Shock and awe, Variety has dived headlong into the Oscar blog universe, and it seems someone convinced them I was the guy to run the show. I should probably tuck in my shirt.

In the way of introductions (and to those unfamiliar), I’m Kristopher Tapley and I’ve been on the film awards beat for six years now, each of them taking a considerable toll on my gorgeous and youthful complexion. But an obsession is an obsession, right? And I’m not the only one.

I like to call the patchwork quilt of film awards coverage we have out there the “Oscarweb.” For those new to the game, the Oscarweb started with a few dedicated souls seven or eight years ago. It has taken off in recent years with the addition of traditional media to the obviously lucrative (and clearly addictive) process of covering an industry that pats itself on the back every February in the form of the Oscar.

OSCAR. The very word sends shivers, induces lawsuits and brings out of work actors taking your Ruth’s Chris order to their knees in reverence. Oscar. Kubrick never got one (for above-the-line efforts, in any case). Altman never won one in competition. Hitchcock, O’Toole, their mantles empty. So why are we so drawn to them?? Jon Stewart seemed to have the absurdity pegged two years ago: “Three 6 Mafia: 1, Martin Scorsese: 0.”

Indeed, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences seems to systematically piss off every true lover of film, yet we all come back year after year, slobbering, clamoring, aching for more, hoping for vindication and yearning for artistic justice. The Oscar statuette might as well wear a wife-beater, because we are each of us the battered spouses of an award long proven to be out for number one.

This is the dynamic that is most interesting to me, believe it or not. This tendency of Oscar coverage outlets to gaze upon the unfolding season with equal parts excitement and dismay and love every minute of it – it is fascinating.

And obviously, there are PLENTY of Oscar-centric outlets out there. You can get your awards fix in a thousand different corners, but given the amount of lacking perspectives and piggy-backing coverage out there, a filtering process is certainly in order. The sites that actually breathe unique wind into the season and manage to steer clear of empty re-reportage (a disease in this corner of the web) are the ones I’m interested in. But consolidation will be the key, and our aim is to bring their thoughts, their perspectives and their coverage to your doorstep. I’ll be your tour guide through the Oscar safari, chiming in with my own thoughts and perspectives here and there, of course.

Anyway, you can read my philosophical thoughts on the Oscarweb back at my own digs, In Contention, if you so wish. But I won’t cloud these premises with such exhaustive ponderings. We’re going to start this fire already and, by golly, we might even have some fun in the process.

This is the “Red Carpet District.”