Oscars will add Academy Award for casting directors

MOTION PICTURE ACADEMY CREATES CASTING CATEGORY, FIRST NEW COMPETITIVE OSCAR SINCE 2001

The news comes over a decade after the release of the 2012 premiere of the documentary Casting By, which highlighted the importance of casting directors in the filmmaking process, and suggested their work should be recognized by the Academy. Shortly after, in July 2013, the Academy created its Casting Directors Branch, which currently has nearly 160 members. Casting director Lynn Stalmaster, one of the subjects of “Casting By,” was also honored at the Governors Awards in November 2016, which made him the first person to receive an Oscar for casting.