Join us at In Contention in taking the wrapping off our shiny new digs.

Credit: Reuters

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Dedicated readers, welcome to our new digs. First-time readers, I hope you're ready for more film awards coverage than you know what to do with.

On behalf of my contributors, Guy Lodge and Gerard Kennedy, allow me to say it's exciting and inspiring to be plugged into the impressive infrastructure here at HitFix, and to be in the able hands of its talented behind-the-scenes team. We enjoyed five splendid years of growth at InContention.com and we're stoked to continue our coverage here and reach an even wider audience with our little niche.

That niche, obviously, is awards season obsession. As the bio to the right says, In Contention represents a collective of awards obsessives who comment and reflect upon, muse about and attempt to decipher the Oscar season on a daily basis throughout the year, and especially during the Oscar crunch of the fall. So for those who may just now be saddling up to what we do, allow me to shed some light on...what we do.

Interviews, film reviews, festival coverage and up-to-date awards coverage carry In Contention through the season. My “Off the Carpet” column runs every Monday, digging through Oscar buzz from the inside on a weekly basis. Guy Lodge’s “The Long Shot,” meanwhile, runs every Wednesday from London, a thoughtfully removed perspective with an insightful point of view.

The most unique aspect of our contribution to the Oscarweb (as I call it) is coverage of technical/crafts categories and artists. Gerard Kennedy’s weekly “Tech Support” column runs every Thursday, spotlighting these individuals and trades and giving way to an interview series later in the season. Lodge, meanwhile, also offers a weekly “Page to Screen” column in the run-up to the annual awards season, providing commentary on the source materials of various adapted screenplay hopefuls. That column lands every Wednesday during the off-season.

Additionally, I'm joined every Friday during the season by indieWIRE’s Anne Thompson for "Oscar Talk," a podcast that offers weekly discussion of the twists and turns in the ever-evolving awards circuit.

Our "Contenders" section, by the way, will not be off the ground at HitFix for another couple of weeks, but as soon as it is, it will be linked at the top and in the right sidebar. That will take you to a page that lists out all of the categories and let's you peruse how we think they're shaping up and how various Oscar hopefuls are faring.

And there are naturally other bits and bobs sprinkled throughout. Whether it's breaking awards news, Tuesday lists for a bit of fun or just general discussion of what's in the marketplace, we aim to be a one-stop shop. We hope you enjoy the ride.

Now, where were we...

INFLUENTIAL INCONTENTION.COM FILM BLOG

LOS ANGELES, September 14, 2011 – HitFix, a leader in entertainment news, today announced a strategic partnership with film and awards season blog, In Contention. This mutually beneficial alliance will provide readers and Academy Members with multiple perspectives on compelling content about the upcoming awards season.

“By partnering with In Contention, HitFix is adding another strong voice to our already acclaimed team of Gregory Ellwood, Alan Sepinwall, Drew McWeeny, Melinda Newman and Dan Fienberg,” said CEO Jennifer Sargent. “The combination of Awards Campaign and In Contention makes HitFix the premier destination for anyone interested in awards season.”

InContention.com, spearheaded by Owner and Editor-in-Chief, Kristopher Tapley, is a premier film blog with an awards focus that provides unparalleled access and expert commentary about all aspects of Academy Season. HitFix.com’s Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief, Gregory Ellwood, currently pens Awards Campaign, a popular awards season blog that provides behind-the-scenes and in-depth analysis of Hollywood’s yearly strategic march to the Academy Awards. InContention.com, meanwhile, brings a distinctly unique voice and perspective on awards season, as well as invaluable insights from festivals and industry events throughout the year. Combined, the two blogs cover every angle, providing the best and most accurate up-to-date awards coverage.

“It’s so very gratifying to see my six-year labor of love plugged into an impressive infrastructure like HitFix,” Tapley said. “In Contention has always been about establishing a conversation throughout the awards season, with fans and industry insiders alike, and as a part of HitFix, that conversation will only grow. I look forward to tapping an even wider audience and bringing the In Contention community into this new and exciting phase.”

“Kris and his longtime contributor Guy Lodge are smart and insightful pundits who are respected throughout the industry. I’m incredibly excited to have their cinematic opinions incorporated into the HitFix mix,” Ellwood said. “This partnership will make HitFix the premier destination for awards season coverage online.”

In Contention was founded by Kristopher Tapley in 2005. Formerly a seasonal outlet purely focused on the Oscar race, the site bridged the gap with consistent off-season commentary and industry coverage in early 2008 after exclusively covering the film awards season for three years on the web. Regular contributors include Guy Lodge and Gerard Kennedy.

About HitFix
Profiled in BusinessWeek as one of “America’s Most Promising Start-ups,” Los Angeles-based HitFix brings the world of entertainment news and events to discerning fans that prefer entertainment journalism and events to celebrity scandal. The site reaches more than 2 million unique users each month and is designed for an 18-34 year old demographic. HitFix calls on the talents of renowned entertainment commentators and journalists such as Alan Sepinwall, Drew McWeeny, Daniel Fienberg and Melinda Newman to produce wide-ranging news, interviews and commentary on all aspects of entertainment. For more information visit www.HitFix.com, www.facebook.com/hitfix, www.twitter.com/hitfix or www.youtube.com/hitfix.