New Oscar To Be Introduced For Best Casting

The Academy Awards will include a new best casting Oscar starting in 2026, the event's organisers said on Thursday.

This will mark the introduction of a competitive new golden statuette to Hollywood's most prestigious award ceremony in over twenty years.

In a statement, Academy President Janet Yang and CEO Bill Kramer said, "We are proud to add casting to the disciplines that we recognise and celebrate. Casting directors play an essential role in filmmaking."

Among the first important individuals to join new film projects are casting directors.

Through the casting of A-list actors and performers in supporting roles, they have a significant influence on the films that eventually make it to the big screen.

There has been a persistent push to include the annual category for several years.

Stunt performers are also lobbying for their own Oscar, without success so far.
Whether the casting award will be given out during the actual live Oscar ceremony was not specified in the statement released by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Presently, live presentations of all 23 current categories take place at the gala.

An attempt to prerecord some of the 2022 ceremony's less well-known nominees in order to expedite the ceremony was met with resistance from the industry and abandoned the following year.

The best animated film Oscar was created in 2001.