As if he needs the career boost.
Steven Spielberg is the most successful producer and director in the history of movie-making financially.
If he's only one of a handful of contenders for the best artistically, time is on his side. He turns 60 in 2006.
Spielberg already has won two Oscars as best director, for "Schindler's List" in 1994 and for "Saving Private Ryan" in 1999.
For more on Steven Spielberg and on "Munich"…
See a clip from "Munich" and an interview with star Eric Bana from The Early Show interview.
Watch David Edelstein's review of "Munich" and other "revenge movies."
Find out about all the nominees in the Academy Awards special report.
In fact, his latest directing nomination, for "Munich," comes nearly two decades after he was awarded the Academy's Irving Thalberg Lifetime Achievement Award in 1987.Born in Cincinnati and raised in California, Spielberg was making movies when he was 12.
A few highlights of his directing career:
"Duel," a 1971 TV movie and cult favorite, follows the harrowing journey of a trucker fleeing a faceless driver who's in the grip of road rage. "Jaws" scared the wits out of beach bunnies around the world in 1975, and redefined the movie thriller for a generation. "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," in 1977, stars Richard Dreyfuss as a regular guy who feels compelled to investigate some very strange phenomena that suggest, as the movie's tagline says, "We Are Not Alone." "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" in 1982 broke all box office records with a heart-tugging tale of a stranded alien's friendship with a little boy. "Raiders of the Lost Ark" in 1981 and its sequels revived the adventure hero genre with the thrilling tale of an archaeologist with a hazardous lifestyle. "Schindler's List," in 1993, told the true story of a German businessman who risked everything to save more than 1,000 Jews from the Holocaust.
"Saving Private Ryan" in 1998, tells the story of a group of American soldiers out to save a comrade who is behind World War II enemy lines.Even Spielberg has his flops. "Joe Versus the Volcano" sputtered out in 1990, despite his and Tom Hanks' best efforts. And "Hook" in 1991 joined the list of notorious big-budget flops by messing with the classic "Peter Pan."
On a happier note: a fourth installment of the Indiana Jones saga is coming soon to a theater near you!