{"id":393654,"date":"2025-11-21T02:47:17","date_gmt":"2025-11-21T02:47:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/393654\/"},"modified":"2025-11-21T02:47:17","modified_gmt":"2025-11-21T02:47:17","slug":"inside-oscars-most-mysterious-new-casting-category","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/393654\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside Oscar’s Most Mysterious New Casting Category"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tHollywood\u2019s newest Oscar category has everyone guessing.<\/p>\n

\n\tAfter decades of advocacy for one of filmmaking\u2019s essential crafts, the Academy will present the first competitive award for achievement in casting at the 98th ceremony. The honor marks the first new Oscar category since best animated feature in 2001. Variety has confirmed that the award will be included in the main ceremony.<\/p>\n

\n\tAs Hollywood prepares for this historic debut, it is experiencing something rare: collective uncertainty. Nobody quite knows how to campaign for it \u2014 or predict the outcome. Refreshing, isn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n

\n\tIn practice, the new category follows a clear but rigorous structure. All eligible films enter the preliminary ballot, where active members of the Casting Directors Branch vote to create a 10-film shortlist. This is notable because, outside of best picture, no other category allows members to vote for 10 titles. In theory, it incentivizes the branch to watch more films and could open the door for more surprising, left-field choices. If successful, this could be something the other shortlist categories could adopt in the future.<\/p>\n

\n\tAfter the shortlist is set, the achievements advance to a bake-off \u2014 an in-person and virtual showcase featuring a five-minute reel of selected scenes and a pre-recorded Q&A with each film\u2019s casting director(s). Branch members will view the bake-off and vote for up to five achievements, determining the official nominees. Finally, in the last round, all Academy members \u2014 regardless of branch \u2014 may vote on the winner, provided they\u2019ve watched all five nominated films. Nominees must be credited as casting directors (\u201cCasting Director,\u201d \u201cCasting by,\u201d or \u201cCasting\u201d) in a principal on-screen position, with no more than two eligible per film, except under rare circumstances approved by the branch\u2019s executive committee.<\/p>\n

\n\tStudio strategists, publicists and even casting professionals are wrestling with the same central question: How do you visually communicate a process that is almost entirely intangible? What makes a compelling five-minute reel when a casting director\u2019s defining work happens in closed rooms, on Zoom calls or through instinctive choices that aren\u2019t documented on camera?<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe\u2019re in uncharted territory,\u201d says one awards strategist. \u201cDo we show audition footage? Before-and-after casting decisions? Montages of ensemble chemistry? Nobody has a playbook for this yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Academy\u2019s rules outline the mechanics: The Casting Directors Branch will shortlist 10 films, each supplemented with a written breakdown of the casting process, photo grids of the actors and a five-minute reel composed of excerpts from the final-release version. Those reels, paired with Q&As, will be showcased in a bake-off before the branch selects five nominees.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe new award has already sparked debate over whether the category will honor pure casting craft or become a de facto ensemble award. The criteria are broad. Great casting might mean discovering fresh talent like Chase Infiniti in \u201cOne Battle After Another<\/a>.\u201d It could involve finding uncanny physical resemblance \u2014 such as Guillaume Marbeck as Jean-Luc Godard in \u201cNouvelle Vague\u201d \u2014 or seeing past assumptions to imagine Jeremy Allen White as Bruce Springsteen in \u201cSpringsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere.\u201d Some voters may simply gravitate toward big, star-studded ensembles like that of \u201cJay Kelly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of The Space Program, Cannes Film Festival<\/p>\n

