SCORSESE, EASTWOOD VIE FOR DGA.

Byline: Greg Hernandez Staff Writer

Veteran filmmakers Martin Scorsese and Clint Eastwood were among the nominees Thursday for the prestigious Directors Guild of America award, one of the film industry's most accurate barometers of which director will go on to win the Academy Award.

The veteran directors are widely considered to have done some of the best work of their long careers in ``The Aviator'' and ``Million Dollar Baby,'' respectively.

First-time DGA nominee Alexander Payne was cited for the indie hit ``Sideways,'' while Marc Forster, director of ``Finding Neverland,'' also earned his first nod.

Taylor Hackford, the director of the fall hit ``Ray,'' received his second nomination following a 1982 nod for ``An Officer and a Gentleman.''

For Eastwood, the nomination for ``Million Dollar Baby'' marks his second consecutive DGA nod, following one for last year's ``Mystic River.'' Eastwood won the award for 1992's ``Unforgiven.''

Scorsese, recognized for ``The Aviator,'' was most recently nominated in 2003 for ``Gangs of New York.'' He lost but was awarded the DGA's Lifetime Achievement Award that same year. Scorsese has never won the DGA prize despite nominations for ``Gangs,'' ``The Age of Innocence,'' ``GoodFellas,'' ``Raging Bull,'' and ``Taxi Driver.''

Only six times since 1949 has the DGA winner not won the Oscar, with two of those occasions coming within the last five years, including in 2003, when Rob Marshall won the DGA prize for ``Chicago'' but Roman Polanski took home the Oscar for ``The Pianist.''

But the DGA and Oscar were again on the same page last year when Peter Jackson won both awards for ``The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.'' The two groups share many of the same voters. The awards will be handed out Jan. 29 at a ceremony to be held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

Greg Hernandez, [phone]

greg.hernandez(at)dailynews.com