Message Board

Alrighty, it's that time of year again... The time when I feel completely confused by the Fade In Awards. Just wondering, does anyone know what happened to the notice for this year's competition? I see they are still listing 2008 as being extended to November. Do I have the wrong link?

Skip this one, Michelle. Bad news in every way.

Did anyone get a letter announcing the quarter finals in this?

Too late, can't skip it. I registered before. Would love to know what the heck is going on.

Hey Michelle-

There's a thread somewhere on here. Basically, someone wrote a nasty letter about Fade In that was posted on a website. Fade In responded that the accusations were untrue. Scroll down for a thread on the contest and you'll find the info and the website.

Unfortunately, there's actually a very long history of problems with this contest. Read through the Fade In Contest Comments here on MovieBytes and you'll see what you're dealing with.

I just received a letter today telling me my entry is a quarter-finalist. It says over 1600 scripts were entered; 396 move on from here. I'd read complaints about unawarded prizes before, but, as I never expect to be the grand prize winner when I enter a contest, I didn't worry about it.

Oh, yeah, (feeling like Janet Hogate, here, with the post & the immediate 2nd post), this was for the 13th Annual. They say they start taking entries for the 14th Annual on july 1st, 2009. Evidently, I submitted to this one last Oct. 31. This contest often confuses me, too, as they also run The Writers Network contest from the website.

Hah, Hah. Ron. And I too received a letter that Im in the the quarter-final round of the 13th Annual Fade In Awards contests. It was dated April 1.

It looks like we are all getting our notifications by mail now. Probably because of the bad publicity. But hey, lets do it anyway.

Congratulations Ron, Oh thank you, Congrats. Janet.

Anyway else out there received the Snails mail Quarter-finalist notice? Congrats, if there are.

Yeah, good going, Janet. I've entered this contest in years past and, if memory serves me, they've always sent notification letters.

Sorry, I haven't and I've never received a notice by mail. I just thought maybe it had to do with all the bad press. But obviously it doesnt.

For everyone else, they say in the letter they will put up the Quarter-finalist list on their website after April 30.

Fade In has posted its list of quarterfinalists on its contest Web page, by author only, no titles.

Thanks Terry. I guess they must have meant the semi final list wont be posted until after April 30th.

Anyway, I see Patrick and Eric on the list too, congrats guys. I looked at it real fast because Im on my way to work. Sorry, if I missed anyone.

Thanks everyone. I didn't get a letter so I guess I'm out of luck in this one. I sent in a script that has won one contest and made final rounds at several others. As the reputation of this event is poor, I'm not so disappointed by the result.

Gadzooks, folks, give Audrey a break! Very few contests are quick to pay prize money. I won one contest that took over a year to pay me and that was in installments! I was a finalist in the Contest of Contest Winners its first year and all of us had to harass Howard for over six months before he so much as listed the titles of our scripts on his own Web site.

I've entered the Fade In contest many times and never once have I made the first cut, even with scripts which have won other contests and made the first cut at Nicholl. Judging is subjective. If I don't make the cut in a contest, I assume the problem is with my script, not the contest, unless I receive idiotic comments like I got from the 20/20 contest, where it was obvious that the readers hadn't actually read my scripts (my opinion there is based on comments which were full of ridiculous errors in references to both stories).

I entered Fade In and my script (CALLIOPE) probably won't make the cut, but I'll probably enter it again next year. But I won't enter the 20/20 contest. I also entered Jim Mercurio's new contest (Champions), today, and I'm looking forward to getting the feedback; if it's negative, I'll make revisions.

By the way, I think Audrey Kelly deserves credit for her many posts on this BB. How many other contest directors have bothered to communicate with us in this fashion? Audrey Kelly and Greg Beal and Jim Mercurio and Barb Doyon all deserve credit for rubbing elbows with us here.

