So far, the 2007 Miss Horrorfest seems to be playing out like a Comedy of (T)errors. And I don't especially mean this in a good way.
I mean it seems that they're making up the rules as they go... Auditions were held late, announcements were scheduled and not made...
And then there is the whole "Vote on your favorite girl" to win the contest. THEY (After Dark) announced the Finalists before we got to meet the Semi-Finalists (other than hastily taken cheesecake shots)? Especially when three of the four Finalists weren't even FROM YouTube, so we (the supposed arbiters) didn't even know who they were?
AND THEN they start playing the videos we were supposed to have voted on? No reason we shouldn't have seen the intro videos when they first announced the semi-finalists, and Day one at the house at least by the end of day three,
I want to know what were the criteria they used to choose the Semi-Finalists and Finalists. I want to know WHY AfterDark didn't seem to care WHAT we as fans thought.
I'm going to use Shannon as an example, as she's handy. And I'm certainly not bagging on any of the other contestants here. I have no doubt that they were all very worthy. And from what little we've actually interacted with them, very charming as well.
As of this writing, she has more views and more votes than anyone else on the YouTube side... almost 35000... 25000 MORE than Nixon Suicide who did make the Finals. Everyone has said she rocked the house during the video shoots. Almost all the girls who were there were VERY surprised Shannon DIDN'T make the finals.
So, why didn't she? For that matter why didn't Cheiko or the Morbid Sisters? Why weren't we allowed to make that determination as we were promised?
I'm interested in other fan feedback on this AND to hear from the other girls in the contest.
But especially, I wanna hear from AfterDark. What is going on?! Surely a company organized enough to put on what is essentially the world's largest film festival can handle the day to day logistics of a reality show beauty pageant?
Ok first off I am going to share this thread with AfterDark and try to get a straight answer. Lets not lynch AfterDark to quickly till we know all the facts.
if voting was supposed to be based entirely on FAN votes then why Shannon didnt make it is a VERY good question. Shannon is very well known on this site and is INSANELY popular with our readers. She would make a great choice, and with those vote numbers I wonder why she wasnt.
Can anybody clarify whether there was some other voting criteria other then fans that we missed in the rules posted?
OK, according to this, I guess we get the girls to the Semi-Finals, then it's up to After Dark...
(b) Semi-Finals. The eight (8) Semi-Finalists will be flown to and from Los Angeles, CA, for a further round of competition between the approximate dates of October 5-12, 2007. During this time, the contestants will be housed together in a single location and will be required to compete in a 5-day series of Horror-related events, selected by Sponsor, to determine their qualifications to be Miss Horrorfest. Participation of the Semi-Finalists will be subject to full video and audio recording. At the end of each day of competition, one Semi-Finalist will be eliminated according to the judgment of Sponsor and a celebrity guest judge. Details of the competition will be kept secret until filming actually takes place so that the contestants have no previous knowledge of what they will be expected to do.
The judging of the Semi-Finalists will be based on the following criteria: Physical Presentation; Best Costume; Scariest Appearance; Personality; Overall horror knowledge; and General Conduct during the competition and filming.
By October 15, 2007, the results of the semi-finalist voting will be announced and three (3) Finalists will be named to move on to the final round of competition.
HOWEVER, the details of the contest didn't even follow suit to this. All the finalists stayed the entire time, didn't they? Malice, Chieko, as you are posting here; One of you didn't leave per day did you? You all stayed the entire time?
The contestants will live in a house and compete in a series of chilling competitions, all of which will be broadcast on YouTube over the next week, giving viewers the chance to vote for the next Queen of Scream. The top 3 finalists will be announced right here on Youtube.
SO there is a HUGE difference between what the rules say, what they told us, and what actually happened.
MQ - I was just about to post this same info. The other thing that I didn't know was that 4 of the 8 semi-finalists were to come from auditions and 4 from youtube.
also: "The Contest is under the supervision of Sponsor, whose decisions on matters relating to the Contest and determination of the Semi-Finalists, Finalists, and Winner shall be final."
