Oscar's New Award: Casting's Spotlight

0:00entertainment stories making news on March 13th. This Sunday, the Academy Awards will hand out the first-ever Oscar for Best Achievement in Casting. The nominees include Gabriel Domingues for the secret agent Nina Gold for Hamnet, Cassandra Couloucundis for one battle after another, Francine Meisler for Centers and Jennifer Venditti for Marty Supreme. The push for this award goes back to 1982, when the Casting Society of America made it a top goal. Casting directors who are also Academy members ramped up the lobbying in recent years. Many in the industry say casting pros have stayed invisible for decades, even though they build those perfect ensembles we love. A big misconception is that they just play gaykeeper, saying yes or no to actors, but they really root for everyone to shine. Take the Hulu Show only murders in the building. They auditioned theater actor Adina Versen for a key role that went to Tina Fey. Versen impressed so much that the team created a part

1:00for her anyway, leading to bigger storylines later. Meanwhile, casting directors are eyeing artificial intelligence with caution. They doubt machines can match human instincts for culture, history, and spotting talent. This episode is proudly sponsored by our partner. Press play, put your head down. The sound is already there. S-O-L-I-S-O-L-Pillow.com