Michael Shannon and Elizabeth Reaser congratulate the winners at the Artios Awards.
Casting directors came out from behind the curtain to be honored by their peers last night at the 25th Annual Artios Awards.
The bi-coastal awards, which were held simultaneously at the new Times Center in New York City and the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles, are presented yearly for outstanding achievement in casting in theater, film, and television categories on the criteria of originality, creativity, and contribution of casting to the overall quality of a project.
Celebrity awards presenters in New York were Patrick Wilson (“Little Children,” “Angels in America”), Carrie Preston (“True Blood”), Michael Shannon (“Revolutionary Road”), Jennifer Morrison (“House”), Bill Pullman (“Oleanna”), Christine Ebersole (“Grey Gardens”), Vincent Kartheiser (“Mad Men”), and Elizabeth Reaser (“Twilight”). Stanley Tucci and producer Daryl Roth presented the New York Big Apple Award to Nora Ephron and Delia Ephron, whose “Love, Loss and What I Wore” recently opened Off-Broadway to rave reviews.
The event was hosted in New York by comedian Janeane Garofalo, who admitted the stakes are a little higher when you’re responsible for honoring your potential employers. “One would hope I don’t fail,” Garofalo said before the ceremony. “I can’t imagine it would be helpful if I do poorly tonight — unless they were casting for somebody who was failing at something. So hopefully I will not embarrass myself.”
But on this night, the actors were happy to step out of the spotlight, as they were given a rare opportunity to celebrate many of the behind-the-scenes heroes who have secretly shaped their careers. These A-listers seemed genuinely thrilled to attend and show their support for the CSA members being recognized.
“The director’s not going to know everybody out there,” Shannon said while speaking with Pullman and Artios Award-nominated casting director Ellen Lewis (“Revolutionary Road”) before the ceremony. “I mean, they’re very busy doing all the things they have to do, so it’s up to the casting directors to bring in the stack of photos and say, ‘Think about it.’ Without casting directors like Ellen, I’d just be sitting at home. It’s a big deal.” Read the rest of this entry »
