It's getting too much support everywhere. Six Golden Globe nominations, six Satellite nominations, and even support from critics awards. It's being nominated for or winning awards across the board for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Ensemble, as well as several acting awards including support for DiCaprio and Wahlberg and Nicholson. It's getting the overwhelming overall support, from the biggies to the acting categories to the technicals, and it will be heading full force into the Oscars.

Such overall support for a film is a strength that helps lead all branches of the Academy in support of the film, and ultimately this, combined with this years competition, is why I think this will allow The Departed to win.

Martin Scorcese himself is a highly respected director who is seen as way overdue, and this year, I don't think anyone is standing in his way, not even Eastwood (who has won not a thing so far) or Condon (who failed to garner a Best Director globe nomination). Scorcese has been delivering year after year recently, and this will finally be his win. He has already won Best Director at the NBR, BSFC, NYFCC, and WAFCA, as well as a nomination at the Satellite Awards, Toronto Film Critics, and the Golden Globes (one, that in all likelihood, he will win).

All is left is for the Guilds to confirm all this, and if they do, I will be absolutely certain of the Oscar wins: The Departed for Best Picture, and Martin Scorcese for Best Director.

EDIT:

This club is closed, and the final members list is displayed below. All of the following people believe that The Departed will win Best Picture and Best Director come Oscar night, and have bravely chosen to predict this out in the open this early. They will all be amply rewarded for this. The rest of you who may come to change your mind in the future and decide that The Departed will win both Best Picture and Best Director after all, may join us in spirit. But no further members will be officially admitted into this club, since it was a club to see who could predict this early the Best Picture and Director wins for The Departed at the Oscars.

Thanks to all who have joined and who didn't choose to join but added to the discussion in this thread! We'll see what happens Oscar night! The Guilds are coming soon, and will further decide the fate of The Departed.

Final Members List:

1. MikeQ.
2. MovieDude
3. Marty
4. Alex Young
5. Dr. Lecter
6. Shack
7. Riggs27
8. RonBurgundy
9. Dkmuto
10. Zingaling
11. MovieGeek
12. ChipMunky
13. Webslinger
14. Cotton
15. Eagle
16. Chris


Peace,
Mike.

I'm in, both because I want it to win and because I could really see it happening.

I definitely see Scorsese take away Best Director. The only real contender is Eastwood, but I just can't see them picking him over Scorsese again. However Best Picture is a wide open race. It could happen, but I could imagine gthem giving BP to Letters

By no means an easy call right now. Not really.

But gut instinct, yes.

At this point, my prediction is that Scorsese will take home Best Picture and Director.

Director, yes; Picture, not yet since supposedly the violent third-act turned off quite a few people in the academy. What works in the film's favor is that pretty much every contender this year has its own deficiency, and The Departed may just have enough support by default.

By the way, this club will close sometime around the end of December. At the moment we have Moviedude and I chilling out, waiting to reap the benefits of bragging rights.

Some things to prove my case:

Best Picture Wins so far:
Boston Society of Film Critics

Best Director Wins so far:
National Board of Review
Boston Society of Film Critics
Washington Area Film Critics Association
New York Film Critics Circle

I will add as more wins come in. Satellite Awards and Globes still have to announce wins, as do the Toronto Film Critics and others.

Newsweek's David Ansen and Rollingstone's Peter Travers' Top 10 Lists are out, and The Departed makes both of them. Ansen put it at #5 on his list, and Travers' put it at #1 on his list. Here is what Peter Travers has to say about The Departed:

1 The Departed
Directed by Martin Scorsese

Crime in the streets. A Martin Scorsese specialty, from Mean Streets to GoodFellas. So what's so special about The Departed that I'm calling it the best movie of 2006? For starters, it's a new high in a historic career. The Boston crime milieu scrupulously laid out in William Monahan's screenplay sparks something fresh in Scorsese about how moral corruption begins in childhood and festers in adult life. The acting, from Jack Nicholson's Irish mobster to Mark Wahlberg's hothead sergeant, is top of the line. And Leonardo DiCaprio, as an undercover cop, and Matt Damon, as an undercover criminal, give the performances of their lives. Scorsese orchestrates acting, writing, editing, production design and camera placement into a model of what directing is when craft rises to the level of art.

