SCORSESE FINALLY DITCHES BRIDESMAID ROLE AT DGAS.

Byline: GREG HERNANDEZ Staff Writer

Martin Scorsese received his first-ever competitive Directors Guild of America award Saturday night for ``The Departed,'' a triumph that makes the veteran director the front-runner to finally win an elusive Academy Award.

Scorsese's popular win at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel was over the directors of ``Babel,'' ``Dreamgirls,'' ``Little Miss Sunshine'' and ``The Queen'' -- all of whom were first-time nominees for the prestigious industry prize.

In a speech, Scorsese said he wanted to ``express thanks and gratitude to the people I've worked with over the years and, particularly tonight, the people I worked with on `The Departed.'

``I love the script, I love the actors.''

Scorsese -- nominated previously for ``The Aviator,'' ``Gangs of New York,'' ``The Age of Innocence,'' ``Goodfellas,'' ``Raging Bull'' and ``Taxi Driver'' -- had never won a competitive DGA prize, although in 2003 he earned the DGA's Lifetime Achievement Award.

Before Scorsese was presented with the night's top award, all of the contenders were presented with nomination medallions by some of the stars of their films.

The evening was particularly sweet for ``Dreamgirls'' director Bill Condon and the ``Little Miss Sunshine'' directing team of Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, who were unexpectedly shut out of the Oscar race.

But Stephen Frears, nominated for his direction of ``The Queen,'' will compete for the Oscar as will Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, director of ``Babel.''

At a morning symposium at the Directors Guild of America Theater in West Hollywood, all six of the nominees talked about their movies -- from casting and locations to editing and rehearsals.

Scorsese said he immediately loved the script for ``The Departed'' and after reading it started thinking about who he wanted in each role.

He eventually came up with a dream cast that included Leonardo DiCaprio, Jack Nicholson, Matt Damon and Oscar-nominated Mark Wahlberg.

While the cast was a dream, making the film was not.

``The actual process of making the film was extremely difficult for me,'' he said. ``It was like being with your best friend and your worst enemy at the same time.''

For Inarritu, the challenges of directing ``Babel'' included shooting on location under less-than-ideal circumstances.

While his cast was headlined by Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, he worked with many people in Morocco who had never acted before.

``This was the first time I worked with nonactors,'' he said. ``It was 17 days before we started shooting and I didn't have a single one and was ready to cancel.''

Condon had an experienced singer in Jennifer Hudson for the key role of Effie in ``Dreamgirls'' but she was not an experienced actress.

``Effie is 90 percent of casting that movie,'' he said. ``On-stage it had a legendary performance from Jennifer Holiday and, of course, she still thinks she should be in the movie. But, it's 25 years later. I went to New York and auditioned (Jennifer Hudson) and you are working with someone who hasn't acted before. It was a real old-fashioned Hollywood screen test.''

Dayton and Faris, well-known for their direction of music videos and commercials, had been working on their first feature film for three years before filming began on ``Sunshine.''

Initially a studio film, it was dropped, then went into production as an independently financed movie. ``Somehow the stars aligned and we got the cast we wanted,'' said Faris.

Frears worked with very experienced performers and said, ``I wanted Helen (Mirren) immediately.'' Mirren's portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II has won her many awards and she is the firm favorite to win the Best Actress Oscar.

greg.hernandez(at)dailynews.com

[phone]

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1) Sasha Cohen arrives at the Directors Guild Awards.

(2) Leelee Sobieski is interviewed as she arrives at the Directors Guild Awards at the Century Park Hotel in Los Angeles.

David Crane/Staff Photographer