Whoever was going to win for casting tonight was headed to the Oscar history books as the first ever recipient of the award. The honor went to Cassandra Kulukundis for Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another. The new category was a standout — both in the way it was presented, with stars of each of the five nominated movies speaking about their casting director, and in delivering a surprise as one the most decorated casting directors of the the past couple of decades, Sinners‘ Francine Maisler, had been tipped as odds-on favorite.
The momentous occasion was not lost on Kulukundis who looked a little shocked and didn’t have a written speech with her.
“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 said on stage.
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