In 2026, Oscars to add a category for casting directors

Casting directors are some of the most important creatives in entertainment but have never been celebrated as such on Hollywood’s biggest night. Starting next year, however, that all changes. The Oscars will add a new award to recognise achievement in casting for films released in 2025 and beyond, the board of governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said Thursday.Not counting the short-lived “popular film Oscar ” which never came to be, this is the first time the academy has added a category since best animated feature film was established in 2001. “As the Academy evolves, we are proud to add casting to the disciplines that we recognise,” Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy President Janet Yang said. The first statuette will be presented starting with the 98th Academy Awards in 2026. The Academy had established the casting directors’ branch in July 2013 and it currently has nearly 160 members.
Maker of ‘tallest matchstick’ Eiffel Tower gets recognised after initial record refusal
Guinness World Records on Thursday told Frenchman Richard Plaud that his 23.6 ft matchstick Eiffel Tower was a record height, a day after initially rejecting it for using the wrong matches. Plaud said he had been on an “emotional rollercoaster” after spending 4,200 hours over eight years on building his model from more than 706,000 matches and 23kg of glue. Guinness initially said he hadn’t used matches that were “commercially available”.