59th Cinema Audio Society (CAS) Awards: ‘Top Gun: Maverick,’ ‘Pinocchio,’ ‘Better Call Saul’ take top prizes

The sound mixing teams for Top Gun: Maverick, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, Moonage Daydream and Obi-Wan Kenobi were the big film winners, while Better Call Saul, Only Murders In The Building and Formula 1: Drive to Survive won the top television honors at the 59th Cinema Audio Society (CAS) Awards in Los Angeles on March 4. 

Top Gun: Maverick beat fellow Sound Oscar nominees All Quiet on the Western Front, Avatar: The Way of Water, The Batman and Elvis for the CAS award. Last week, at the Motion Picture Sound Editors (MPSE) guild awards, Top Gun and Elvis both triumphed.

The 59th Annual Cinema Audio Society Awards returned to InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown on Saturday, March 4, hosted by comedian/producer Ben Gleib (Ice Age: Continental Drift, The Mad King). He kicked off the event with a hilarious sendup geared toward the sound community, quipping, “Without sound … we would all be reading a book right now.”

Upon receiving the CAS Filmmaker Award, director Alejandro González Iñárritu cherished the crucial work of sound mixers in his acceptance speech, saying, “There is a reason why cinema is called an audio-visual medium. Audio is first, before visuals. Sound hits our bodies sensorially. Without intellectualization, we are just hit primally and it strikes our imagination and it’s boundless and it’s first.” Guillermo del Toro (Pinocchio, The Shape of Water, Pan’s Labyrinth), José Antonio García (Roma, Iron Man 3, Nope) and Jon Taylor (The Revenant) presented the award.

Honored with the CAS Career Achievement Award, production sound mixer Peter J. Devlin CAS (Wakanda Forever, Star Trek: Picard) gave a heartfelt acceptance speech about the importance of sound, saying, “Because ours is, quite simply, the most collaborative, creative endeavor anywhere. It doesn’t simply take a village; it takes a whole city to create a film or TV show.” Noted director Patty Jenkins (Wonder Woman, Monster) and supervising dialogue editor Teri E. Dorman (Pirates Of The Caribbean, Da Vinci Code) presented the award.

Outgoing CAS President Karol Urban described the event as a smashing success and summarized, “There is magic in this organization created by sound mixers for sound mixers. Mentorship, community and kindness are critical keystones to our success. Tonight, our membership stands at just over 1,000, providing a greater diversity of experience and covering the globe in a larger international footprint than ever before. Together, we thrive through volunteerism, honoring our legends and ensuring a legacy for the future of our craft.” 

During the evening’s festivities, CAS members and celebrity presenters also announced the Student Recognition Award. 

Timo Nelson from The University of Texas at Austin won the Student Recognition Award, receiving a check for $5,000. The other four student finalists each took home $1,000 from the CAS, along with $10,000 in products and gear to help launch their careers in sound, thanks to the support of these generous companies: Acon Digital, Avid, Deity Microphones, DTS, Halter Technical, IZotope, JBL Professional by Harman, K-Tek, Krotos Audio, Lectrosonics, Inc., McDSP, ShotDeck, Sounddogs, Sound Particles and Todd-AO / Absentia DX.

Distinguished guests at the awards ceremony included: Guillermo del Toro (Pinocchio, Shape Of Water), Nancy Cartwright (The Simpsons), Sara Dosa (Fire Of Love), Kiowa Gordon (Dark Winds), Ernie Hudson (Grace And Frankie, Ghostbusters), Patty Jenkins (Wonder Woman, Monster), Olivia Liang (Kung Fu), Baz Luhrmann (Elvis, Moulin Rouge), Elizabeth Mitchell (Outer Banks, Lost), Cheyenne Isabel Wells and Marisa Davila (Grease: Rise Of The Pink Ladies).

The awards for outstanding sound mixing in film went to:

• Motion Picture — Live Action: Top Gun: Maverick (Production Mixer: Mark Weingarten, Re-Recording Mixer: Chris Burdon, Re-Recording Mixer: Mark Taylor, Scoring Mixer: Al Clay, Scoring Mixer: Stephen Lipson, Foley Mixer: Blake Collins CAS)
• Motion Picture — Animated: Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (Original Dialogue Mixer: Carlos Sotolongo, Re-Recording Mixer: Jon Taylor CAS, Re-Recording Mixer: Frank Montaño, Scoring Mixer: Peter Cobbin, Scoring Mixer: Kirsty Whalley, Foley Mixer: Tavish Grade)
• Motion Picture — Documentary: Moonage Daydream (Re-Recording Mixer: Paul Massey CAS, Re-Recording Mixer: David Giammarco CAS, ADR Mixer: Jens Rosenlund Petersen)
• Non-Theatrical Motion Pictures or Limited Series: Obi-Wan Kenobi E6, Part 1 (Production Mixer: Julian Howarth CAS, Re-Recording Mixer: Bonnie Wild, Re-Recording Mixer: Danielle Dupre, Re-Recording Mixer: Scott R. Lewis, ADR Mixer: Doc Kane CAS, Foley Mixer: Jason Butler)

The awards for outstanding sound mixing in television went to:

• Television Series — One Hour: Better Call Saul S6:E13, Saul Gone (Production Mixer: Phillip W. Palmer CAS, Re-Recording Mixer: Larry Benjamin CAS, Re-Recording Mixer: Kevin Valentine, ADR Mixer: Chris Navarro CAS, Foley Mixer: Stacey Michaels CAS)
• Television Series — Half Hour: Only Murders In The Building S2:E5, The Tell (Production Mixer: Joseph White Jr. CAS, Re-Recording Mixer: Penny Harold CAS, Re-Recording Mixer: Andrew Garrett Lange CAS, Scoring Mixer: Alan Demoss, ADR Mixer: Chris Navarro CAS, Foley Mixer: Erika Koski)
• Television Series — Non-Fiction, Variety or Music/Series or Specials: Formula 1: Drive to Survive, S4:E9 Gloves Are Off (Re-Recording Mixer: Nick Fry, Re-Recording Mixer: Steve Speed)