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The Academy Museum Podcast
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The Academy Museum Podcast
Close Up On Casting... with Jacqueline Stewart

About the Show

The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures and LAist Studios present a multi-season audio series that examines the myriad of stories of our cinematic history. Jacqueline Stewart, Director and President of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures and a MacArthur Fellow, hosts the series.

The Academy Awards have been a source of iconic moments and cultural impact since the award ceremony began in 1929. The awards often reflect and amplify the political, economic, and the cultural movements of the time.

Season 1, “And The Oscar Goes To…," goes behind the scenes of touchstone years of the Academy AwardsⓇ, probing key social and cultural moments that have come to define the film industry and the broader artistic community. Episodes include revelatory interviews and in-depth conversations with Oscar winners, film artists, industry leaders, activists, and scholars, as well as archival audio and other exclusive content that will only be accessible through the podcast.

Season 2, "Close Up On Casting," explores the history of the job of “casting director”: one of the most essential and underappreciated roles in filmmaking. No movie could win best picture - or best director, or actor! - without the right people starring in it. Throughout this season we’ll explore how casting directors have answered the question of who gets to play what role in different ways over time. Season 2 premiers June 15th, 2023.

Academy Museum digital engagement platforms, including this podcast, are sponsored by Bloomberg Philanthropies.

Released March 25, 2022

Support for this podcast is made possible by Gordon and Dona Crawford, who believe that quality journalism makes Los Angeles a better place to live.*

Funding provided by:

Corporation for Public Broadcasting
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Episodes
  • Academy Museum S2 Tile Art
    Listen 34:31
    Episode 10
    Listen 34:31
    Casting an Ensemble: Everyone in 'Everything Everywhere All At Once'
    So far in this season of the Academy Museum Podcast we've heard a lot about casting a lead or finding the right star for a project. What goes into piecing together a group with incredible chemistry? Everything Everywhere All At Once was originally written for Jackie Chan and Awkwafina, but it’s now impossible to imagine without Michelle Yeoh and Stephanie Hsu. In this season finale, we hear from the film’s casting director Sarah Finn who breaks down the art of casting an ensemble.

    Guests: Sarah Finn, casting director

    Academy Museum digital engagement platforms, including this podcast, are sponsored by Bloomberg Philanthropies.

    Support for this podcast is made possible by Gordon and Dona Crawford, who believe that quality journalism makes Los Angeles a better place to live.

    This program is made possible in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.

  • Academy Museum S2 Tile Art
    Listen 30:27
    Episode 9
    Listen 30:27
    Casting Batman
    How do you cast an iconic character like Batman for the screen, especially for the third or fourth or tenth time?

    Guests: Lora Kennedy, casting director; John Papsidera, casting director

    Academy Museum digital engagement platforms, including this podcast, are sponsored by Bloomberg Philanthropies.

    Support for this podcast is made possible by Gordon and Dona Crawford, who believe that quality journalism makes Los Angeles a better place to live.

    This program is made possible in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.

Show your support for The Academy Museum Podcast today!
LAist Studios relies on your listener support to power the podcasts you love. Your donation today enables us to create more great podcasts for you.
  • Academy Museum S2 Tile Art
    Listen 36:24
    Episode 8
    Listen 36:24
    Casting in Animation: Can't Put the Genie Back in the Bottle
    The casting of Robin Williams as The Genie in Aladdin(1992) is often talked about as a turning point — when animated films began to focus on casting big-name actors. But is that true? This episode looks at the history of casting for animation.  What’s the role of a casting director for finding the right voices? And how is it different from casting for live action?

    Guests: Eric Goldberg, animator, director and voice actor; Mary Hidalgo, casting director

    Academy Museum digital engagement platforms, including this podcast, are sponsored by Bloomberg Philanthropies.

    Support for this podcast is made possible by Gordon and Dona Crawford, who believe that quality journalism makes Los Angeles a better place to live.

    This program is made possible in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.

  • Academy Museum S2 Tile Art
    Listen 35:41
    Episode 7
    Listen 35:41
    Casting 'Boys Don't Cry'
    What does it mean when an actor is cast to play a person from a marginalized group that in real life they’re not a part of? This episode delves into the casting process and legacy of a groundbreaking film exploring the complexities of gender and sexual identities.

    Guests: Dara Jaffe, Associate Curator at the Academy Museum; Kimberly Peirce, writer-director-producer; Kerry Barden, casting director

    Academy Museum digital engagement platforms, including this podcast, are sponsored by Bloomberg Philanthropies.

    Support for this podcast is made possible by Gordon and Dona Crawford, who believe that quality journalism makes Los Angeles a better place to live.

