Even if he gets shafted at the Academy Awards again come February, Martin Scorsese's 2006 trophy case is still going to be pretty full.
Scorsese's The Departed, the filmmaker's latest ode to organized crime and mean urban streets, collected best picture honors this weekend from the Las Vegas Film Critics Society, the Southeastern Film Critics Association and the International Press Academy, which named The Departed Best Motion Picture, Drama, at the 11th annual Satellite Awards on Sunday.
The Vegas and Southeastern critics also named Scorsese Best Director, as did the Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association, although best picture honors in Texas went to the 9-11 drama United 93.
The Satellite Awards made it a tie between Dreamgirls director Bill Condon and Flags of Our Fathers captain Clint Eastwood, who is facing a major competitor every time he looks in the mirror this awards season, with equal love being doled out to Flags' Japanese-language companion piece, Letters from Iwo Jima. Next month it's Eastwood vs. Eastwood when Dirty Harry squares off against himself for Best Director at the Golden Globes.
Rounding out the Southeastern Film Critics' top 10 films of the year were Letters from Iwo Jima, The Queen, United 93, Little Miss Sunshine, Notes on a Scandal, Babel, Pan's Labyrinth, Little Children and Thank You for Smoking.
In a similar turn of events in Dallas-Fort Worth, the rest of the critics' top 10 included The Departed, Little Miss Sunshine, The Queen, Babel, Letters from Iwo Jima, Dreamgirls, Blood Diamond, Little Children and Flags of Our Fathers.
Perhaps a sign of things to come, both Leonardo DiCaprio in The Departed and DiCaprio in Blood Diamond lost out on Best Actor honors to Forest Whitaker, whose take on Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland helped him sweep this latest round of kudos fests.
DiCaprio did take home a Satellite Award for The Departed, however, because his role as a Boston cop turned mob infiltrator was pared down to a supporting part.
The various groups mentioned all went international when it came to Best Actress, too, giving major props to Helen Mirren in The Queen.
Dreamgirls newcomer Jennifer Hudson was three for four on this go-round, scoring Best Supporting Actress trophies at the Satellite Awards and from the Vegas and Southeastern critics. Next stop, Oscarville, with what could be a memorable layover in Golden Globeland.
Dallas-Fort Worth went with Cate Blanchett in Notes on a Scandal, one of those films that are landing on top-10 lists right and left but that no nonindustry types have seen yet. The drama, also starring Judi Dench, hits theaters Dec. 27.
Meanwhile, former child star Jackie Earle Haley's decision to play a convicted sex offender trying to start over again in suburbia in Little Children continues to pay off—the Southeastern and Dallas-Fort Worth critics named him Best Supporting Actor.
Vegas critics put their money on Djimon Hounsou in Blood Diamond. Neither Haley nor Hounsou are up for Golden Globes this year, but Oscar can still take note.
Al Gore also batted .750 this weekend, taking Best Documentary from Dallas-Fort Worth, Las Vegas and the Southeast for his global warming documentary An Inconvenient Truth, which although everyone refers to it as "the Al Gore movie" was actually directed by Davis Guggenheim.
The Satellite Awards instead honored the chilling Deliver Us from Evil, about an abusive priest who was shielded by the Catholic Church for 30 years although papal higher-ups knew about his pedophilic tendencies.
But while achievement in film is going to be the name of the game until Feb. 25 when the Oscars are handed out—well, when isn't it the name of the game in Hollywood, really?—the Satellite Awards, like the Golden Globes, also take TV into account.
This year's Best Television Series awards went to House for Drama and ABC's freshman dramedy Ugly Betty for Comedy or Musical. House's Hugh Laurie and The Closer's Kyra Sedgwick were named Best Actor and Actress in a Series, Drama, while Boston Legal's James Spader and Desperate Housewives' Marcia Cross were the top talent in a Series, Comedy or Musical.
