Joel and Ethan Coen (No Country for Old Men)), Paul Thomas Anderson (There Will Be Blood), Julian Schnabel (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly), Sean Penn (Into the Wild), and Tony Gilroy (Michael Clayton) will contend for the Directors Guild of America award, according to the DGA.

Except for Joel Coen, all are first-time nominees. Joel and Ethan Coen are officially recognized as a directing team as of 2004's The Ladykillers. It's the second straight year a directing team has been recognized among the nominees; Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris (Little Miss Sunshine) were nominated last year.

The DGA winner is almost always the winner of the Best Director Oscar, as well. Only six times in the award's 60-year history has the DGA winner for feature film direction not duplicated the feat at the Academy Awards.

The 60th annual DGA Awards will be presented Jan. 26.

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