American director Martin Scorsese s hit mob-drama The Departed dominated the 79th Academy Awards on Sunday winning four Oscars including best picture, best adapted screenplay, best editing and best direction for its veteran filmmaker. This is Scorsese s first win after five previous nominations. Forest Whitaker won best actor for his performance as the Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland while Helen Mirren won best actress for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II in the British Drama The Queen. Alan Arkin was named best supporting actor in the comedy Little Miss Sunshine and the former American Idol finalist Jennifer Hudson received the best supporting actress prize for the musical Dreamgirls. Former vice president Al Gore shared the best documentary feature with director Davis Guggenheim for An Incontinent Truth. Here is the complete list of winners: Best Picture: The DepartedBest Director: Martin Scorsese ( The Departed )Best Actor: Forest Whitaker ( The Last King of Scotland )Best Actress: Helen Mirren ( The Queen )Best Supporting Actor: Alan Arkin ( Little Miss Sunshine )Best Supporting Actress: Jennifer Hudson ( Dreamgirls )Best Adapted Screenplay: The Departed Best Original Screenplay: Little Miss Sunshine Best Foreign Language Film: The Lives of Others (Germany)Best Editing: The Departed Best Cinematography: Pan s Labyrinth Best Art Direction: Pan s Labyrinth Best Makeup: Pan s Labyrinth Best Costume Design: Marie Antoinette Best Musical Score: Babel Best Sound: Dreamgirls Best Sound Editing: Letters from Iwo Jimma Best Visual Effects: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man s Chest Best Animated Feature: Happy Feet Best Short Film, Animated: The Danish Poet Best Short Film, Live Action: West Bank Story Best Original Song: Melissa Etheridge (I Need to Wake Up) from An Inconvenient Truth Best Documentary Feature: An Inconvenient Truth Best Documentary, Short: The Blood of Yingzhou District For an in depth coverage of the Oscars check tomorrows Page 8 column The Reel Estate by Joseph Fahim.