So even though Shannon was the most popular FAN Chosen a sponsor must have thought somebody else was a better choice, does that make sense? Would that be within the rules?
Mirthquake asked me to chime in here, to give my two cents on the whole issue.
I would rather not speak about specifics about what happened in the house because After Dark asked us not to. I want to honor that agreement we had.
I will, however, state the rules that was told to us when we arrived....
We were told that the youtube audience will be able to vote the Semi-Finalists into the Finalist round.
We were told that webisodes would go up shortly, documenting different activites/competitions we completed, allowing youtuber's the opportunity to vote for their favorite Semi-Finalist.
We were told that the webisodes will go up a couple days after we arrived home, and we were encouraged to promote After Dark in internet posts ie blogs, myspace, youtube, internet land, etc.
We were told to tell people that they will be able to vote, therefore keeping people coming back to check out the contest, and hopefully getting them to go to Horrorfest in November (which makes sense and is great marketing).
That never happened.
The most recent webisode didn't document anything, except as a "introduction" to the girls. Which is great! But it was released after they decided who the Finalists were.
There was no "celebrity judge," unless you want to call the owners of After Dark the celebrity judges. I have no idea who they are talking about.
Also, the Suicide Girls paid the first 10 SG's $100 to enter into the contest, yet in After Dark's rules, it states that no one can enter who is an employee of any affiliate or sponsor of Horrorfest. But SG is an affiliate/sponsor, and is selling discounted tickets on their site, running ads, and making announcements.
Of course, I wanted to win. I loved the crew we worked with and most of the girls and I hit it off amazingly well.
But the thousands of dollars I have lost and time and energy I spent into making a finished product, taking time off work and my production company, packing multiple costumes, weapons, fake blood, limbs, props, etc that I used in the competitions made it so not worth it.
Also, the websites that endorsed me got alot of people interested in the contest, and I feel terrible because if this contest is rigged, I wasted alot of people's time and energy. And that's not something I would be proud of.
Although, in After Dark's defense, we signed a contract that said they could change the rules when they want, however many times they want. It's their right to do it. I just wish the rules wouldn't be changed so much that I am blatantly lying to people and wasting their time when I tell them their vote matters.
So even though Shannon was the most popular FAN Chosen a sponsor must have thought somebody else was a better choice, does that make sense? Would that be within the rules?
That seems to be it. Since it said semifinalists and finalist were chosen based on sponsors and voters, and Constance found out it says the sponsors decisions are FINAL, it seems as though the sponsors were really in control. They probably dont care about who the fans like but who is the most marketable and possible more profitable by them for later appearances as "Miss Horrorfest" at places. My guess is with the popularity and notariety of the Suicide Girls that this will be the way they go and we will see Nixon Suicide win.....after all, if Suicide Girls are a sponsor, maybe they have a part in the sponsors vote.
Thanks for the great post and info Shannon! It;s a shame what happened, and your votes dont lie: the people loved you! You have a big support system and people working behind you so even if you got screwed you have to be happy with the support you recieved. I feel bad on the time/money/energy you spent on this if it does turn out it was rigged.....hopefully we can dig and get some real answers.
Anybody known an e-mail address that people can get in cotact with? Maybe if we get a bunch of people to flood them with e-mails complaining about their contest we will get some answers or see some truth come floating out.
By the sounds of what has been posted After Dark has not broken any of the rules.. its their contest and as Shannon who was a contestant pointed out... they can change the rules anytime they want.
That said I do understand why some of you are crying bloody murder over the issue saying your votes did not count. I had no idea myself that sponsors or anyone else was choosing finalists I figured it was totally based on the youtube votes... but in honesty I never read the rules ( i am sure most people didnt ) and didnt follow it that closely.
Shannons post above is definitely invites the question 'what happened exactly?'
