Scorsese to crash Thelma's Coolidge party

Here's a bit of breaking news: Martin Scorsese will be attending this week's festivities surrounding the Coolidge Award for his longtime editor Thelma Schoonmaker -- at least some of them. The director will miss the Wednesday night awards ceremony at the theater but will roll into town on Thursday for the evening screening of "The Departed" and the panel discussion immediately following.

That panel now looks pretty astounding: Schoonmaker, Scorsese, screenwriter William Monahan, and score composer Howard Shore. (The moderator will be Rolling Stone film critic Peter Travers.) Here's probably your best chance to ask why Jack Nicholson's Boston-Irish mobster has an Italian last name or to tell Marty why you think "Infernal Affairs" is better. It isn't, but don't let that stop you.

By the way, if you didn't read Mark Feeney's fine interview with Schoonmaker in yesterday's paper, here it is. And here's the schedule for this week's awards events.

**UPDATE** As several readers have reminded me, more politely than they really need to, Costello is an Irish surname and has been for at least 800 years. Thought balloon over blogger's head reads: Embarrassed.

**UPDATE 2** Peter Travers will be unable to serve as moderator for the Thursday night panel at the Coolidge with Schoonmaker, Scorsese, Monahan, and Shore. (Sounds like a law firm, doesn't it?) Yours truly will sub for him. No, I won't ask anyone about Nicholson's character's name.