\n\tThe category also gives smaller films a meaningful spotlight. Casting director Rebecca Dealy\u2019s exhaustive search for young performers for Charlie Polinger\u2019s \u201cThe Plague,\u201d from IFC, exemplifies the on-the-ground discovery that often defines independent filmmaking.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI find casting even just one kid difficult, so the idea of having to find eight incredible kids was very daunting,\u201d Dealy tells Variety. \u201cI did massive searches all over the country, which resulted in thousands of tapes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tOn paper, the contenders for the inaugural award represent a vibrant field, with many veterans in the mix \u2014 Francine Maisler (\u201cSinners<\/a>,\u201d \u201cSpringsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere,\u201d \u201cElla McCay\u201d), Cassandra Kulukundis (\u201cOne Battle After Another\u201d), Tiffany Little Canfield and Bernard Telsey (\u201cWicked: For Good\u201d), Jennifer Venditti (\u201cBugonia,\u201d \u201cMarty Supreme\u201d) and Nina Gold (\u201cJay Kelly,\u201d \u201cHamnet\u201d) among them. There is no limit to how many slots a casting director can fill.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhether voters reward discovery or star power, the introduction of the casting Oscar is a long-overdue correction \u2014 recognizing the invisible labor that shapes cinema from the inside out.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe first official charts for achievement in casting<\/a> and original score<\/a> are out.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe latest Oscar predictions are below.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tNouvelle Vague<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of Cannes Film Festival<\/p>\n

\n\t***<\/strong><\/strong> = PREDICTED WINNER<\/strong><\/strong>
(All predicted nominees below are in alphabetical order)<\/p>\n

\n\tBest Picture
<\/strong>\u201cAvatar: Fire and Ash\u201d (20th Century Studios)
\u201cFrankenstein\u201d (Netflix)
\u201cHamnet\u201d (Focus Features)
\u201cIt Was Just an Accident\u201d (Neon)
\u201cJay Kelly\u201d (Netflix)
\u201cMarty Supreme\u201d (A24)
\u201cOne Battle After Another\u201d (Warner Bros.) ***<\/strong><\/strong>
\u201cSentimental Value\u201d (Neon)
\u201cSinners\u201d (Warner Bros.)
\u201cWicked: For Good\u201d (Universal Pictures)<\/p>\n

\n\tDirector<\/strong>
Paul Thomas Anderson, \u201cOne Battle After Another\u201d (Warner Bros.) ***<\/strong><\/strong>
Guillermo Del Toro, \u201cFrankenstein\u201d (Netflix)
Ryan Coogler, \u201cSinners\u201d (Warner Bros.)
Jafar Panahi, \u201cIt Was Just an Accident\u201d (Neon)
Chlo\u00e9 Zhao, \u201cHamnet\u201d (Focus Features)<\/p>\n

\n\tActor<\/strong>
Timoth\u00e9e Chalamet, \u201cMarty Supreme\u201d (A24)
Leonardo DiCaprio, \u201cOne Battle After Another\u201d (Warner Bros.)
Ethan Hawke, \u201cBlue Moon\u201d (Sony Pictures Classics) ***<\/strong><\/strong>
Michael B. Jordan, \u201cSinners\u201d (Warner Bros.)
Wagner Moura, \u201cThe Secret Agent\u201d (Neon)<\/p>\n

\n\tActress<\/strong>
Jessie Buckley, \u201cHamnet\u201d (Focus Features) ***<\/strong><\/strong>
Cynthia Erivo, \u201cWicked: For Good\u201d (Universal Pictures)
Kate Hudson, \u201cSong Sung Blue\u201d (Focus Features)
Chase Infiniti, \u201cOne Battle After Another\u201d (Warner Bros.)
Renate Reinsve, \u201cSentimental Value\u201d (Neon)<\/p>\n

\n\tSupporting Actor
<\/strong>Benicio Del Toro, \u201cOne Battle After Another\u201d (Warner Bros.)
Jacob Elordi, \u201cFrankenstein\u201d (Netflix)
Paul Mescal, \u201cHamnet\u201d (Focus Features)
Sean Penn, \u201cOne Battle After Another\u201d (Warner Bros.)
Stellan Skarsg\u00e5rd, \u201cSentimental Value\u201d (Neon) ***<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tSupporting Actress
<\/strong>Elle Fanning, \u201cSentimental Value\u201d (Neon)
Ariana Grande, \u201cWicked: For Good\u201d (Universal Pictures) ***<\/strong><\/strong>
Regina Hall, \u201cOne Battle After Another\u201d (Warner Bros.)
Hailee Steinfeld, \u201cSinners\u201d (Warner Bros.)
Teyana Taylor, \u201cOne Battle After Another\u201d (Warner Bros.)<\/p>\n

