I'm off to the airport in the morning. Updating will be...pretty much non-existent. Gerard will hopefully fill the void from time to time at The Blog, and I may pop in every once in a while (from a new part of the country each time) with a musing here and there.

It's been a crazy season, one as taxing as it's been exhilerating. Sad it ended on the note it did, with presss room comments going too far and dragging a lot of unneeded drama into the scenario. But that's behind us now, a new season will soon be upon us, and who knows what newbies will join the Oscar party at that time, what new tricks the old dogs will bring to the table. Here's hoping for a smooth go at it next time around, but for now, study hard with our year in advance coverage.

Enjoy the spring.

Just a note on some upcoming pieces here at In Contention. This year's Best Picture race seems to be the most wide open field in Oscar history. Any one of the five nominees has a shot at taking the prize. As such, I figure it's only wise to distinguish each entry, so I'll be talking to the talent involved and writing a piece on each film. It all began last week with "Little Miss Sunshine." Up next: "The Queen" and "Babel."

The days are waning on Phase One of the 2006-2007 film awards season. Prognosticators are shuffling to prepare final predictions, movie-goers are rushing to see the films they might have missed that may end up nominated for Academy Awards, and internet personalities talk about the whole process via instant messenger.

As In Contention certainly isn't an operation I maintain on my own, I felt it appropriate to give "Tech Support" columnist Gerard Kennedy the space for his own list of predictions in all categories. Last week we had a nice chat about the goings-on and what to expect from Tuesday's announcement, and what follows is a transcript of that chat. We tried this once before prior to the HFPA announcement, and I've been itching to do it again.

You'll find Gerard's final predictions scattered throughout, but I'm still working through the kinks on a lot of my own ponderings. So my final predictions will be held until Monday's Oscar column. But you can read between the lines of my thoughts here easily enough.

Also be sure to check back tomorrow for a special pre-nominations installment of "Tech Support," where Gerard will reveal his final predictions in the areas his has focused on throughout the season here at In Contention. Until then, enjoy the chat.

This is why I like to get that yearly wrap up handled the week before the holidays. It gives me the opportunity to just waste away for the next week and a half doing nothing, if I so choose. Of course, with the easy access the internet affords, we all know I'll pop up from time to time before the end of the year (likely over at The Blog for some glorious randomness), but preferably, In Contention will be a vague aspect of my life until the guild nominations unload starting on January 4. Ugh!

But in any case, for now, allow me to wish you and yours a happy holiday season. It's been a crazy year, full of intrigue in all corners; politics, entertainment, sports, etc. The Apocalypse seems to be closer at hand each and every year. I don't know about you, but I plan to be wearing sunglasses and hawaii shorts when the world explodes, so bring it on!

Here's hoping 2007 is kind to us all. See you on the other side. (And be sure to check back for Gerard's final 2006 "Tech Support" column next week.)

It seems like it. Further thoughts over at The Blog.

We're stepping things up a notch here at In Contention. Please allow me to take a moment and orient you to your surroundings. The new site hopes to be a relatively familiar extension of the work done last year on the Blogger server, only bigger and, hopefully, better.

On the right sidebar of the main page, in our typical style, you’ll find a listing of Oscar predictions for the 2006-2007 film awards season. Please bear in mind that, while the site will have multiple contributors this year, these predictions reflect the ponderings of the editor and the editor alone. You’ll find all categories currently updated in full from the year-in-advance predictions released in March. In the coming weeks, I’ll slowly push through analyses of the major categories in preparation for the film awards season. I'll also cobble a set of charts together soon enough. However, as I have learned year in and year out, none of this makes much credible sense until we’re in the waist deep in the middle of things.

To the left, in addition to a typically comprehensive list of links to various sources, film coverage outlets and news sites, you’ll find a listing of the site's current features. At the moment, these features include my "Page to Screen" series, outlined in detail below, as well as "Tech Support," a weekly column which will be authored by Gerard Kennedy (whose work you may have read at Oscarwatch last season). Gerard's column, which should prove to be a unique and thought-provoking look at the various technical branches recognized by the Academy, will launch in a few short weeks. However, "Page to Screen" is already off to the races with its first installment. Rounding out the left sidebar, you'll also find obligatory category listings for the various posts on In Contention's main page, as well as archiving.

As far as commenting on entries is concerned, I have to do something to combat a rash of "anonymous" postings, so in order to post a comment you'll have to have a Typekey identity. But signing up for Typekey is no hassle in the slightest, and if you already comment on the MCN blogs, for instance, then you know what I'm talking about. If you'd like to briefly set up a Typekey identity, please click here to do so.

Finally, I've carried a couple of more recent entries over from the old site, and I hope to continue the transtion of material so that everything is archived here for your perusal. That will be a long process, however, but in the meantime, the old blog is still up and viewable here.

All in all, I hope this proves to be a smooth transition, and as always, I hope you enjoy the output. So please feel free to drop me a line anytime at the new email addres, ktapley@incontention.com.

I'd like to extend one more special thanks to Sasha Stone for helping get the new site rolling. Oscarwatch has also experienced a beautiful reload, so be there or be square!

Welcome back to In Contention.