The First-Ever Casting Director Oscar Goes To...And ‘Pope of Trash' John Waters on the Power of Weird Queer Cinema

KQED's Forum

KQED

News Commentary, News, Politics

4.2 • 727 Ratings

🗓️ 13 March 2026

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The 98th Academy Awards will honor casting directors for the first time in the ceremony’s history. It’s the first new category in 25 years. We’ll speak with casting directors on the Academy Board of Governors about the joys and challenges of their work — and what it actually entails — before the inaugural “Achievement in Casting” Oscar is handed out on Sunday. Guests: Davia Nelson, radio producer, "The Kitchen Sisters Present" Debra Zane, casting director; governor on the Academy Board for the casting branch John Waters is set to receive San Francisco’s LGBTQ+ film festival Frameline’s eponymous award for his lifelong contributions to queer cinema. We’ll talk with Waters about what makes a great queer film, and the power of movies to challenge the status quo. Guests: John Waters, legendary director of works including "Hairspray" (1988), "Pink Flamingos" (1972) and "Polyester" (1981) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Another party invite?
0:03.0	Well, here's a way to make their big day feel even more special.
0:06.0	With small shops and Etsy, you can discover thousands of original birthday presents,
0:11.0	like a handmade leather camera strap to celebrate your photography-obsessed friend,
0:15.0	or maybe a custom top for that Pisces in your life.
0:18.0	From the personalised to the practical, we've got you covered with millions of active listings to choose from.
0:24.2	Birthdays don't celebrate themselves.
0:26.2	Shop at Etsy.com and discover your perfect find today.
0:30.1	Support for this podcast comes from Bioners.
0:33.1	Their annual event is coming up March 26 through the 28th in Berkeley.
0:38.5	Three days of community, solidarity, inspiring speakers, movement building, arts, and music, and more.
0:46.1	For more information, visit bioners.org slash KQED.
0:51.4	From KQED.
0:54.2	Welcome to Forum. I'm Mina Kim.
0:57.0	Casting directors are finally getting their due from the Academy Awards this Sunday
1:00.7	when the first ever Oscar for Achievement in Casting will be awarded,
1:04.8	and the films nominated are first new Oscar category in 25 years.
1:13.1	Achievement in casting.
1:16.1	Hamnet.
1:17.4	I'm really interested in people and what they're like.
1:23.6	And I'm also really interested in story and character.
1:27.8	And then casting seems to be the perfect way to get those two things to combine.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from KQED, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of KQED and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.