Oscar nominations are out, the Golden Globes are done. But long before the cameras roll, some of the most important work -- that isn't eligible for awards -- is done.

TheWrap gathered the casting directors on some of the season’s leading films to talk about their work, why it can be emotionally draining and whether it ought to be recognized with its own Oscar.

Gathered around a table at the Montage hotel recently were, from left above: Terri Taylor ("Hitchcock"), Vicki Thomas ("Django Unchained"), John Papsidera ("The Dark Knight Rises"), Mary Vernieu ("Silver Linings Playbook") and Lora Kennedy ("Argo," "Cloud Atlas").

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Malik Bendjelloul’s journey to the Oscars with “Searching for Sugar Man” started with a journey around the world.

The Swedish filmmaker had a mandate from Swedish television to make a half-dozen short films. So he bought the cheapest around-the-world flight he could find and headed out -- to Ethiopia, Mexico, Argentina, Honduras -- looking for stories.

He found the tale of a lifetime in South Africa: An obscure '70s folk singer from Detroit named Rodriguez had become, without his knowledge, a cult figure to an entire generation of South Africans. 

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The electronics revolution is moving off your laptop, tablet and phone and into the rest of your belongings.

At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week, the news was how technology is marching off the computer screen and into your car, your kitchen and your closet.

Much more than in previous years at CES, technology was taking over other everyday objects. Ford, Audi and even Rolls-Royce were present to show off new entertainment devices that are being installed the back seats of cars and that promise to take over the front seat once the driving is entrusted to a computer (down the line).

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Irving Azoff said he resigned as chairman of Live Nation Entertainment on Monday because “the process of being a public company in America right now sucks if you’re an entrepreneur.”

In an exclusive interview with TheWrap, Azoff, whose position at the head of the largest concert promoter and ticket-seller in the world made him uniquely powerful in the music industry, said he was tired of the demands of a public company and wanted to go back to managing talent.

“Life at a public company ain’t for me,” Azoff (right, with Judd Apatow at TheGrill) said. “The board pays you what you're worth, then you get reamed for your...