Thanks for the great post and info Shannon! It;s a shame what happened, and your votes dont lie: the people loved you! You have a big support system and people working behind you so even if you got screwed you have to be happy with the support you recieved. I feel bad on the time/money/energy you spent on this if it does turn out it was rigged.....hopefully we can dig and get some real answers.
We do have to be clear here JMH the contest was NOT rigged. The rules were followed as outlined by AfterDark. And I do agree Shannon was the winner and in no small part thanks to the support of the readers of this large horror community.
Anybody known an e-mail address that people can get in cotact with? Maybe if we get a bunch of people to flood them with e-mails complaining about their contest we will get some answers or see some truth come floating out.
I am going to email them tomorrow to ask a couple questions on this topic and get this all cleared up. I am expecting I can post some answers that will hopefully clear things up.
My wonder is since the Suicide Girls are a sponsor/affiliate of AfterDark Horrofest this year, and they paid the girls to enter(which is not allowed) do they have pull in the sponsor voting to get Suicide Nixon to win? It would make sense as it would be help promote the fest as well as one of the sponsors. And since the Suicide Girls are pretty well known in the horror community, it would probably be seen as "easier" to market Nixon for future appearances as Ms Horrorfest places to get more out of the contest and further promote AfterDark. Just seems a little coincidental and like the rules got bent a little here....
i gotta be honest i dont ever follow suicide girls or know who Nixon is. I am sure shes a cool person this is no slight to her at all. However if Nixon is so easy to market and so popular how come she didnt do youtube, she would have won easily then if shes THAT popular. Hopefully that doesnt come off wrong lol.
Also How were Suicide Girls involved? I am not clear how them being paid broke the rules since the rules are ever changing. I noticed they have banners on their site but we have banners for all kinds of stuff from zwinkies to google, and we are not affiliated.
I am not trying to be a dick, just fair and make sure we cover all the angles before the finger automatically gets pointed.
Also, the Suicide Girls paid the first 10 SG's $100 to enter into the contest, yet in After Dark's rules, it states that no one can enter who is an employee of any affiliate or sponsor of Horrorfest. But SG is an affiliate/sponsor, and is selling discounted tickets on their site, running ads, and making announcements.
Here are how they broke the rules by getting paid/sponsoring according to Shannon. But obviously like you said Meh, if the rules are changing, that means they could have been bent in this case.
Honestly, I know who the suicide girls are and am a fan, but I didnt know who Nixon Suicide specifically was until now. But dont forget Meh, you were at a party sponsored by the Suicide Girls.....remember the Captivity Premeire you were at? Thats the type of thing I can see AfterDark wanting a piece of by having their Miss Horrorfest come from their group. They the can get promo for AfterDark at big events like the Captivity premiere you attended....gets their name to larger groups of people having Miss Horrorfest in the Suicide Girls ranks.
Okay, so hopefully this will clear everything up for you guys.
It is true that After Dark states in their contract they can change the rules at anytime and that sucks, HOWEVER, they also have a clause that states the following:
6.Eligibility, Verification and Affidavits of Eligibility and Liability Release and Publicity Release
The Contest is open to all legal U.S. residents 18 years or older (except residents of Puerto Rico) who are not employees (or immediate family members of employees), agents or affiliates of Sponsor, participating vendors, or their respective promotion or advertising agencies. All entries must be completed and filed in accordance with these Rules. All Semi-Finalists, Finalists, and Winner are required to execute Affidavits of Eligibility and Liability Release and, where legal, a Publicity Release permitting the use by Sponsor of the contestant's name, likeness, video entry and recorded footage of contestant during or relating to the Contest for promotional or other proper and lawful purposes. No contestant will receive a prize or coverage or reimbursement of any expenses of participation in the Contest until he/she has executed the above-described affidavits and releases.
According to this eligibility clause, Nixon Suicide should not be allowed to enter the contest. They are a confirmed sponsor of the competition, and also offer a promo code here to get discount tickets through SG: http://suicidegirls.com/news/celeb/22548/
We're getting a lot of loose anwsers from After Dark that there are "executives" involved in the decision making process, which says to me that they have a back door agreement with SG.
