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“Wicked,” “Conclave” and “A Complete Unknown” were among the film winners at the 40th annual Casting Society Artios Awards.

The ceremony honors top casting in the year’s films, TV and theater. The celebrations were in person for the first time in three years, taking place in Los Angeles and New York City. Hosts Janelle James, Jordan and Susan Wokoma divided up emcee duties.

Multiple winners included Nina Gold who took home three awards for her work on “Baby Reindeer,” “Conclave” and “Slow Horses.” Bernard Telsey also nabbed three wins for “Wicked,” “Here We Are” and “The Idea of You.”

The Casting Society honored John Papsidera with the Hoyt Bowers Award, Daniel Swee with the Marion Dougherty New York Apple Award and Juliette Ménager with the Capelier-Shaw Award for excellence in casting. Zora DeHorter is the recipient of the Rosalie Joseph Humanitarian Award, which was presented posthumously.

As previously announced,...

“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” “Conclave,” “Emilia Pérez,” “Wicked,” “Gladiator II,” “Dune: Part II,” “The Wild Robot” and “Inside Out 2” were among the film nominees for the 40th Artios Awards, which the Casting Society announced Tuesday morning.

The winners will be announced at three different ceremonies that takes place on Feb. 12, 2025. “Abbott Elementary” star Janelle James will host the Los Angeles awards at the Beverly Hilton; “Baby Reindeer” Emmy winner Jessica Gunning will host the London gala at White City House; and comedian Jordan Carlos will host in New York at the Edison Ballroom.

The Artios awards recognize achievement in casting in film, television (scripted and unscripted), commercials and theater.

“As we commemorate the 40th Annual Artios Awards, we are delighted to announce Janelle, Jessica, and Jordan as the hosts for our global ceremonies,” Casting Society president Destiny Lilly said in a statement. “Their remarkable wit, talent, and dynamic presence perfectly complement...

The Casting Society has announced the film nominees for the 40th Artios Awards. “A Complete Unknown,” “Blitz,” “Civil War,” “Dune: Part 2,” “Gladiator 2” and “Queer” are among the nominated films in big budget drama.

In big budget comedy, the nominated films are “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” “Challengers,” “Deadpool & Wolverine,” “Nightbitch,” “Saturday Night” and “Wicked.”

The awards honor casting directors’ contributions to film, television and theatre. Among the casting directors with multiple nominations are Francine Maisler, Nina Gold, Carmen Cuba and Jessica Kelly.

“As we commemorate the 40th Annual Artios Awards, we are delighted to announce Janelle, Jessica, and Jordan as the hosts for our global ceremonies. Their remarkable wit, talent, and dynamic presence perfectly complement what promises to be an extraordinary series of evenings celebrating our community. Additionally, I extend my heartfelt congratulations to all the exceptional film nominees whose outstanding contributions continue to advance the art of storytelling,” stated Destiny Lilly,...

Casting for Deadpool & Wolverine, Saturday Night and Wicked are among the film nominees for the 40th annual Artios Awards set for February 12. See the full list below.

Janelle James (Abbott Elementary) will host the ceremony at The Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles, while Jessica Gunning (Baby Reindeer) will take the emcee duties at the White City House in London. Comedian Jordan Carlos will host of the New York ceremony at the Edison Ballroom.

The annual awards celebration honors the contributions of casting professionals in film, television (scripted and unscripted), commercials and theater. The TV nominees were announced early last month.

“As we commemorate the 40th annual Artios Awards, we are delighted to announce Janelle, Jessica and Jordan as the hosts for our global ceremonies,” Casting Society President Destiny Lilly said. “Their remarkable wit, talent and dynamic presence perfectly complement what promises to be an extraordinary series of evenings celebrating our community.

The Casting Society has confirmed the changes to its Board of Directors for 2022-23. Destiny Lilly is the newly elected President, while Elizabeth Berra will serve as Secretary and Steven Tylor O’Connor as Treasurer.

CSA also announced its commitment to diversifying its board and made some notable appointments. Candido Cornejo Jr. is the first board member from the trans community, while Erin Tomasello is the first representing members who work in reality casting.

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Lilly is a New York-based casting director who has worked on the Hulu series Only Murders in the Building, Tony-winning Broadway musical A Strange Loop...

Kim Williams has been elected president of the Casting Society of America, and Caroline Liem has been elected vice president as part of CSA’s newly elected board of directors. Williams is the fifth woman, and the second woman of color, to helm the organization since its founding in 1982.

Williams is vice president of casting at Disney Television Studios, a post she’s held since October 2019. She oversaw casting for the recently completed pilot of Lee Daniels’ The Spook Who Sat by the Door for FX, and the Emmy-nominated Genius: Aretha for Nat Geo. She also oversees casting for The Chi for Showtime and the upcoming The Old Man starring Jeff Bridges for FX. Williams also serves as casting director for the upcoming Freeform series Single Drunk Female.

