You be the judge

There will be … Oscar.

Yes, the time of year is again upon us in which we celebrate all things Hollywood. And no matter what happens between now and then regarding the writers’ strike, there indeed will be Oscars to hand out.

In that vein, we again will hold the annual Spokesman-Review Oscar Contest – though we’re going to do things a bit differently leading up to the 2008 broadcast (set for 5 p.m. Feb. 24 on ABC).

We’re taking the contest completely online.

That’s right: no paper ballots. We’re going totally electronic.

All you have to do is go to www.spokesmanreview.com/oscars and follow the instructions (which entail making your choices, providing contact information and clicking on the word “submit”).

Everything else is pretty much the same. You’ll have to decide between the top candidates for Best Picture (eight nominations apiece for “No Country for Old Men” and “There Will Be Blood”), Best Actor (Daniel Day-Lewis and … uh, no one), Best Actress (Marion Cotillard and Screen Actors Guild winner Julie Christie) and, in fact, all of the 24 categories.

At stake will be the usual prizes: First place receives $100, second $50, third $25 (all will be paid in movie passes to the theater chain of the winner’s choice).

Winning is determined by a simple method: If you correctly guess the most winners, you win. In case of a tie, the entrant who guesses the movie that wins the most awards, and comes closest to how many awards it wins, takes the prize.

If all else fails, we’ll flip a coin.

All entries must be submitted no later than noon Feb. 24. As in the past, no individual person can enter more than once.

If we discover multiple entries from the same person, only the earliest submitted form will count.

We do hope, though, that as many readers as possible will enter. The movie-awards arena may be getting crowded, but this contest rewards you.

Because remember. There will be … Oscar.

And prizes.