AceShowbiz -

Chance for "The Departed" to strive high at the upcoming Academy Awards is getting larger with the triumph it has made through director Martin Scorsese at this year's DGA Awards. The veteran filmmaker finally was bestowed the Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures honor at the awards dinner held Saturday, February 3 at Los Angeles' Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel.

"I was just trying to make a good picture. I didn't think I'd be standing here tonight... But it is the first movie I have ever done with a plot," he told the audience during the acceptance speech.

For Scorsese, the award is the first he won after being nominated in the same category for sixth times. The famed filmmaker previously was granted by the Guild the Filmmaker Award in 1999 at the inaugural DGA Honors Gala and the Lifetime Achievement Award for distinguished achievement in film direction in 2003.

Apart from Scorsese, the organization also handed out other Outstanding Directorial Achievement prizes in its recognition to the behind-the-camera figures in documentary and television. Included as the recipients were "Broken Tail" director Walter Hill, "Before Flying Back to the Earth" helmer Arunas Matelis, and Richard Shepard who directed the pilot episode of "Ugly Betty."