Oh, btw, I did make the 1st cut in the Fade In contest this year, for the first time. But I don't personally consider making the top 25 percent of a contest as much of an accomplishment. Making the semifinals feels good, but it's winning and making the finals that count, IMHO. I don't intend to piss on anyone else's parade, I'm just telling you what I feel about my own performance in contests.

Hey, I just got a second letter today, telling me the other script I entered this year made quarter-finalist as well. I'll take that as a highlight of the day, anyhow! At any rate, it seems as if the contest is still sending out letters.

Fade In has now posted a list of semifinalists. To see the list, you have to go to the link at the bottom of the home page. "No joy" for me. Best of luck to the rest of you who entered.

I was wrong, the Fade In semifinalists are not posted. The link at the bottom of the Fade In page is mislabeled (it says "13th Annual" but it's the 2007 list). Thanks to Eric Sentell for apprising me (in kind language) of my mistake. Yet another "duh" on my part.

Hi All

It's unfortunate 3 disgruntled contestants and a rival entertainment media company have put our 16-year old reputation for putting writers to work and getting films made [Adam, being released by Fox Searchlight, hits theatres July 27 btw] into question. Other than state the facts, we can only pose the following: What contest, besides the Nicholls, has had more success stories for aspirants??? That's right! Fade In. Many chosen finalists don't care for our year long process, which is fine (although by entering they agree to adhere to our process). We actually work diligently with our finalists to bring their winning scripts up to professional standards in order to get them results. It's easy to simply send a congratulatory letter and a prize and say see you later. Good luck. We have never operated that way. In fact, one of the supposed complainers who supposedly didn't get his winnings in the defamatory/deragatory article posted by a new, rival entertainment company posted a blog online immediately after the story broke that says, ""A couple of weeks ago, I was contacted by a reporter for [the competitor's site]. The reporter wanted to know about my experiences with the Fade In screenwriting contest, as I had come in 2nd in the Comedy category in 2005. I agreed to talk with her. Probably my first mistake."

"The reporter asked me if I was happy with my relationship with Fade In, as she [claimed she] had spoken to a number of people who had not received the prizes they were promised. I told her unequivocally that I had received everything that was promised to me. I also told her that the notes I got from [Fade In] were some of the best notes I had ever received, and that I had been a finalist or the winner in a number of contests [including Scriptapalooza] and none of them had done more for me than Fade In."

We have always sent quarter-finalist notification by mail and semi-finalist notification this year will be posted online on our website in July. We have always handed out all prizes to all finalists and know of no finalists who have not received their prizes. Finalists are required to mail in a W9 tax form. If the rival, entertainment media company actually knew what an investigative story was they would have researched the disgruntled writer who failed to turn in her tax form. She operates a supposed non-profit organization and has failed to file annual reports to the State advising where all the money she's collected has gone for - get this - eight (8) years! One email to the Attorney General was all that took to get the facts.

So, as always, there is more than one side to any story and had the real story been investigated and reported factually, honestly and to ethical standards there would be no question as to how we've run our successful competition over the years.

Thanks for listening! - Audrey Kelly

Hi all:

Been a while since I've checked in, but was surprised to see some of the posts in this thread.

I've had no problems with Fade In. In fact, the analysis as part of the prize package was the most in depth I've experienced. After submitting my rewrite, they still worked with me on further improvements...could not ask for more.

I never expected the prizes to arrive within days of the announcement and always had the understanding of the process...paperwork, analysis, rewrite opportunity.

All my dealings with Audrey, Allen and the team have been a pleasure.

Elaine

personally I didn't enter this contest but I respect the fact that Audrey has communicated before and she is offering her side of the story.

Fade In sucks, namely becuse I never won and there's no good reason why not. They took my money but I think that that's all itn was about. It's all about mony, man. A script is just a pile of paper with a check attached. I think I should run my own contest, no money required, and just fund the finalist with a production in process. Let all the $ fall as it may. What a novel idea. Why leed people, the dreams, and their hoipes along? ome on, man, whose' with me in a real quest to make something happen worth while.... beyond taking people's hard earned money?