DGA nominees include a Coppola -- the next generation

Sofia Coppola became only the fifth woman to be nominated for the Directors Guild of America Award for work in feature film when the DGA announced Tuesday she is one of its five nominees for best director of 2003.

Coppola, 32, received the DGA Award nomination for her offbeat comedy “Lost in Translation,” which she also wrote. Previous female DGA nominees have included Lina Wertmuller for “Seven Beauties” (1976), Randa Haines for “Children of a Lesser God” (1986), Barbra Streisand for “The Prince of Tides” (1991) and Jane Campion for “The Piano” (1993). Coppola, whom the New York Critics Circle voted best director last month, is the daughter of Francis Ford Coppola, winner of the DGA Award for 1972’s “The Godfather” and 1974’s “The Godfather Part II.”

“It’s so exciting,” Sofia Coppola said shortly after learning about her nomination. “My dad is really excited because the DGA is important to him. He was the one who urged me to join the DGA. It’s like a real tradition and honor. I didn’t expect this at all. I was just making my little personal project.”

The Directors Guild’s other feature director nominees are:

* Peter Jackson, 42, for “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,” the conclusion of his trilogy of films based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s work. This marks the third DGA nomination in a row for the New Zealand filmmaker -- following his nods for the first two installments in the “Lord of the Rings” series: “The Fellowship of the Ring” and “The Two Towers.” Jackson is also nominated for a Golden Globe for “The Return of the King.”

* Clint Eastwood, a DGA winner for 1992’s “Unforgiven,” for “Mystic River,” a tragic drama of friendship, revenge and redemption. The 73-year-old Eastwood was named best director Saturday by the National Society of Film Critics and is nominated for a Golden Globe.

* Australian filmmaker Peter Weir, 59, for the seafaring epic, “Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World.” The DGA previously nominated Weir for 1985’s “Witness,” 1989’s “Dead Poets Society” and 1998’s “The Truman Show.” Weir is also a Golden Globe nominee for “Master and Commander.”

* Gary Ross, 47, for “Seabiscuit,” a historical drama about the famed racehorse of the 1930s.

“I am stunned,” Ross said Tuesday morning. “I have only directed two movies. I guess it can sound a little like a cliche, but it really honestly is tremendously gratifying having your peers recognize you like this, to realize what you have done.”

Ross says the nomination was particularly satisfying because “there were so many big movies at the end of the year, and we were released such a long time ago. We are comfortable being the long shot.” Like the horse, some might say.

“The guild nominations always mean a lot,” said Jackson, reached via phone in New Zealand. “There is less politics involved. The membership tends to vote for things they admire, people they admire and work they admire. I am very happy that people like the third film so much. I always hoped that it would be seen as the favorite of the three. I am certainly happy to hold the movie’s hand, take it out into the world and come to all the awards shows and see what happens.”

Learning of the DGA Award nomination early Wednesday morning in Australia was “a wonderful wake-up call” for Weir. Though it is his fourth nomination, “it feels like the first time. It’s nice to be included. It’s a thoughtful selection [of nominees] on the part of the voters and you can see that reflected in the variety of films.”

In a statement issued after the nominations, Eastwood said, “It’s a pleasure and an honor to be acknowledged by the Directors Guild among these talented filmmakers. Working on ‘Mystic River’ with screenwriter Brian Helgeland, my longtime crew, and our remarkable cast was a great experience that yielded a very satisfying result; I’m very happy that the movie has been embraced so warmly by critics and audiences.”

Conspicuously absent from the list of DGA nominees were Anthony Minghella for “Cold Mountain” -- he is nominated for a Golden Globe -- and Edward Zwick for “The Last Samurai.” Last month, the National Board of Review named Zwick best director.

Since 1949, only six winners of the DGA Award have not gone on to win the Oscar -- among them Francis Ford Coppola, who lost the Academy Award (for “The Godfather”) to Bob Fosse for “Cabaret.”

However, the DGA Award isn’t quite the Oscar harbinger it once was. In the past three years, only one DGA Award winner -- Ron Howard for “A Beautiful Mind” -- has gone on to receive the Oscar. Three years ago, Ang Lee won the DGA Award for “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” but lost the Oscar to Steven Soderbergh for “Traffic”; Rob Marshall picked up the DGA Award last year for “Chicago,” while Roman Polanski won the Oscar for “The Pianist.”

DGA President Michael Apted announced the nominations at guild headquarters Tuesday morning in West Hollywood. Television nominees will be announced Thursday and Jan. 13. Awards will be presented Feb. 7 at the Century Plaza Hotel.