At the 98th Academy Awards on Sunday, Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another took home six awards, of which the Academy's very first casting award was also one. Cassandra Kulukundis, a frequent collaborator of the filmmaker, won the award for casting, defeating other nominees Francine Maisler (Sinners), Nina Gold (Hamnet), Jennifer Venditti (Marty Supreme) and Gabriel Domingues (The Secret Agent).
Five actors from the above-nominated five films came up on the stage to present the award, as the Academy gave a lot of broadcast time to the inaugural category. Paul Mescal (Hamnet), Gwyneth Paltrow (Marty Supreme), Chase Infiniti (One Battle After Another), Wagner Moura (The Secret Agent) and Delroy Lindo (Sinners) were among others who came onstage to present the trophy together. Cassandra was announced as the winner after each of the actors took a moment to praise their respective casting directors.
On hearing Paltrow announce her name as the winner, a surprised Kulukundis hugged her director, Anderson, before rushing on to the stage to receive the award. Before making it to the microphone, she hugged an emotional Infiniti, whom she cast after searching for an actor for the role for a year. Addressing the gathering, she said, “I have to obviously thank the Academy for even adding this category and for the casting directors that fought tirelessly to make it happen despite everything in their way." She then went on to dedicate the award to all previous casting directors who didn't have the opportunity to receive such an award. “I dedicate this to you and to the casting directors who never got a chance to get nominated, who didn’t even get a chance to get their name on the movie. So this is for you guys.”
Speaking about her director, Anderson, she continued, “When Paul Thomas Anderson calls you, you enter the PTA witness protection programme, and you literally don’t talk to your friends or your family unless they have somebody that’s right for the movie. I just want to thank you for 10 movies. We’ve done this for years; we grew up together, I guess, and this is freaking insane. I have one before you, which is also crazy. So, yeah, I hope you get one tonight.”
Anderson went on to bag his first Oscar for best adapted screenplay for One Battle After Another, shortly after Kulukundis, and received a standing ovation from the crowd. The Leonardo DiCaprio starrer also won Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Film Editing, apart from nods for adapted screenplay and casting.
Anderson and Kulukundis have previously worked together on films like Magnolia, Punch-Drunk Love, There Will Be Blood, The Master, Phantom Thread, Inherent Vice and Licorice Pizza. She is also known for casting for films and shows such as The Brutalist, The Greatest Hits, Gossip Girl, Vox Lux, Her, Breach, The Elephant King, Art School Confidential, and many more. Infiniti mentioned in his presentation that Kulukundis was commended for her work in One Battle After Another, where she paired Oscar-winning performers like Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, and Benicio del Toro with up-and-coming actors or even non-actors.
Since the Academy added an Oscar for best animated feature in 2002, the casting award has been the first new Oscar added. Since the Academy established a new division for casting directors in 2013, recognition for casting directors has been growing throughout the years.