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
Eleanor Adds Director Candice Vernon To Its Roster For Spots and Branded Content
Director Candice Vernon has joined production house Eleanor for U.S. representation spanning commercials and branded content. She has already wrapped several jobs at Eleanor, which waited to announce her until they had a body of work together.
Via Eleanor, Vernon made history as the first Black director on a Febreze commercial. The “Small Spaces” campaign marks a major departure from Febreze’s typical blue-and-white world. The home of the “Revolving Door” commercial is a beautiful array of bold sunset hues, African prints, and African art.
Vernon said, “I asked myself, what feels right to me? What feels new? I wanted to bring an essence of not just Black Americans but the full diaspora. I wanted to make a statement that we’re not a monolith.”
Following the success of the “Small Spaces” campaign, Febreze brought Vernon back for a comedy-infused trifecta exploring the hilarious situations that call for an air freshening hero.
Febreze Brand VP Angelica Matthews said, “About two years ago, we realized the consumers that were the most loyal to Febreze were the African American consumers. And the more we learned, the more we realized the richness that we were really missing. So we said we have to go beyond just Black casting, we need to get Black directors that truly understand the culture that truly understand how to bring authentic performances out on screen. We really looked around the industry and noticed there’s actually a shortage of African American directors who have experience doing commercials. When we all saw Candice’s reel, we could all tell the passion for the craft, passion for really trying to help us from where we are to where we’re trying to go.”
Vernon brings a unique lens to... Read More