    This program is made possible in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.

  • Academy Museum S2 Tile Art
    Listen 26:14
    Episode 6
    Listen 26:14
    'In the Cut': Casting Against Type
    A look at contemporary typecasting, and the potential audience backlash to an actor taking on a new kind of role, through the lens of Jane Campion’s 2003 erotic thriller In the Cut, starring rom-com queen Meg Ryan.

    Guests: David Rubin, casting director and former Academy President; Laurie Parker, film producer

    Academy Museum digital engagement platforms, including this podcast, are sponsored by Bloomberg Philanthropies.

    Support for this podcast is made possible by Gordon and Dona Crawford, who believe that quality journalism makes Los Angeles a better place to live.

    This program is made possible in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.

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  • Academy Museum S2 Tile Art
    Listen 25:10
    Episode 5
    Listen 25:10
    Casting Unknowns: 'Baby Boy'
    From this point forward in the season, we are going to talk about different practices in modern day casting, starting with casting “unknowns” and the 2001 John Singleton film Baby Boy

    Guests: Kim Taylor-Coleman, casting director; Kimberly Hardin, casting director

    Academy Museum digital engagement platforms, including this podcast, are sponsored by Bloomberg Philanthropies.

    Support for this podcast is made possible by Gordon and Dona Crawford, who believe that quality journalism makes Los Angeles a better place to live.

    This program is made possible in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.

  • Academy Museum S2 Tile Art
    Listen 31:23
    Episode 4
    Listen 31:23
    Breaking Boundaries in the ‘70s: Reuben Cannon
    A conversation with Reuben Cannon, the first Black casting director. How he got his start in casting, brought now-iconic talents to the screen, broke boundaries in the industry, and why he ultimately decided to shift into producing.

    Guests: Kim Taylor-Coleman, casting director; Reuben Cannon, casting director and producer.

    Academy Museum digital engagement platforms, including this podcast, are sponsored by Bloomberg Philanthropies.

    Support for this podcast is made possible by Gordon and Dona Crawford, who believe that quality journalism makes Los Angeles a better place to live.

    This program is made possible in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.

  • Academy Museum S2 Tile Art
    Listen 26:28
    Episode 3
    Listen 26:28
    Innovators in New Hollywood: Marion Dougherty and Lynn Stalmaster
    How the fall of the studio system led to the creation of the role of casting director as we know it today, and how Lynn Stalmaster and Marion Dougherty defined the profession.

    Guests: Dara Jaffe, Associate Curator at the Academy Museum; casting directors Kim Taylor-Coleman, former Academy President David Rubin, and Lora Kennedy.

    Academy Museum digital engagement platforms, including this podcast, are sponsored by Bloomberg Philanthropies.

    Support for this podcast is made possible by Gordon and Dona Crawford, who believe that quality journalism makes Los Angeles a better place to live.

    This program is made possible in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.

  • Academy Museum S2 Tile Art
    Listen 30:48
    Episode 2
    Listen 30:48
    Typecasting and the Studio System: The Case of Noble Johnson
    How the first African American movie star created roles for himself in some of the earliest Black-produced films made for Black audiences. But he rose to mainstream notoriety playing characters of nearly every race but his own. 

    Guests: Dara Jaffe, Associate Curator at the Academy Museum; Cara Caddoo, Associate Professor, Department of History and Media School, Indiana University Bloomington.

    Academy Museum digital engagement platforms, including this podcast, are sponsored by Bloomberg Philanthropies.

    Support for this podcast is made possible by Gordon and Dona Crawford, who believe that quality journalism makes Los Angeles a better place to live.

    This program is made possible in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.

  • Academy Museum S2 Tile Art
    Listen 31:20
    Episode 1
    Listen 31:20
    The Casting of 'Rebecca': Vivien Leigh vs. Joan Fontaine
    We're starting in the year 1940 with the Alfred Hitchcock film, Rebecca. We’ll dive into Rebecca’s casting history, and how life on set for its lead actress imitated art.



    Guests: Dara Jaffe, Associate Curator at the Academy Museum; Patricia White, Professor of Film and Media Studies and Coordinator of Gender and Sexuality Studies at Swarthmore College

    Academy Museum digital engagement platforms, including this podcast, are sponsored by Bloomberg Philanthropies.

    Support for this podcast is made possible by Gordon and Dona Crawford, who believe that quality journalism makes Los Angeles a better place to live.

    This program is made possible in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.

Host, Director and President, Academy Museum
Producer, LAist Studios
Audio Production Engineer
Producer, LAist Studios
Executive Producer, LAist Studios
Vice President, LAist Studios