Here's a complete list of the awards doled out:
11TH ANNUAL SATELLITE AWARDS:
FILM
- Motion Picture, Drama: The Departed
- Director: (tie) Clint Eastwood, Flags of Our Fathers and Bill Condon, Dreamgirls
- Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama: Helen Mirren, The Queen
- Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama: Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland
- Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical: Dreamgirls
- Actress in a Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical: Meryl Streep, The Devil Wears Prada
- Actor in a Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical: Joseph Cross, Running with Scissors
- Actress in a Supporting Role: Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls
- Actor in a Supporting Role: Leonardo DiCaprio, The Departed
- Motion Picture, Foreign Language: Volver
- Motion Picture, Animated or Mixed Media: Pan's Labyrinth
- Motion Picture, Documentary: Deliver Us from Evil
- Screenplay, Original: Peter Morgan, The Queen
- Screenplay, Adapted: William Monahan, The Departed
- Original Score: Gustavo Santolalla, Babel
- Original Song: "You Know My Name," Chris Cornell, David Arnold, Casino Royale
- Cinematography: Tom Stern, Flags of Our fathers
- Visual Effects: John Knoll, Hall Hickel, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
- Film Editing: Mark Helfrich, Mark Goldblatt, Julia Wong, X-Men: The Last Stand
- Sound (Editing & Mixing): Willie Burton, Michael Minkler, Bob Beemer, Richard E. Yawn, Dreamgirls
- Art Direction & Production Design: Henry Bumstead, Jack G. Taylor Jr., Richard Goddard, Flags of Our Fathers
- Costume Design: Patricia Field, The Devil Wears Prada
- Mary Pickford Award: Martin Landau
- Nikola Tesla Award: Richard Donner
- Auteur Award In Memoriam: Robert Altman
- Best Ensemble: The Departed
TELEVISION
- Miniseries: To the Ends of the Earth
- Motion Picture Made for Television: A Little Thing Called Murder
- Actress in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for TV: Judy Davis, A Little Thing Called Murder
- Actor in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for TV: Bill Nighy, Gideon's Daughter
- Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Miniseries, or Motion Picture Made for TV: Julie Benz, Dexter
- Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Miniseries, or Motion Picture Made for TV: Tony Plana, Ugly Betty
- Television Series, Drama: House
- Actress in a Series, Drama: Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer
- Actor in a Series, Drama: Hugh Laurie, The House
- Television Series, Comedy or Musical: Ugly Betty
- Actress in a Series, Comedy or Musical: Marcia Cross, Desperate Housewives
- Actor in a Series , Comedy or Musical: James Spader, Boston Legal
- Outstanding Guest Star: Jerry Lewis, Law & Order: SVU
- Best Ensemble: Grey's Anatomy
LAS VEGAS FILM CRITICS SOCIETY:
- Best Picture: The Departed
- Actor: Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland
- Actress: Helen Mirren, The Queen
- Supporting Actor: Djimon Hounsou, Blood Diamond
- Supporting Actress: Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls
- Director: Martin Scorsese, The Departed
- Screenplay: Jason Reitman, Thank You for Smoking
- Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki, Children of Men
- Film Editing: Thelma Schoonmaker, The Departed
- Score: Thomas Newman, The Good German
- Song: "Ordinary Miracle," David Stewart and Glen Ballard, performed by Sarah McLachlan, Charlotte's Web
- Family Film: Charlotte's Web
- Documentary: An Inconvenient Truth
- Animated Film: Monster House
- Design: Marie Antoinette
- Art Direction: Marie Antoinette
- Best Visual Effects: X-Men: The Last Stand
- Youth in Film: Abigail Breslin, Little Miss Sunshine
- DVD (Packaging, Design and Content): Superman Ultimate Collector's Edition
- William Holden Lifetime Achievement Award: Peter O'Toole
SOUTHEASTERN FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION:
- Best Picture: The Departed
- Best Director: Martin Scorsese, The Departed
- Best Actor: Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland
- Best Actress: Helen Mirren, The Queen
- Best Supporting Actor: Jackie Earle Haley, Little Children
- Best Supporting Actress: Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls
- Best Foreign Language Film: Pan's Labyrinth
- Best Documentary: An Inconvenient Truth
- Best Original Screenplay: Little Miss Sunshine
- Best Adapted Screenplay: The Departed
- Best Animated Film: Cars
DALLAS-FORT WORTH FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION:
- Best Film: United 93
- Best Actor: Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland
- Best Actress: Helen Mirren, The Queen
- Best Supporting Actor: Jackie Earle Haley, Little Children
- Best Supporting Actress: Cate Blanchett, Notes on a Scandal
- Best Director: Martin Scorsese, The Departed
- Best Foreign Language Film: Letters from Iwo Jima
- Best Documentary: An Inconvenient Truth
- Best Animated Film: Happy Feet
- Best Screenplay: Michael Arndt, Little Miss Sunshine
- Best Cinematography: Dean Semler, Apocalypto
- Russell Smith Award: Half Nelson