\n\tOriginal Screenplay
<\/strong>\u201cIs This Thing On?\u201d (Searchlight Pictures) \u2014 Will Arnett, Mark Chappell and Bradley Cooper
\u201cJay Kelly\u201d (Netflix) \u2014 Noah Baumbach, Emily Mortimer
\u201cMarty Supreme\u201d (A24) \u2014 Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie
\u201cSentimental Value\u201d (Neon) \u2014 Joachim Trier and Eskil Vogt
\u201cSinners\u201d (Warner Bros.) \u2014 Ryan Coogler ***<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tAdapted Screenplay
<\/strong>\u201cBugonia\u201d (Focus Features) \u2014 Will Tracy
\u201cFrankenstein\u201d (Netflix) \u2014 Guillermo Del Toro
\u201cHamnet\u201d (Focus Features) \u2014 Chlo\u00e9 Zhao ***<\/strong><\/strong>
\u201cOne Battle After Another\u201d (Warner Bros.) \u2014 Paul Thomas Anderson
\u201cTrain Dreams\u201d (Netflix) \u2014 Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar<\/p>\n

\n\tCasting<\/strong>
\u201cFrankenstein\u201d (Netflix) \u2014 Robin D. Cook
\u201cHamnet\u201d (Focus Features) \u2014 Nina Gold
\u201cOne Battle After Another\u201d (Warner Bros.) \u2014 Cassandra Kulukundis
\u201cSinners\u201d (Warner Bros.) \u2014 Francine Maisler ***<\/strong><\/strong>
\u201cWicked: For Good\u201d (Universal Pictures) \u2014 Tiffany Little Canfield and Bernard Telsey<\/p>\n

\n\tAnimated Feature
<\/strong>\u201cArco\u201d (Neon)
\u201cKPop Demon Hunters\u201d (Netflix)
\u201cLittle Am\u00e9lie or the Character of Rain\u201d (GKids)
\u201cNe Zha 2\u201d (A24)
\u201cZootopia 2\u201d (Walt Disney Pictures) ***<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tProduction Design
<\/strong>\u201cFrankenstein\u201d (Netflix) ***<\/strong><\/strong>
\u201cHamnet\u201d (Focus Features)
\u201cMarty Supreme\u201d (A24)
\u201cSinners\u201d (Warner Bros.)
\u201cWicked: For Good\u201d (Universal Pictures)<\/p>\n

\n\tCinematography<\/strong>
\u201cFrankenstein\u201d (Netflix)
\u201cHamnet\u201d (Focus Features)
\u201cOne Battle After Another\u201d (Warner Bros.)
\u201cSinners\u201d (Warner Bros.) ***<\/strong><\/strong>
\u201cTrain Dreams\u201d (Netflix)<\/p>\n

\n\tCostume Design
<\/strong>\u201cFrankenstein\u201d (Netflix)
\u201cHamnet\u201d (Focus Features)
\u201cSinners\u201d (Warner Bros.)
\u201cThe Testament of Ann Lee\u201d (Searchlight Pictures)
\u201cWicked: For Good\u201d (Universal Pictures) ***<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tFilm Editing
<\/strong>\u201cFrankenstein\u201d (Netflix)
\u201cHamnet\u201d (Focus Features)
\u201cMarty Supreme\u201d (A24)
\u201cOne Battle After Another\u201d (Warner Bros.) ***<\/strong><\/strong>
\u201cSinners\u201d (Warner Bros.)<\/p>\n

\n\tMakeup and Hairstyling
<\/strong>\u201cBlue Moon\u201d (Sony Pictures Classics)
\u201cFrankenstein\u201d (Netflix) ***<\/strong><\/strong>
\u201cSinners\u201d (Warner Bros.)
\u201cThe Smashing Machine\u201d (A24)
\u201cWicked: For Good\u201d (Universal Pictures)<\/p>\n