I would really love a response from After Dark concerning this matter, and at the very least own up about it and bring back the 8 finalists and let the YouTube audience decide fairly.
Good info Michelle, thanks for joining our forums and sharing...
It would be nice if someone came out and spoke about it one way or another....something just seems too fishy and needs to be touched upon. If they can back up all their decisions, good for them....but in the meantime I remain skeptical of the whole process....
It's starting to sound like After Dark's Marketing and Legal Departments aren't communicating to me.
I'm not dissing Nix on this at all, nor do I think she should pull out of the competition, due to the eligibility clause... I think she's gonna end up a victim in this as all the others. And it's just a matter of having everybody on the same page... which OBVIOUSLY is not the case here.
A lack of communication has toppled empires. I hope this isn't the case.
Eh.. This kind of stuff just pisses me off.. Its obvious that After Dark has had a close relationship with the Suicide Girls for a while now with there little show at the Captivity premiere. According to the clause posted by Michelle Fatale I think Nixon should be given the boot.. Its not fair and its right there in black and white.
I'm not afraid to step on toes in this situation.. The rules are rules. After Dark are just being shady about the whole thing. To be able to change the rules whenever you want is just bullshit. Anybody will tell you that you can't write up a fuckin contract like that.
Well Shannon, I was rooting for you and even though you didn't win Ms. Horrorfest you will always be Ms. Fresh Meat Vixen Keep up the hard work and your fans will always be behind you. If you have gained anything out of this I think it is a large legion of fans who will back you up on whatever you plan to do next.
I can understand why people are upset. You all voted thinking your votes count and its starting to look like they did not. I voted for Shannon a couple times, but other then that i did not follow the contest at all.
Can somebody clarify that Nixon WAS in the youtube contest? How many votes did she get in comparison to Shannon?
This whole SuicideGirls thing is definitely odd. Oh and JMH that Captivity party I did not attend the VP of After Dark sent me the pics to share. The folks I deal with at AfterDark are VERY nice and do their best to make sure you readers get info before anyone else and even answer my questions on weekends.
So if there is a 'conspiracy' here lets not paint the whole company wtih a bad brush. They do have a great festival and from my dealings they DO care about fans. That said this is definitely a blemish if there is truth to the posts here.
ok so some clarifiation from my own reading of the rules
1) After Dark and its sponsors pick the winners not youtube. 2) Contestants enter at youtube and through live auditions 3) After Dark can change the rules at anytime.
I was not clear on the rules myself. I thought it was entirely base on youtube and its clearly not at all. Its based on live auditions, and what the owners/sponsors want. So the only thing that is in question now is what is Suicide Girls relationship to AfterDark. Other then that as much as I wanted Shannon to win I can not see any rules being broken.
Can somebody clarify that Nixon WAS in the youtube contest? How many votes did she get in comparison to Shannon?
From the Featured page, captured this AM, 10/29.
Shannon Lark - Miss Horrorfest 2007 01:30 (full credits including shoutouts to M. Fatale and I for talking her into doing it, excised for space) Added: 1 month ago From: mmmzombies Views: 35,546
Nixon Suicide- Miss Horrorfest (censored) 01:30 The first video was way too sexy for YouTube...so here is a censored version. The full version is still available at Suicidegirls.com: "http://suicidegirls.com/girls/Nixon/videos/1371/" Thanks for the support! Added: 1 month ago From: Nixon1066 Views: 10,936
But if you add the votes at SG for the uncensored version (which shouldn't count as they weren't on YouTube, and you according to the rules cannot have two entries online) it may come close to a tie.
Keep up the hard work and your fans will always be behind you. If you have gained anything out of this I think it is a large legion of fans who will back you up on whatever you plan to do next.
The folks I deal with at AfterDark are VERY nice and do their best to make sure you readers get info before anyone else and even answer my questions on weekends. 
