Bryan Cranston, Lena Dunham up for directing awards

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 9 (UPI) -- Television stars-directors Bryan Cranston, Lena Dunham and Louis C.K. are among those nominated for Directors Guild of America Awards Wednesday.

Up for the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement for a Movie or Mini-Series for Television are Greg Berlanti for "Political Animals," Philip Kaufman for "Hemingway & Gellhorn," Kevin Reynolds for "Hatfields & McCoys," Jay Roach for "Game Change" and Michael Rymer for "American Horror Story: Asylum."

Shortlisted for the prize for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in a Dramatic Series are Michael Cuesta for "Homeland," Jennifer Getzinger for "Mad Men," Lesli Linka Glatter for "Homeland," Rian Johnson for "Breaking Bad" and Greg Mottola for "The Newsroom."

Up for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in a Comedy Series are Louis C.K. "Louie," Mark Cendrowski for "The Big Bang Theory," Bryan Cranston for "Modern Family," Lena Dunham for "Girls" and Beth McCarthy-Miller for "30 Rock."

"Television is in the midst of one of the most creative and fruitful periods in its history, and television directors are a critical element of that success," guild President Taylor Hackford said in a statement, adding the nominees "represent the highest caliber of directing seen on television this year, with a diverse range of projects highlighting their creativity and skill in eliciting performance, advancing the story and establishing the look and feel in all genres of television.

"I congratulate them for their excellent work," Hackford said.

The winners of the prizes will be announced at the 65th annual DGA Awards dinner Feb. 2 at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland in Los Angeles. Director-actor-producer Kelsey Grammer is to serve as host of the event.