\n\tSound<\/strong>
\u201cAvatar: Fire and Ash\u201d (20th Century Studios)
\u201cF1\u201d (Apple Original Films\/Warner Bros.)
\u201cFrankenstein\u201d (Netflix)
\u201cOne Battle After Another\u201d (Warner Bros.)
\u201cWicked: For Good\u201d (Universal Pictures) ***<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tVisual Effects
<\/strong>\u201cAvatar: Fire and Ash\u201d (20th Century Studios) ***<\/strong><\/strong>
\u201cF1\u201d (Apple Original Films\/Warner Bros.)
\u201cThe Fantastic Four: First Steps\u201d (Marvel Studios)
\u201cSuperman\u201d (Warner Bros.)
\u201cWicked: For Good\u201d (Universal Pictures)<\/p>\n

\n\tOriginal Score
<\/strong>\u201cFrankenstein\u201d (Netflix) \u2014 Alexandre Desplat
\u201cHamnet\u201d (Focus Features) \u2014 Max Richter
\u201cOne Battle After Another\u201d (Warner Bros.) \u2014 Jonny Greenwood
\u201cSinners\u201d (Warner Bros.) \u2014 Ludwig G\u00f6ransson ***<\/strong><\/strong>
\u201cThe Testament of Ann Lee\u201d (Searchlight Pictures) \u2014 Daniel Blumberg<\/p>\n

\n\tOriginal Song
<\/strong>\u201cDream as One\u201d from \u201cAvatar: Fire and Ash\u201d (20th Century Studios)
\u201cDear Me\u201d from \u201cDiane Warren: Relentless\u201d (Greenwich Entertainment)
\u201cGolden\u201d from \u201cKPop Demon Hunters\u201d (Netflix) ***<\/strong><\/strong>
\u201cI Lied to You\u201d from \u201cSinners\u201d (Warner Bros.)
\u201cClothed by the Sun\u201d from \u201cThe Testament of Ann Lee\u201d (Searchlight Pictures)<\/p>\n

\n\tDocumentary Feature
<\/strong>\u201cCome See Me in the Good Light\u201d (Apple Original Films)
\u201cThe Perfect Neighbor\u201d (Netflix) ***<\/strong><\/strong>
\u201cThe Librarians\u201d (Independent Lens)
\u201cThe Tale of Silyan\u201d (National Geographic Documentary Films)
\u201c2000 Meters to Andriivka\u201d (PBS)<\/p>\n

\n\tInternational Feature
<\/strong>\u201cIt Was Just an Accident\u201d from France (Neon)
\u201cThe Secret Agent\u201d from Brazil (Neon)
\u201cSir\u0101t\u201d from Spain (Neon)
\u201cSentimental Value\u201d from Norway (Neon) ***<\/strong><\/strong>
\u201cThe Voice of Hind Rajab\u201d from Tunisia (Willa)<\/p>\n

\n\tTop 5 projected Oscar nomination leaders (films): \u201cOne Battle After Another\u201d (14); \u201cSinners\u201d (13); \u201cFrankenstein\u201d (12); \u201cHamnet\u201d (11); \u201cWicked: For Good\u201d (9); <\/p>\n

\n\tTop 5 projected Oscar nomination leaders (studios): Warner Bros. (30); Netflix (19); Focus Features (14); Neon (13); A24 (7)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hollywood\u2019s newest Oscar category has everyone guessing. After decades of advocacy for one of filmmaking\u2019s essential crafts, the…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":393655,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[123833,185,171,59477,15801,10806,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-393654","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-celebrities","8":"tag-awards-circuit-column","9":"tag-celebrities","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-one-battle-after-another","12":"tag-oscars","13":"tag-sinners","14":"tag-united-states","15":"tag-unitedstates","16":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115585407530039002","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/393654","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=393654"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/393654\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/393655"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=393654"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=393654"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=393654"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}