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Los Angeles: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) board of governors has declared that a new Oscar category honouring cinema casting accomplishments will be introduced. With the 98th Academy Awards, which will recognise the movies released in 2025, the Academy Award for Achievement in Casting will be added to the Oscars. The first award in the new category will be presented in 2026.
“Casting directors play an essential role in filmmaking, and as the Academy evolves, we are proud to add casting to the disciplines that we recognize and celebrate.
In recent times, casting directors have mounted a drive to gain the same recognition as other cinema professions such as sound, wardrobe, hair, and makeup.
Oscar CEO Bill Kramer and Academy President Janet Yang issued a joint statement saying, “We congratulate our Casting Directors Branch members on this exciting milestone and for their commitment and diligence throughout this process.”
In April 2025, the eligibility and voting guidelines for the first award will be released.
The Academy formed a unit for casting directors in July 2013, and as of right now, there are over 160 members.
Governors Richard Hicks, Kim Taylor-Coleman, and Debra Zane of the Academy Casting Directors Branch stated, “This award is a deserved acknowledgment of our casting directors’ exceptional talents and a testament to the dedicated efforts of our branch.”
Best Animated Feature Film was the most recent new award category to be established in 2001. The Academy Award for Best Popular Film was a new category that the organisation announced in 2018, however it was never included in the ceremony.
Oscar Awards :
The decision was made in spite of the Academy’s recent attempts to reduce the Oscar presentation in an attempt to maintain audience engagement. The programme frequently goes much longer than the allotted three hours. Only a few categories, such as Best Picture, the acting categories, and Best Director, are recognised as the most popular honours.
The Academy did not say whether or not the new casting category would be shown during the awards ceremony on television. Probably not until much closer to the 2026 ceremony.
Casting directors play a pivotal role in designing big Hollywood films and are usually among the first staff members involved in any new film project. They play a crucial role in selecting A-list celebrities to play the lead roles in films. Actors were also chosen for supporting parts.
While they have not yet received recognition, stunt performers have long been advocating for their own Academy Award category.
In 2007, a stunt category was added to the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards, one of the major precursor ceremonies. The team behind Top Gun: Mavericuk took home the trophy last year.
The Popular Film category at the Oscars :
Unlike the Oscar’s prior consideration of establishing the popular picture category back in 2018, the new category’s launch has largely garnered positive feedback. It was said that the new category would honour box office successes that might not receive nominations in more conventional categories. Superhero franchises and summer blockbusters would fall under the newly established category.
The addition of a category of this nature, according to some prominent industry people, would weaken the Oscars’ integrity and stature, which led to backlash against the decision.
Greta Gerwig’s Barbie won the Golden Globes’ box office accomplishment award earlier this year. The movie was not successful in winning any of the main categories at the ceremony.
Oscars 2024 :
Jimmy Kimmel, a comedian and TV broadcaster, is set to host the Oscars in 2024. On March 10, the event is scheduled to happen in Los Angeles. This year, Oppenheimer, directed by Christopher Nolan, has received the most nominations (13), while Greta Gerwig’s Barbie has received just a handful.
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