The Big Picture
- Casting directors, despite their crucial contributions to films, have yet to receive their own Oscar category.
- Avy Kaufman, a veteran casting director, believes that the industry’s current state is a factor in the lack of recognition.
- Although Kaufman hasn’t prioritized winning an Oscar, she has been successful in the television industry, winning multiple Emmy awards for her casting work.
The Oscars are arguably the biggest awards show in Hollywood, celebrating some of the best films and the work that went into making them what they are. Nominated features gain recognition across a variety of categories, including acting, writing, costume design, editing, music, and more. However, one element that currently doesn’t have a category is casting. For a veteran casting director like Avy Kaufman, it seems about time casting directors gained recognition for their contributions. In Kaufman’s case, she has cast projects like the upcoming Rustin, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Tár, King Richard, Scream 4, and countless others. So, why hasn’t casting received its own category yet?
During a Collider Ladies Night interview with Perri Nemiroff, Kaufman weighed in as to why casting hasn’t become an Oscar category yet. She first shares that she isn’t the kind of person whose primary goal is to gain an Oscar nomination or win, not wanting to focus on just being better than everyone else. She gives a bit of insight into how certain names are pitched to her, noting that the process may be different for something like costumes or set design — both of which are included at the Oscars. Kaufman also admits that she isn’t sure about casting as an Oscar category, mentioning the current state of the industry as a factor.
“Number one, I’m not one of those people that’s going, ‘Gimme! We gotta get Oscars,’ because really and truly, who’s better than somebody? But this used to happen to me a lot, things still happen, but this used to happen to me a lot: I would get a call from a producer who said, ‘So I’m in the van, and we have a lot of people. We’re gonna give you a whole bunch of names.’ Everybody in the van, everyone’s a casting director. I don’t know if they do that with costumes or set design or anything, but yeah, it’s a free for all. So, I get that because it’s a fun thing for people to do, but it’s also a frustrating part when I’m going, ‘Okay, I’m not gonna write this name down, because I hate the idea, but thank you for calling.’ [Laughs] I don’t know. I don’t know. The industry’s in a sad place right now, so who knows what’s gonna happen.”
Kaufman Is an Emmy Award-Winning Casting Director
While Kaufman and casting directors in general have yet to receive any Oscars love, Kaufman is a multi-Emmy award-winner and nominee for casting television series. Most notably, Kaufman cast HBO’s hit series Succession, which recently ended its four season run in May. Kaufman earned the win for Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series for Succession in 2022 and 2020. She gained the win in 2008 for casting drama series Damages. Kaufman was also nominated for casting shows including Dopesick, Mare of Easttown, The Looming Tower, The Night Of, and Empire Falls.
Watch Kaufman and Nemiroff’s full conversation below:
Denial of responsibility! TechCodex is an automatic aggregator of the all world’s media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
Khushi Patel is a science fiction author who lives in Austin, Texas. She has published three novels, and her work has been praised for its originality and imagination. Khushi is a graduate of Rice University, and she has worked as a software engineer. She is a member of the Science Fiction Writers of America, and her books have been nominated for several awards.
