Launching June 15, Director and President of the Academy Museum Jacqueline Stewart Returns as Host to Explore the Art and Influence of Casting throughout the History of Cinema.
Los Angeles, CA, May 24, 2023—The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is continuing its partnership with LAist Studios to release a new season of The Academy Museum Podcast, an audio series that draws inspiration from the museum’s galleries to further expand upon both pivotal and lesser known stories across the history of cinema. Jacqueline Stewart, Director and President of the Academy Museum, returns as host when the season launches on Thursday, June 15, 2023.
The second season, titled “Close Up on Casting,” was inspired by Stewart’s observation that museum visitors gravitate to the Performance gallery that features audition tapes, early Polaroid photos of actors, and casting directors’ notes. The question of “who gets the part?” has evolved over time, and Stewart seeks to break down this essential and often misunderstood element of the filmmaking process. Each episode explores different themes that help explain the immense influence that casting directors can have on the success of a film and the career trajectories of actors.
Episodes include revelatory interviews and in-depth conversations with casting directors and scholars, including Cara Caddoo, Reuben Cannon, Sarah Finn, Eric Goldberg, Kimberly Hardin, Mary Hidalgo, Lora Kennedy, Laurie Parker, David Rubin, and Patricia White. In addition, this season features archival audio and other exclusive content that will only be accessible through the podcast. Listeners can find the series on the Academy Museum and LAist Studios websites, as well as on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and other podcast platforms.
Among the stories that will be featured in the 10-episode season are:
- “The Casting of Rebecca: Vivien Leigh vs. Joan Fontaine”
- “Typecasting and the Studio System: The Case of Noble Johnson”
- “Innovators in New Hollywood: Marion Dougherty + Lynn Stalmaster”
- “Breaking Boundaries in the ‘70s: Reuben Cannon”
- “Typecasting Revisited: In the Cut and Casting Against Type”
The inaugural season of the podcast, “And The OscarⓇ Goes To…,” went behind the scenes of touchstone Academy AwardsⓇceremonies, probing key social and cultural moments that impacted film artists as well as film fans over the years. Notable episodes include “1957: The Brave One,”which explored the history of blacklisting in Hollywood, and “2002: This Door Has Been Opened,” which featured Halle Berry’s reflections on her historic Best Actress Oscar win.
Credit: Academy Museum digital engagement platforms, including this podcast, are sponsored by Bloomberg Philanthropies.
About the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures
The Academy Museum is the largest museum in the United States devoted to the arts, sciences, and artists of moviemaking. The museum advances the understanding, celebration, and preservation of cinema through inclusive and accessible exhibitions, screenings, programs, initiatives, and collections. Designed by Pritzker Prize–winning architect Renzo Piano, the museum’s campus contains the restored and revitalized historic Saban Building—formerly known as the May Company building (1939)—and a soaring spherical addition. Together, these buildings contain 50,000 square feet of exhibition spaces, two state-of-the-art theaters, the Shirley Temple Education Studio, and beautiful public spaces that are free and open to the public. These include: The Walt Disney Company Piazza and the Sidney Poitier Grand Lobby, which houses the Spielberg Family Gallery, Academy Museum Store, and Fanny’s restaurant and café. The Academy Museum exhibition galleries are open seven days a week, with hours Sunday through Thursday from 10am to 6pm and Friday and Saturday from 10am to 8pm.
About Southern California Public Radio (SCPR) and LAist Studios
Southern California Public Radio (scpr.org) is a member-supported multi-platform public media organization that has garnered more than 500 journalistic honors since 1999. Recognized as a national leader in public service journalism and civic engagement, SCPR’s flagship radio station, LAist 89.3 (formerly KPCC), reaches more than 900,000 listeners every week as the most listened-to public radio news service across Southern California. The network’s five stations (89.3 KPCC-FM, 89.1 KUOR-FM, 90.3 KVLA-FM, 89.9 FM, and 89.5 KJAI-FM) deliver award-winning local news coverage to the diverse communities of the region, including a robust slate of signature programs from NPR, APM, the BBC and PRI. LAist (laist.com) is a digital news site committed to in-depth reporting about life in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. Its award-winning work reaches over seven million people per month, and in 2019, the brand grew to include LAist Studios (laiststudios.com), a dedicated podcast development and production studio. Furthering SCPR’s commitment to premium on-demand audio storytelling, podcasts from LAist Studios aim to reflect the ethos of Los Angeles—a forward-looking, minority-majority community built upon unmatched diversity, inclusion, and drive—going beyond geographical borders to connect with listeners around the globe who share the LA state of mind.