full-time resident and remained there until he died from cancer in 2019.

Last week, McKay wrote a statement on his website, saying High Fliers and the writing team had “no connection with any of us,” adding, “The team behind this film, in my view, are not acting in the best interests of Tony, his estate or the Pikes that we all love.”

“I am speaking up in the hope that those who are tempted to finance this project realise this movie would not do Tony, Pikes or its story justice,” he added. “Pikes is a place of incredible history, unique beauty, quirkiness, eccentricity, intimacy and magic; a place that Tony built with his own hands and a place that has become an icon in its own right in Ibiza. I believe Pikes is a place that commands respect and deserves to be protected.”