As director of casting at ABC, Williams worked on projects for the network, Disney+ and ABC Studios, including the drama series For Life.

The Casting Society of America will host a virtual town hall on February 1 and a three-day online open call for for Black actors from Feb. 19-21. Both events are part of Csa’s Black Actors Initiative, which is designed to effect real change in how actors in historically underrepresented communities are afforded access to job opportunities.

The town hall will include an in-depth discussion “to forge actionable changes in the representation of these actors,” Csa said. Actors who identify as Black are invited to attend, as are all casting professionals — casting directors, associates and assistants — talent agents and talent managers. The event will be moderated by casting director Tracy “Twinkie” Byrd and actor Carla Renata. Panelists will include:

• Josiah Akinyele (talent agent)

• Charlton Blackburne (manager)

• Yvette Nicole Brown (actor)

• Kim Coleman (casting director)

• Keith David (actor)

• Leah Daniels-Butler (casting director)

• Fatmata Kamara (talent agent)

• Anthony LeBlanc (producer/director)

• Harold Lewter...

Wednesday, Jan. 13 Casting Society of America Opens Membership to Commercial Casting Directors The Casting Society of America announced today that it is now accepting commercial casting directors as part of its organization, and celebrating casting in all forms, including film, television, theatre, short form and now commercials. “Commercial casting directors apply their craft to an impactful form of storytelling, and we know that their insight and experience will add additional depth to Casting Society of America’s membership,” said Zora DeHorter and Caitlin Jones, Vice Presidents of Communications, Csa and Co-Chairs, Commercial Committee. “The artistic merit of our commercial colleagues helps further Csa’s mission to advocate and promote the profession of casting in all of its forms.” The newly formed Commercial Committee includes: Alex Amsellem, Terry Berland, Danielle Demchick, Rikki Gimelstob, Katie Griffin, Sherrie Henderson, Caitlin Jones, Patti Kalles. Rebecca Lagore, Liz Lewis, Angela Mickey, Erica Palgon, Nina Pratt,...

After nearly 40 years, the Casting Society of America is opening its membership to commercial casting directors. Until now, membership was restricted to casting professionals involved in film, television, live theater, reality and short form series.

“Commercial casting directors apply their craft to an impactful form of storytelling, and we know that their insight and experience will add additional depth to Casting Society of America’s membership,” said Zora DeHorter and Caitlin Jones, the Csa’s vice presidents of communications and co-chairs of its newly formed commercial committee. “The artistic merit of our commercial colleagues helps further Csa’s mission to advocate and promote the profession of casting in all of its forms.”

Csa said that its new commercial committee has compiled a database of established commercial casting directors across the country and has begun a targeted outreach to them to invite them to join Society. Part of their outreach includes...

In today’s TV news roundup, Netflix released a trailer for “Song Exploder Volume 2,” and Starz debuted a first look at its upcoming original series, “Run the World.”

Dates

HBO Sports and Major League Baseball are teaming up to produce “Under the Grapefruit Tree: The Cc Sabathia Story,” set to debut Dec. 22 on HBO. The documentary film follows the personal story of New York Yankees pitcher Carsten Charles Sabathia, featuring behind-the-scenes footage of his final season with the team in 2019 and narration from Sabathia. The movie chronicles the athlete’s humble beginnings in Vallejo, Calif., where he honed his skills by throwing grapefruits in his grandmother’s yard, to the ups and downs of his career, including his longtime battle with addiction. It will also be available to stream on HBO Max.

As part of its 50th anniversary crowdsourced storytelling project PBS American Portrait, PBS announced a four-part documentary series...

Rich Mento and Russell Boast have been named co-presidents of the Casting Society of America. Mento, who was formerly the Society’s vice president, will serve alongside Boast, who as Csa president has headed up its Inclusion and Diversity and Training and Education Committees.

Mento’s casting credits include all five films in the Step Up franchise, as well as such films as Cedar Rapids, No Strings Attached, Dear John, Chloe, Safe Haven, Take Me Home Tonight and Youth in Revolt. Boast’s film credits include The Tribe, Paradise Club, Tortured, The Guest Room, From the Head, Home Run Showdown and White Irish Drinkers, as well as numerous TV shows.

Six other Csa members have been given expanded roles in the organization, including:

Ally Bader – Vice President of Events

Sunny Boling – Vice President of Membership & Governance

Zora DeHorter – Vice President of Communications

Richard Hicks – Vice President of Finance and Treasurer...

Casting Society of America has appointed Rich Mento to serve as co-president of the organization alongside Russell Boast.

