“One Battle After Another” casting director Cassandra Kulukundis has won the inaugural Oscar for best casting.
Kulukundis triumphed over Nina Gold (“Hamnet”), Jennifer Venditti (“Marty Supreme”), Francine Maisler (“Sinners”) and Gabriel Domingues (“The Secret Agent”).
This is the first new category created by the Academy since 2001 introduced the best animated feature film category. The five nominees were among the 10 casting directors who were shorlisted back in December. The Casting Directors Branch was formed in July 2013 and has nearly 160 members.
Paul Thomas Anderson’s go-to casting director Kulukindis admitted, “The truth is, no one knows what we do. They don’t understand it.” She went on to say, “We’re in this weird dungeon all by ourselves. It is an art, and it’s also a science, because we have to deal with DNA, and I take it super seriously.”
Kulukundis previously spoke with Variety about the search for Willa for “One Battle After Another”: “We know her DNA. She’s mixed race, so she’s got a white parent and a Black parent. She’s a warrior and she kicks ass.”
She said everyone was on her radar. In her search, she was constantly looking at people and going to tournaments. “I attacked people on the streets. If you are a living human being, breathing, I might consider you.”
In the film, Willa plays Bob Ferguson’s teenage daughter. Bob is a former revolutionist, and when Willa is kidnapped by a former nemesis, he sets out to rescue her. Chase Infiniti eventually won the part. Says Kulukundis, “I’d seen Chase dancing, and I was like, ‘If she can act, I know I can teach her the martial arts.’” As it turned out, Infiniti also knew martial arts, and soared to the top of the list.
As for seeing how audiences have responded to Infiniti’s performance, Kulukundis calls Infiniti “a completely unique human being. She is ‘A Star Is Born,’ that’s what they made the phrase for.”
Source: variety.com
