HOLLYWOOD, CA (December 16, 2014) – The Casting Society of America has selected Patton Oswalt and Michael Urie to host the 30thAnnual Artios Awards, taking place January 22, 2015 during the height of awards season. Oswalt will host the Los Angeles ceremony which will be held at The Beverly Hilton and Urie will host the New York City ceremony.
The 30th Annual Artios Awards honor the best in casting across film, television, theater and new media. Feature film ballots will be distributed Friday, December 19 and votes can be entered at http://www.castingsociety.com/. Final ballots for television, theater and new media have been collected and the winners will be announced at the awards ceremony in January.
“The 30th Annual Artios Awards is a huge milestone for us and we couldn’t be happier to have Patton in Los Angeles and Michael in New York doing the honors. We’re lucky to have them both. They're successful in so many areas - film, television, theater; qualities shared by hosts and nominees alike,” said Richard Hicks, president of the Casting Society of America.
Patton Oswalt’s newest comedy album, Tragedy Plus Comedy Equals Time, just secured him his third GRAMMY Award® nomination. His book, Silver Screen Fiend, will be released January 6, 2015. Oswalt currently stars on Adult Swim’s The Heart, She Holler and can be seen on ABC’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. as Billy and Sam Koenig and heard as the narrator on the network’s hit comedy, The Goldbergs. Oswalt has received critical acclaim for many of his performances, including a Critics Choice Television Award for last year’s guest role on Parks and Recreation, a Critics Choice Award nomination for his performance in Jason Reitman’s film, Young Adult, starring opposite Charlize Theron, and a Gotham Award™ nomination for his performance in Robert Siegel’s film, Big Fan, which was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award. Oswalt was recently in the highly-praised film, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, and may be best known for playing Spence Olchin on The King of Queens and voicing the character of Remy in Ratatouille.
Michael Urie is currently touring with his critically acclaimed play, Buyer and Cellar, for which he earned a Drama Desk Award, the Clarence Derwent Award and the Lucille Lortel Award, in addition to nominations from the Drama League and the Outer Critics Circle. During his time on the hit ABC series, Ugly Betty, Urie and the cast received two Screen Actors Guild Award® nominations for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series and Urie received three Teen Choice Awards nominations for his portrayal of Marc St. James.
This news comes on the heels of the CSA announcing that two-time Academy Award®-nominee Richard Linklater (Boyhood) will receive the Career Achievement Award, Academy Award®-nominated and Emmy Award®-winning director Rob Marshall (Into the Woods) will accept the New York Apple Award and Emmy Award®-winning casting director Ellen Lewis will receive the Hoyt Bowers Award.
Upcoming Key Dates: Feature Films
Eligibility Details: Projects must have been domestically released between June 1, 2013 – December 31, 2014.
Friday, December 19: First Ballot Distributed (vote on all eligible submissions)
Friday, January 2: First Ballot Deadline
Tuesday, January 6: Second Ballot Distributed (vote on top nominees in each category)
Monday, January 12: Second Ballot Deadline
Past Artios Award winners include the casting directors of: Silver Linings Playbook, Argo, The King’s Speech, The Social Network, Girls, Homeland, Modern Family, The Mindy Project, House of Cards, The Book of Mormon and Carousel. Previous attendees and presenters have included critically acclaimed talent, such as: Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner, J.J. Abrams, Neil Patrick Harris, Jake Gyllenhaal, Chris Pine, Kerry Washington, Jeremy Renner, Diane Lane, Aisha Tyler and Marg Helgenberger. ‘Artios’ is an ancient Greek word meaning ‘perfectly fitted’ and the adjective is always used in the plural form.
