
At the upcoming Oscars ceremony in March, a casting director will receive an award for the very first time in Academy history, marking the introduction of the Achievement in Casting category. This milestone has been reached following years of advocacy by Hollywood’s casting directors, led by David Rubin, who served as the Academy’s president from 2019 to 2022. Many of his peers consider this moment as overdue. As Jennifer Venditti, a casting director for multiple A24 projects, puts it, “We are one of the crucial departments at the start of filmmaking and often overlooked at the end.”
However, the arrival of the Casting Oscar coincides with significant changes in the casting process itself, according to over 20 casting directors I spoke to this spring. “The magic is gone,” says Colbert, who also produced the documentary ‘Casting By’ that sparked the push for Oscar recognition.