Directors Guild film nominees announced

Steven Spielberg has extended his domination at the Directors Guild of America Awards.

Spielberg padded the record he already held with an 11th nomination for the Directors Guild top prize, the latest coming Tuesday for his Civil War epic "Lincoln." He has won the guild prize a record three times.

Also nominated were past winners Kathryn Bigelow for her Osama bin Laden thriller "Zero Dark Thirty"; Tom Hooper for his musical "Les Miserables"; and Taiwanese director Ang Lee for his lost-at-sea story "Life of Pi."

Rounding out the field is first-time nominee Ben Affleck for his Iran hostage-crisis tale "Argo." It's his first nomination.

"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 Tuesday. "These directors represent the highest standard of filmmaking, and their films are a testament to artistic achievement, innovative storytelling and the passion that filmmakers share with their audiences."

Winners of the 65th annual Directors Guild awards will be announced at a dinner Feb. 2, with Kelsey Grammer as host for the second year in a row.

The DGA nominations can often shed light on possible Oscar nominees and winners. The best pictures Oscar tends to go to the best director award winner.