Have a Seat, The Casting Director Will See You Shortly – The Legends of Juliet Taylor & Ellen Lewis

The Kitchen Sisters Present

The Kitchen Sisters & Radiotopia

Society & Culture

4.5 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 13 March 2026

⏱️ 36 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

On Sunday the first Oscar for Achievement in Casting will be given in the 98-year history of the Academy Awards. Today, The Kitchen Sisters and host Frances McDormand bring you the story of two legendary casting directors: Juliet Taylor and Ellen Lewis.

Listen to Part 1 of this saga: Everyone’s a Casting Director: The First-Ever Academy Award for Casting in the 98-Year History of the Academy Awards

“Casting is the first thing that is done on a movie. Everybody's sort of in a great mood, nothing's gone wrong yet, and everybody's feeling very positive. And it's the first time the director's heard the words read and it can really influence the way the movie goes.” —Juliet Taylor

During her career, Juliet cast 103 films including Annie Hall, Taxi Driver, Manhattan, Terms of Endearment, Big, Schindler's List, Midnight Cowboy, Network and so many more.

“It's an old-fashioned trade. You are learning from the person that you are working for. That's like your graduate school.” —Ellen Lewis

Ellen has cast some dozen films for Martin Scorsese including Goodfellas, Casino, Gangs of New York, The Age of Innocence, Cape Fear, Kundun, The Wolf of Wall Street, The Irishman, The Departed, Killers of the Flower Moon. Also Forrest Gump, The Devil Wears Prada, A League of Their Own, lots of Jim Jarmusch movies, and the television series The Queen's Gambit, Godless, Boardwalk Empire and so much more.

“More than 90% of directing a picture is the right casting.” —Martin Scorsese

Have a Seat, The Casting Director Will See You Shortly: The Legends of Juliet Taylor & Ellen Lewis was produced by The Kitchen Sisters (Davia Nelson & Nikki Silva) in collaboration with Nathan Dalton, Brandi Howell and Hannah Kaye. Mixed by Jim McKee.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Radio Topia. Welcome to the Kitchen Sisters present. We're the Kitchen Sisters, Davia Nelson, and Nikki Silva.
0:09.0	I am honored to be here tonight, Juliet, to celebrate the first of many casting directors, and you are the first one to be honored by the Academy.
0:20.0	The work of the are the first one to be honored by the Academy.
0:29.6	The work of the casting director is always seen, but it is often overlooked. Just try and imagine a world where Annie Hall is played by anyone other than Diane Keaton,
0:36.6	or where someone other than Tom Hanks is
0:39.8	dancing on that keyboard in F.A.O. Schwartz. The perfect pairings of these actors in their
0:46.4	roles was because of the instincts of this woman here, Juliet Taylor.
0:51.8	Today, a little more limelight for casting directors.
0:57.7	The Kitchen Sisters present, have a seat.
1:00.7	The casting director will see you shortly.
1:04.2	The legends of Juliet Taylor and Ellen Lewis,
1:07.7	a story in honor of the first Academy Award ever for achievement and casting.
1:13.6	I'm your host, Princess McDormon.
1:16.9	Juliet began her career in 1968 as an assistant to the legendary Marianne Doherty,
1:25.0	where she was taught the importance of creating an environment that would
1:29.3	allow actors to thrive in what is, we all know, a very vulnerable process. In 1973, Marian
1:37.3	offered Juliet the chance to cast her first film, The Exorcist. For me, one of Juliet's most significant contributions has been the way she has opened doors for other women.
1:50.0	She has continued to pass on her knowledge by fostering her craft and a whole new generation of casting directors.
1:59.0	Juliet's influence over the last 50 years cannot be denied.
2:03.6	She has spent her career collaborating with extraordinary directors to bring their creative
2:10.6	visions to life, ultimately leaving an indelible and lasting mark on American cinema.
2:18.3	Thank you so much. This is such an honor, really.
	...

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