FIRST-TIME DGA NOMINEES UP AGAINST SCORSESE.

Byline: Greg Hernandez Staff Writer

Martin Scorsese received his seventh Directors Guild of America award nomination Tuesday for ``The Departed'' and will compete against the directors of ``Babel,'' ``Dreamgirls,'' ``Little Miss Sunshine'' and ``The Queen'' -- all first-time nominees -- for the industry prize that has proven to be the most reliable indicator of who will win the Academy Award for best director.

Scorsese, nominated previously for ``The Aviator,'' ``Gangs of New York,'' ``The Age of Innocence,'' ``Goodfellas,'' ``Raging Bull'' and ``Taxi Driver'' has never won a competitive DGA prize or the Oscar. But in 2003, the DGA did present him with its Lifetime Achievement Award, the guild's highest artistic honor.

``It is a great honor to receive this recognition from my fellow filmmakers,'' Scorsese said in a statement. ``As with all films, the making of `The Departed' was a group effort, and the opportunity to work alongside its talented cast and crew was a reward in itself.

``But I am very grateful for the DGA's nomination, which recognizes the contribution of not just myself but my entire directing team.''

Oscar predictor

Since the inception of the DGA award in 1949, the winner has gone on to take the Oscar on 52 out of 58 occasions, including last year's winner Ang Lee for ``Brokeback Mountain.''

``It's the seventh nomination for Scorsese, but it's a strong list, so who knows which way it will go,'' said DGA president Michael Apted, who announced the nominees Thursday morning at the guild's headquarters in Hollywood. ``I think there's terrific variety with studio films and independent films. It was a very good year.''

``Dreamgirls'' director Bill Condon said he is thrilled to be nominated for what ``is my first movie made within the Hollywood system. It's working with people at the top of their game, and this is a tribute to all of those people who worked on the film.''

Condon isn't so sure his name will be called when the awards are handed out on Feb. 3 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles.

``Martin Scorsese is the great American director who is way overdue, so I don't really know if it's a competition this year,'' he said.

``I'm thrilled to be included with him, and I'll be thrilled to stand and applaud for him.''

The directing team of Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris got their first DGA nods for their direction of the sleeper hit comedy ``Little Miss Sunshine.'' Stephen Frears, nominated for his direction of the drama ``The Queen,'' is also a first-timer in the feature film category but was actually up for a DGA award in 2000 when he was nominated for co-directing the television film ``Fail Safe.'' And rounding out the category is first- time nominee Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, the director of the drama ``Babel.''

Eastwood missing

A surprise omission was that of two-time DGA winner Clint Eastwood, who was nominated last month for the two Golden Globe Awards in the directing categories for both ``Flags of Our Fathers'' and ``Letters From Iwo Jima.''

Apted paid tribute to all the nominees, saying they ``demonstrated a remarkable ability to blend craft and vision in the pursuit of masterful storytelling. What makes it truly meaningful to directors is that this award is decided solely by their peers.''

It has only been in recent years that the DGA and the academy have been split more frequently. After having different winners only three times up until 1985, it has happened three more times since 1995.

That year, Ron Howard won the DGA for ``Apollo 13'' but wasn't even nominated for the Oscar, which was won by Mel Gibson for ``Bravehart.'' In 2000, the DGA chose Ang Lee for ``Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,'' while the academy went with Steven Soderbergh for ``Traffic.'' And in 2003, Roman Polanski won the Oscar for ``The Pianist'' after Rob Marshall had taken home the DGA award for ``Chicago.''

Greg Hernandez [phone]

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