People's Magazine has also revealed their list, and The Departed tops it at #1.

As more lists/awards/wins/etc come in for The Departed, I will update it in this thread.

Peace,
Mike.

I'm in.

Double

I'd also join this club. You might as well add screenplay too.

I'm definitely in, been in for quite some time now.

Also Screenplay and at least one acting award!

Throw me in, though I'm scared of Eastwood.

But I have to agree with my thread from a couple months ago.

I'm in too and strongly hope for a Best Supporting win for Wahlberg.

COUNT ME IN!!!!! I WAS IN THIS SINCE I FIRST SAW THIS MOVIE!

I want to say yes, really I do, but the Academy...really...doesn't...want....to....give...it...to....Scorsese....

Members thus far:

1. MikeQ.
2. MovieDude
3. Marty
4. Alex Young
5. Dr. Lecter
6. Shack
7. Riggs27
8. RonBurgundy

Many more top 10 lists have been popping up still, and many of them have The Departed on them. It will be easier to track these once Engin gets his 2006 Critics Top 10 List website/lists up and going. Everything so far indicates that The Departed will be right up there.

Peace,
Mike.

Hey, I'm in!

I'm not willing to predict a Best Picture winner yet.

Yeah, but you also have to sing every post which is slightly irritating and scary since you're a member

Killing the singing rats

@ Levy

By the way, this club will close DECEMBER 26th, 2006. You must sign up by that date if you wish to be a part of this club, and ensure bragging rights if the clubs statement is proven correct come Oscar night. Nobody will be admitted after the deadline. This is to reward the members who joined the club and predicted this relatively early in the awards race.

Members thus far:
1. MikeQ.
2. MovieDude
3. Marty
4. Alex Young
5. Dr. Lecter
6. Shack
7. Riggs27
8. RonBurgundy
9. Dkmuto

Peace,
Mike.

I'm in.

Best group ever. I'm In.

Yeah. I usually don't join clubs, but I think I'm going to stick with The Departed. I don't see a reason not to. It doesn't matter if Letters to Iwo Jima was technically better than The Departed, the Academy rarely awards the best one of the 5 anyway

Seriously, I read something over at OW about "Clint campaigning for Scorsese" and I think it's basically going to come down to Eastwood standing up in front of people and say PLEASE, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD GIVE HIM AN AWARRRRRRRD.

Other than Director, I also think The Deparated had a pretty fantastic BO and I think Leo can win Best Actor award (with Whitaker being more of a indie/critical fav).

I can see The Departed winning

Best Picture
Best Director
Best Adapted Screenplay
Best Actor
Best Supporting Actor
Best Editing

Dreamgirls can take Best Supporting Actress, Best Make-Up, Song, Best Sound and maybe Costumes, Iwo Jima can take Cinematography and maybe Costumes or Art Direction. The Queen will take Best Actress, Little Miss Sunshine can take Best Original Screenplay... then all of the contendors (at least the ones who I think will be nominated) will go home with something.

Although I know they aren't important, The Departed just won the following awards at the IPA Satellite Awards:

Best Picture - Drama
Best Actor in a Supporting Role - Leonardo DiCaprio
Best Adapted Screenplay - William Monahan
Best Ensemble

This adds another Best Picture win to the running tally. Martin Scorcese himself however was the odd man out, and lost the Best Director Satellite to a tie between Bill Condon for Dreamgirls and Clint Eastwood for Flags of our Fathers.

Best Picture Wins so far:
Boston Society of Film Critics
Golden Satellite Awards

Best Director Wins so far:
National Board of Review
Boston Society of Film Critics
Washington Area Film Critics Association
New York Film Critics Circle

Peace,
Mike.

Updated Members List:
1. MikeQ.
2. MovieDude
3. Marty
4. Alex Young
5. Dr. Lecter
6. Shack
7. Riggs27
8. RonBurgundy
9. Dkmuto
10. Zingaling
11. MovieGeek

This club will close DECEMBER 26th, 2006. Nobody will be admitted after the deadline.

Peace,
Mike.