TO THE VERY END — even as he walked into the Kodak Theatre on Sunday afternoon -- the producer of "The Departed" was downplaying his film's Oscar chances, maintaining that it was just a modest genre movie fortunate to get some awards attention.
"We didn't even think we'd be here," Graham King said on the red carpet. "We honestly didn't."
As a campaign strategy, Oscar politicking doesn't get much more sophisticated -- or fruitful -- than that.
Riding the coattails of its influential and long-overdue director, Martin Scorsese, the film won a leading four Oscars, including the best picture and best director trophies, in the unusually wide-open 79th annual Academy Awards.
The unrelentingly bloody remake of the 2002 Hong Kong cop drama "Infernal Affairs" also won statuettes for adapted screenplay for William Monahan and editing for Thelma Schoonmaker. It was nominated for five Academy Awards.
"The Queen's" Helen Mirren was named best actress, and Forest Whitaker won the top actor award for "The Last King of Scotland." In the three-hour, 52-minute broadcast hosted by comic Ellen DeGeneres, "Little Miss Sunshine's" Alan Arkin collected the best supporting actor trophy, and Jennifer Hudson from "Dreamgirls" was selected best supporting actress.
In movie marketing, Hollywood tends to overpromise and underdeliver. But in the case of "The Departed," the formula was turned on its head: From the very beginning, the movie's awards credentials took a back seat to its commercial prospects.
As a box-office tactic, the plan worked beautifully: The drama of dueling police officers -- Leonardo DiCaprio's honest cop has infiltrated Jack Nicholson's mob, while Matt Damon's crooked cop is on the bad guys' payroll -- grossed $132 million.
It was Scorsese's highest-grossing movie ever, and easily dwarfed the ticket sales generated by the four other best picture nominees.
But the film also started winning major awards, taking home top prizes from the Directors Guild of America and the Writers Guild of America.
If King had reason to slow-play his "Departed" Oscar hand, it was understandable.
King, Scorsese and DiCaprio had collaborated on two earlier high-profile movies, both of which entered the Academy Awards with the highest of expectations.
Yet 2002's "Gangs of New York" and 2004's "The Aviator" collapsed under the weight of their relentlessly advertised importance; though both were nominated for best picture and director, neither won either award.
