Lost In Translation director Sofia Coppola will go up against ClintEastwood (Mystic River), PeterJackson (The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King), Gary Ross (Seabiscuit) and Peter Weir (Master And Commander: The FarSide Of The World) for the Director'sGuild of America's (DGA) Outstanding Directorial Achievement accolade.

Yesterday's announcement byDGA president Michael Apted was notable for the absence of Anthony Minghellafor Cold Mountain, which Miramaxsources ascribed to the fact that it went on release later in the season thanthe other contenders, which prevented the wide issue of screeners.

The DGA nominations areregarded as a strong barometer of Academy Award success and only six winnerssince the award's inception in 1949 have not gone on to claim the best directorOscar.

This is the first nominationfor Coppola and Ross, while Eastwood was previously nominated and won for Unforgiven in 1992, Jackson received two previous nominationsfor the earlier Lord Of The Ringsinstalments and Weir received three nominations for Witness in 1985, Dead Poets Society in 1989 and The Truman Show in 1998.

"I offer my heartycongratulations to all the nominees for their outstanding achievements," Aptedsaid in a statement.

"These five individuals andtheir films clearly demonstrate how a director's skill, when combined withvision, can create excellence in film-making."

The winner will be announcedat the 56th annual DGA awards dinner on Feb 7 in Los Angeles.