Woody Allen is no stranger to the Directors Guild Film Awards - scoring his fifth-ever nomination this year for his box office hit comedy, "Midnight in Paris."
The veteran filmmaker is up against director Martin Scorcese, nominated for his 3D family film, "Hugo."
French director Michel Hazanavicius is also in the running, scoring his first DGA nomination for "The Artist", a film about Hollywood's transition from silent film to talkies.
Also in the mix for a directorial DGA are Alexander Payne and David Fincher - Fincher for his U.S. version of Stieg Larsson's Swedish thriller, "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" and Payne for his dysfunctional family drama "The Descendants", starring George Clooney.
The directors will go head to head at the annual Directors Guild Film Awards in Los Angeles on January 28th.
Kilmeny Duchardt, Reuters.
