Campaigns for the 2014 Oscars may have officially kicked off this week, but not everyone is finished discussing the merits of “Argo,” “Silver Linings Playbook” and other contenders from the last awards season.
Earlier this month, the Casting Society of America presented its annual Artios Awards for excellence in casting in a bicoastal event held in New York at the XL nightclub and in Beverly Hills at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. The prizes went to, among others, Lora Kennedy for “Argo” (in the big-budget drama category), and Mary Vernieu, Lindsay Graham, Diane Heery and Jason Loftus for “Silver Linings Playbook” (big-budget comedy).
The television winners included Jennifer Euston for “Girls,” and Judy Henderson, Lisa Mae Fincannon and Craig Fincannon for “Homeland.” In theater, Daniel Swee was a big winner, taking home Artios for ““Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike” and “Golden Boy.”
The awards cover film, television and theater, fields with their own ceremonies scattered throughout the year, so finding the perfect moment to bestow honors is tricky, said Bernard Telsey, a casting director and a founder of MCC Theater in New York who has produced the event for the past decade.
For the New York part of the ceremony, the actor and playwright Harvey Fierstein served as host, with Orlando Bloom, Emily Mortimer, Judith Light, Billy Porter, Zosia Mamet and Hank Azaria helping out. Some of the presenters shared stories about experiences they had with casting directors — Carrie Preston relived an audition in which she was required to act like an alien.
Michael J. Fox received the New York Apple Award, which recognizes an individual’s impact on New York entertainment. In his acceptance speech, he praised Judith Weiner, the casting director who helped him into his career-making role as Alex P. Keaton on the television series “Family Ties” some three decades ago. After auditioning for the executive producer Gary David Goldberg, Mr. Fox said, it was clear he was not going to get the part. “Judith said, ‘I’ll try to get you back in because I think you’re good and he’s wrong,’” Mr. Fox recounted.
Goldberg, who died earlier this year, was eventually convinced and went on to become an advocate for Mr. Fox. “He fought for me, and Judith fought for me,” Mr. Fox said. “They’re both gone now, but I’m here and I’m here because of them.”
A career achievement award went to Nina Tassler, the president of CBS Entertainment, while the Hoyt Bowers Award for outstanding contributions to the profession was given to Linda Lowy, whose casting credits including “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Private Practice” and “Scandal.”
There was a special award for the makers of the documentary “Casting By,” which turned a spotlight on this lesser known profession and has generated quite a bit of talk in the industry over the past several months. After more than three decades of at-large membership in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, with no seats on the Academy’s Board of Governors, a new casting branch of the Academy was created this year, and now casting directors have three seats on the board — though there’s still no Oscar for the work they do.