Dreamgirls, The Departed, et al. Win Academy Awards

The 79th annual Academy Awards were bestowed on February 25 in Los Angeles. The evening’s big winner was The Departed, which won four Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director for Martin Scorsese — his first — Best Adapated Screenplay, and Best Film Editing.

The top acting honors were split among four different films. Forest Whitaker was named Best Actor for playining Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland. Helen Mirren received the Best Actress Oscar for her portrayal of Elizabeth II in The Queen. Alan Arkin was named for Best Supporting Actor for Little Miss Sunshine, and Jennifer Hudson won for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Effie White in Dreamgirls.

While Dreamgirls led the pack with eight nominations, it only picked up two Oscars; one for Hudson and for Best Sound Mixing. It received three of the five Best Song nominations, for “Listen” (music by Henry Krieger and Scott Cutler, lyrics by Anne Preven); “Love You I Do” (music by Krieger, lyrics by Siedah Garrett); and “Patience” (music by Krieger, lyrics by Willie Reale), but they all lost to Melissa Etheridge’s “I Need to Wake Up,” from An Inconvenient Truth, which won Best Documentary.

In other categories, Michael Arndt, a former assistant to actor Matthew Broderick, won Best Original Screenplay for Little Miss Sunshine, Best Animated Feature went to Happy Feet, and Pan’s Labyrinth picked up Oscars for Best Cinematography, Art Direction, and Makeup.

For a complete list of winners, visit www.oscars.org.