Just minutes after midnight The Departed took home two big awards. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences started handing out Oscar statues at around 8:45 pm (here on the east coast, much earlier for those watching it in Hollywood). The Departed was our local favorite and hit 4 out of 5. Alan Arkin, who won the Oscar for Actor in a Supporting Role, may have been good in Little Miss Sunshine but we've got no regrets in our unabashed support of Mark Wahlberg in his first Academy Award nomination. The film based in Massachusetts with scenes filmed around Boston took home the other four awards for which it was nominated. The Oscar went to The Departed for:
- Film Editing: Thelma Schoonmaker
- Writing (Adapted Screenplay): (the North Shore's own) William Monahan
- Directing: (eight time nominee) Martin Scorsese
- Best Picture