Affleck, Hooper, Spielberg up for Directors Guild award

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 8 (UPI) -- The Directors Guild of America nominated Ben Affleck, Kathryn Bigelow, Tom Hooper, Ang Lee and Steven Spielberg for its top prize Tuesday.

Affleck and Bigelow were nominated for their respective fact-based CIA thrillers "Argo" and "Zero Dark Thirty," while Hooper got the nod for his movie musical "Les Miserables," Lee for the mystical maritime fantasy "Life of Pi" and Spielberg for the Abraham Lincoln drama "Lincoln."

The five filmmakers are competing for the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film for 2012.

The winner will be announced Feb. 2.

"DGA members have chosen an incredibly rich and varied group of filmmakers to nominate for this year's Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film Award," DGA President Taylor Hackford said in a statement. "These directors represent the highest standard of film-making, and their films are a testament to artistic achievement, innovative storytelling and the passion that filmmakers share with their audiences.

"Being nominated by their peers is what makes this award particularly meaningful for directors, and I congratulate all of the nominees for their outstanding work."