Wednesday, December 20----The Satellite Awards, the annual honors given to films and television programs by the International Press Academy, announced their choices for best films and best performances of the year. THE DEPARTED was named as Best Motion Picture Drama and the musical DREAMGIRLS copped top honors as Best Motion Picture Comedy or Musical.

DREAMGIRLS also earned awards for best director Bill Condon -- who tied for that honor with Clint Eastwood for FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS --as well as supporting actress Jennifer Hudson and Best Sound. Condon was conspicuously missing from the Golden Globe nominations for DREAMGIRLS, which received 5 nominations, including Best Picture.

THE DEPARTED also earned a Best Supporting Actor award for Leonard DiCaprio (huh?), as well as awards for Best Ensemble Cast and Best Adapted Screenplay by William Monahan.

Best dramatic acting honors predictably went to Helen Mirren for THE QUEEN, and Forest Whitaker for THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND. Top comedy acting awards were given to Meryl Streep as the boss-from-hell in THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA and surprise winner Joseph Cross as the put-upon son in the adaptation of the hit best-seller RUNNING WITH SCISSORS.

VOLVER won a prize as Best Foreign Language Film, with its biggest competitor PAN'S LABYRINTH winning as Best Animated/Mixed Media film. The documentary on the cover-up of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, DELIVER US FROM EVIL, copped top Documentary Film honors.

Sandy Mandelberger
Awards Watch Editor