LOS ANGELES — When Oscar nominations were announced Thursday morning, there was a newcomer on the list of familiar categories: achievement in casting.

The nominees — Nina Gold for "Hamnet," Jennifer Venditti for "Marty Supreme," Cassandra Kulukundis for "One Battle After Another," Gabriel Domingues for "The Secret Agent" and Francine Maisler for "Sinners" — landed alongside best picture and the acting races, formally elevating a part of the filmmaking process that usually happens long before a movie reaches the screen. It's the first new Oscar category introduced since animated feature was added in 2001.

Here's how the casting award came together — and what it's meant to recognize.

Why add a casting Oscar now?

Casting directors became an official branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2013, relatively late for a craft that has shaped movies since the early days of Hollywood. With roughly 160 members, it remains one of the organization's smallest branches.

Momentum for a casting Oscar has been building for years, particularly after the British Academy Film Awards introduced a similar category in 2020. The Academy Board of Governors announced the new award in February 2024, giving the industry time to absorb how the category would work and what it would recognize.

The move fits within a broader effort by the academy to acknowledge creative labor that plays a foundational role in filmmaking but often operates outside the spotlight. Last year, the group announced a new Oscar recognizing stunts, to be handed out starting in 2028, after decades of campaigning by the stunt community.

What does "achievement in casting" mean?

In Academy Awards terms, casting refers to the process by which casting directors work with a film's director and producers on the creative consideration and selection of the actors who make up the ensemble.

That can include discovering new actors, assembling ensembles with a particular chemistry or managing large and complex casts across locations or age ranges. It's not an award for a single performance, nor is it meant to function as a stand-in for best ensemble. The focus is on the casting of the film as a whole.

Who is eligible?

Only credited casting directors are eligible to receive the award. Each nominated film may list up to two casting directors who receive a principal on-screen credit such as casting director or casting by. In rare cases, a third credited individual may be approved, typically for specialized or multi-location casting work.

Actors, directors and producers cannot be recognized in the category, even though casting is inherently collaborative.

How were the nominees chosen?

Members of the academy's casting directors branch first reviewed eligible films and voted to create a shortlist of 10.

Those films then advanced to a formal bake-off. Casting directors submitted a written account of their process, a photo grid of the cast or full cast list, and a five-minute reel drawn from the finished film, intended to illustrate the casting choices.

After a Q&A with casting directors, branch members voted to narrow the field to the five nominees announced on Thursday morning.

Who votes for the winner?

Once nominations are announced, all active and life members of the academy are eligible to vote for the winner of the casting Oscar, provided they have watched the nominated films.

As with most Oscar categories, the casting branch shapes the race, but the final decision is made by the full academy.

Will the award be presented during the ceremony?

Yes. The academy has confirmed that the casting Oscar will be presented during the live telecast, rather than in a preshow or off-air segment.

What's still unclear?

Because this is the category's first year, it remains an open question what kinds of casting achievements voters will respond to most.

Some may gravitate toward discovery-driven work. Others may favor large, star-heavy ensembles. And because casting decisions typically happen long before a film is released, translating that work into reels and presentations is still something of a learning process.

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