Three directors score first DGA award nominations

This is the first DGA nomination for McCarthy, McKay and Miller. Even more impressive is the fact that since the DGA Award began in 1948, only seven winners didn't win the Oscar.

Also nominated for the DGA honor - a strong indicator of Oscar success - - were Tom McCarthy for "Spotlight", Adam McKay for "The Big Short", George Miller for "Mad Max: Fury Road" and Ridley Scott for "The Martian". If he wins the DGA, he'll be the first back-to-back feature victor in the guild's history.

Scott has also been nominated three times, for 1991's "Thelma & Louise", 2000's "Gladiator" and 2001's "Black Hawk Down".

Since the academy expanded the best picture category in 2009, it has shunned a DGA nominee's film just once, when Oscar voters snubbed David Fincher's 2011 sordid psychological thriller "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo". The Australian filmmaker was nominated for a Golden Globe and won the Los Angeles Film Critics Award for his direction. Steven Spielberg (Bridge of Spies) and Todd Haynes (Carol) were among those left off the list.

And in a new category for this year, the DGA is also awarding first-time directors, which is a pleasant change.

Iñarritu, who won the Oscar last year for directing "Birdman", was nominated this year for his Pioneer-era tale "The Revenant", which was filmed in freezing conditions and primitive landscapes. Those nominees include Fernando Coimbra (A Wolf at the Door), Joel Edgerton (The Gift), Alex Garland (Ex Machina), Marielle Heller (The Diary of a Teenage Girl) and Laszlo Nemes (Son of Saul). The Oscar that year when to Ang Lee for "Life of Pi".

Per a DGA press release, winners will be announced at the 68th Annual Director's Guild of America Awards on on February 6 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza.

• Freddie Gray case: Goodson trial postponed pending decision from higher court

• Amid Geopolitical Tensions, Oil Prices Gain to Wrap Up 2015

• DiCaprio, The Revenant and The Martian big winners at Golden Globes