TV honorees include "Call My Agent," "Lovecraft Country," "Pose," "Ted Lasso," "The Queen’s Gambit," "The United States vs. Billie Holiday"
Casting Society honored excellence in casting across feature films, television and theater on Wednesday night (3/23) at the 37th Annual Artios Awards during a worldwide virtual ceremony which also was a celebration of the organization’s 40th anniversary.
Among the feature film winners were CODA, Don’t Look Up, Encanto, West Side Story, The Tender Bar, Zola, The Humans and Shiva Baby.
On the television side, honorees included Call My Agent, Ted Lasso, Lovecraft Country, Pose, The Queen’s Gambit and The United States vs. Billie Holiday.
Actress and creator Danielle Pinnock (CBS’ Ghosts) hosted the star-studded award ceremony, which included a congratulatory message from Steven Spielberg to his casting director for West Side Story.
The award show began with a 40th anniversary video consisting of interviews with past, present and future members talking about what the anniversary means to them and a celebration of the magic of theater. Pinnock welcomed the virtual audience with her signature brand of humor and Ariana DeBose began the presentations. Highlights of the ceremony included the Associate Spotlight Award to casting associates Kimberly Ehrlich and Xavier Rubiano, and the Zeitgeist Award to Spider-Man: No Way Home, given to a popular film.
“We are so excited to honor these immensely talented, creative and hard working casting directors tonight,” said Casting Society president Kim Williams. “What a wonderful way to begin Casting Society’s 40th year by celebrating these extraordinary casting directors’ invaluable contributions to the entertainment world.”
Here’s a category-by-category rundown of winners:
Film Categories
Animation
ENCANTO – Jamie Sparer Roberts, Grace C. Kim (Associate)
Big Budget – Comedy
DON’T LOOK UP – Francine Maisler, Kathy Driscoll-Mohler (Additional Casting), Carolyn Pickman (Location Casting), Matt Bouldry (Location Casting), Kyle Crand (Location Casting), Molly Rose (Associate)
Big Budget – Drama
WEST SIDE STORY – Cindy Tolan, Nicholas Petrovich (Associate)
Studio Or Independent – Comedy – TIE
THE TENDER BAR – Rachel Tenner, Bess Fifer (Location Casting), Carolyn Pickman (Location Casting), Rick Messina (Associate)
and
ZOLA – Kim Taylor-Coleman
Studio Or Independent – Drama
CODA – Deborah Aquila, Tricia Wood, Lisa Zagoria, Angela Peri (Location Casting), Lisa Lobel (Location Casting), Melissa Morris (Associate)
Low Budget – Comedy Or Drama
THE HUMANS – Ellen Chenoweth, Susanne Scheel (Associate)
Micro Budget – Comedy Or Drama
SHIVA BABY – Kate Geller
Short Film
GROWING FANGS – Jessica Munks, Michael Morlani
The Zeitgeist Award
SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME – Sarah Halley Finn, Chase Paris (Location Casting), Tara Feldstein Bennett (Location Casting), Molly Doyle (Associate)
Television / Theater Categories
Television Pilot and First Season – Comedy
TED LASSO – Theo Park, Olissa Rogers (Associate)
Television Pilot and First Season – Drama
LOVECRAFT COUNTRY – Kim Taylor-Coleman, Meagan Lewis (Location Casting), Mickie Paskal (Location Casting), Jennifer Rudnicke (Location Casting) Rebecca Carfagna (Associate), AJ Links (Associate)
Television Series – Comedy
CALL MY AGENT – Constance Demontoy
Television Series – Drama
POSE – Alexa L. Fogel, Elizabeth Berra (Associate)
Limited Series
THE QUEEN’S GAMBIT – Ellen Lewis, Kate Sprance, Olivia Scott-Webb, Tina Gerussi (Location Casting)
Film, Non-Theatrical Release
THE UNITED STATES VS BILLIE HOLIDAY – Leah Daniels-Butler, Billy Hopkins, Ashley Ingram, Kevin Scott, Andrea Kenyon (Location Casting), Randi Wells (Location Casting)
Children’s Pilot and Series (Live Action)
ALL THAT – Nickole Doro, Shayna Sherwood, Devon Brady (Associate)
Animated Series
BIG MOUTH – Julie Ashton
Reality Series
QUEER EYE – Danielle Gervais, Pamela Vallarelli, Ally Capriotti Grant
Short Form Series
MAPLEWORTH MURDERS – Jill Anthony Thomas, Anthony J. Kraus (Associate)
Virtual Theater (new category exclusive for 2022 due to Covid19 shuttering Broadway)
TENNESSEE WILLIAMS’ THE NIGHT OF THE IGUANA – Stephanie Klapper
Jennifer Kent On Why Her Feature Directing Debut, “The Babadook,” Continues To Haunt Us
"The Babadook," when it was released 10 years ago, didn't seem to portend a cultural sensation.
It was the first film by a little-known Australian filmmaker, Jennifer Kent. It had that strange name. On opening weekend, it played in two theaters.
But with time, the long shadows of "The Babadook" continued to envelop moviegoers. Its rerelease this weekend in theaters, a decade later, is less of a reminder of a sleeper 2014 indie hit than it is a chance to revisit a horror milestone that continues to cast a dark spell.
Not many small-budget, first-feature films can be fairly said to have shifted cinema but Kent's directorial debut may be one of them. It was at the nexus of that much-debated term "elevated horror." But regardless of that label, it helped kicked off a wave of challenging, filmmaker-driven genre movies like "It Follows," "Get Out" and "Hereditary."
Kent, 55, has watched all of this — and those many "Babadook" memes — unfold over the years with a mix of elation and confusion. Her film was inspired in part by the death of her father, and its horror elements likewise arise out of the suppression of emotions. A single mother (Essie Davis) is struggling with raising her young son (Noah Wiseman) years after the tragic death of her husband. A figure from a pop-up children's book begins to appear. As things grow more intense, his name is drawn out in three chilling syllables — "Bah-Bah-Doooook" — an incantation of unprocessed grief.
Kent recently spoke from her native Australia to reflect on the origins and continuing life of "The Babadook."
Q: Given that you didn't set out to in any way "change" horror, how have you regarded the unique afterlife of "The... Read More