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.