'Sopranos,' 'Lost' earn duel DGA nods

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 10 (UPI) -- "The Sopranos," "Lost" and "Mad Men" were among the TV dramas whose episode directors were nominated for Directors Guild of America prizes.

David Chase and Tim Van Patten each earned a nod for directing separate episodes of "The Sopranos," while Jack Bender and Eric Laneuville were nominated for helming different installments of "Lost." The fifth entry in the five-man race was Alan Taylor, nominated for his work on an episode of "Mad Men."

Shortlisted for the award for outstanding directorial achievement in a comedy series were Michael Engler and Beth McCarthy-Miller for helming separate installments of "30 Rock," David Grossman for "Desperate Housewives," David Nutter for "Entourage" and Barry Sonnenfeld for "Pushing Daisies."

The directors nominated in the TV movie or miniseries category were Jon Avnet for "The Starter Wife," Jeremiah Chechik for "The Bronx is Burning," Lloyd Kramer for "Oprah Winfrey Presents Mitch Albom's For One More Day," Mikael Salomon for "The Company" and Yves Simoneau for "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee."

The winners will be named at the 60th Annual DGA Awards dinner Jan. 26 at the Hyatt Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles.