"Could you double-check the envelope?" said Scorsese, who had been the
greatest living American filmmaker without an Oscar. He also had never delivered
a best-picture winner before, despite crafting such modern masterpieces as
"Raging Bull" and "Goodfellas."
In an evening when no one film dominated as the Oscars shared the love among
a wide range of movies from around the world, three of the four acting
front-runners won: best actress Helen Mirren as British monarch Elizabeth II in
"The Queen"; best actor Forest Whitaker as Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in "The
Last King of Scotland"; and supporting actress Jennifer Hudson as a soul singer
in "Dreamgirls."
The other front-runner, Eddie Murphy of "Dreamgirls," lost to Alan Arkin for
"Little Miss Sunshine."
"The Departed" led the evening with four Oscars, also winning for
adapted screenplay and editing.
The Oscars had their most diverse and international scope ever, with wins for
two black actors and global dramas that included "Pan's Labyrinth," "Babel" and
"Letters From Iwo Jima."
Arkin played a foul-mouthed grandpa with a taste for heroin in "Little Miss
Sunshine," a low-budget film that came out of the independent world to become a
commercial hit and major awards player.
"More than anything, I'm deeply moved by the open-hearted appreciation our
small film has received, which in these fragmented times speaks so openly of the
possibility of innocence, growth and connection," said Arkin.
"Little Miss Sunshine" also won the original screenplay Oscar for first-time
screenwriter Michael Arndt.
The film follows a ghastly but hilarious road trip by an emotionally
messed-up family rushing to get their darling girl (10-year-old
supporting-actress nominee Abigail Breslin) to her beauty pageant.
The nonfiction hit "An Inconvenient Truth," a chronicle of Al Gore's campaign
to warn the world about global warming, was picked as best documentary.
"People all over the world, we need to solve the climate crisis. It's not a
political issue. It's a moral issue," Gore said, joining the film's director,
Davis Guggenheim, on stage.
"An Inconvenient Truth" also won original song for Melissa Etheridge's "I
Need to Wake Up."
"Mostly, I have to thank Al Gore for inspiring me, showing me that caring
about the earth is not Republican or Democrat, it's not red or blue. We are all
green," Etheridge said.
The openly gay Etheridge kissed her partner Tammy Lynn Michaels on the lips
when her name was announced and onstage referred to Michaels as her wife. The
couple held a commitment ceremony in 2003 and are the parents of twins.
Composer Gustavo Santaolalla won his second straight Oscar for original score for "Babel," a film "that helped us
understand better who we are and why and what we are here for," he said. He won
the same prize a year ago for "Brokeback Mountain."
The dancing-penguin musical "Happy Feet" won the Oscar for feature-length
animation, denying computer-animation pioneer John Lasseter ("Toy Story") the
prize for "Cars," which had been the big winner of earlier key animation honors.
The savage fairy tale "Pan's Labyrinth" took three Oscars. The
Spanish-language film won for art direction, makeup and cinematography.
The 79th annual Oscars feature their most ethnically varied lineup ever, with
stars and stories that reflect the growing multiculturalism taking root around
the globe.