The new position for Mento, who previously served as vice president, comes as Csa also reveals new roles in six other board positions “in response to the organization’s increased membership over the past five years and its time of growth with Csa.”

Those include: Ally Bader as vp of events; Sunny Boling as vp of membership and governance; Zora DeHorter as vp of communications; Richard Hicks as vp of finance and treasurer; Caitlin Jones as vp of communications; and Caroline ...

Casting Society of America has appointed Rich Mento to serve as co-president of the organization alongside Russell Boast.

The new position for Mento, who previously served as vice president, comes as Csa also reveals new roles in six other board positions “in response to the organization’s increased membership over the past five years and its time of growth with Csa.”

Those include: Ally Bader as vp of events; Sunny Boling as vp of membership and governance; Zora DeHorter as vp of communications; Richard Hicks as vp of finance and treasurer; Caitlin Jones as vp of communications; and Caroline ...

The Casting Society of America will host a town hall on Thursday to explore diversity, equity and inclusion in the casting process. The virtual gathering is co-sponsored by the Csa’s Black, Indigenous and People of Color Alliance and will be moderated by Dr. Darnisa Amante-Jackson, CEO of the Disruptive Equity Education Project and a lecturer at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education.

The town hall, which starts at noon Pt, is the first in a new series of panel discussions called “Closer to Equity” that the Csa will host. The town hall is open to all casting professionals, including Csa members and non-members. To register, email: BIPOCAlliance@CastingSociety.com

Thursday’s panelists will include casting directors Angelique Midthunder, Erica Jensen, Kim Coleman and Zora DeHorter; casting director and producer Kim Heil (San Diego Repertory Theatre); Kim Williams, VP Casting at Touchstone Television; and casting associates Margie Vargas and Xavier Rubiano.

“The objective of this first conversation,” Csa says, “is to provide a space for casting professionals to have the difficult conversations around diversity, belonging, equity and inclusion, and move toward healing and change.” Dr. Amante-Jackson said that she strives to create “space and experiences that foster conversations around equity and dismantling systemic oppression and racism in pursuit of advancing equitable outcomes for all.”

The panelists had this to say in advance of Thursday’s town hall:

Angelique Midthunder: “As people of color ourselves, Bipoc casting directors have an intimate understanding of the complexities of different cultures as well as an ingrained obligation to represent them with integrity. We are the bridge between producers and the Bipoc acting community.”

Kim Heil: “Many Bipoc professionals in the arts and entertainment industry like ourselves have been working for years – if not decades – with equity, diversity, and inclusion in mind. So what’s different about now? This moment now demands that we examine not just those principles, but the infrastructure and the systems that those principles are circulated. The systems themselves are flawed. So how can we restructure a better way of working?”

Kim Williams: “I’m excited to go beyond just talking and, with the help of Dr. Darnisa, move towards addressing the critical issues and changes that are necessary to bring about true progress towards equity both in front of and behind the camera.”

Margie Vargas: “Diversity and inclusion in casting is about bringing something unique to the table that no one else can. Each unique perspective can only build a better, stronger, and more unified casting community.”

Zora DeHorter: “As a woman, a black woman, I have dealt with my share of assumptions and presumptions; at times an unnecessary burden to carry. Being part of an open, safe space to have dialogues about how to affect changes is so exciting. I am so looking forward to having discussions about hiring practices, workplace practices, and how we, as Bipoc casting professionals, can effectively and positively move forward to a better, enlightened, hopeful future.”

Erica Jensen: “I’m encouraged by the continued conversation happening in the casting community. The only way to achieve equity in casting is if we operate as a unit rather than individuals. We need to have consistency on this topic from office to office and be positive examples to the rest of the entertainment industry.”

Xavier Rubiano: “It’s a privilege and an honor to be able to speak on this panel and I look forward to amplifying the voices of our Bipoc colleagues in casting and to educate our White peers to help create a safer, inclusive and anti-racist casting community both in our audition rooms and in our offices.”...

Kern Saxton made his directorial debut with a horrific thriller entitled Sushi Girl starring Tony Todd and Mark Hamill, which will have its VOD release on November 27 followed by a limited theatrical run and DVD/Blu-Ray release early in 2013.

Saxton sat down with Dread Central to talk about making this memorable film.

Saxton was asked to describe Sushi Girl (review) for those yet to see the film. "Is it cheesy to say, thrills, chills, suspense, blood and gore?" Saxton joked. "It's interesting because it's a hard film to classify. It's a blend of so many things. We really straddled the line between thriller and horror. It's not truly a horror film, but it does trend that way enough to keep horror fans satisfied. I think that's one of the concepts we had in mind originally to net a broader audience. We said let's get the people who love this genre,...