Oscars adds inaugural casting award for long-overlooked profession

The casting profession has long been overlooked when the Academy hands out its statuettes, but that will change on Sunday when the inaugural Oscar for best achievement in casting is awarded. The nominees are Gabriel Domingues ("The Secret Agent"), Nina Gold ("Hamnet"), Cassandra Kulukundis ("One Battle After Another"), Francine Maisler ("Sinners") and Jennifer Venditti ("Marty Supreme").

For Destiny Lilly, president of the Casting Society, the moment is years in the making. The CSA represents about 1,200 casting directors and associate casting directors across film, television, theatre and commercials in Canada, Europe, Australia, Asia, Africa and the United States.

"It’s been an important goal for CSA since the beginning [in 1982]," Lilly said, adding that the lobbying push came from casting directors who were also Academy members and had influence inside the organization. The long fight highlights how invisible casting directors have been despite their role in architecting a killer ensemble.

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