Soderbergh wins rare double nod

Steven Soderbergh has been nominated twice as best director of 2000 for his films Erin Brokovich and Traffic, marking only the second double nomination in history by the Directors Guild of America.

Other nominees for outstanding directorial achievement in feature film for 2000, at an event hosted by Steven Spielberg, included directors Cameron Crowe for Almost Famous, Ang Lee for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and Ridley Scott for Gladiator.

The award, which will be presented on March 10, is significant because it often foreshadows who will win the best director Oscar when the Academy Awards are handed out later in the month.

Since its inception in 1949, the DGA award winner has gone on to win the best directing Oscar in all but four cases.

Traffic and Erin Brokovich mark the first two DGA nominations for Soderbergh. The only other director to receive two nominations in one year was Francis Ford Coppola, who received a dual nomination in 1974 for The Godfather: Part II and The Conversation.

Crowe was previously nominated for his 1996 film Jerry Maguire, while Scott was nominated in 1991 for Thelma and Louise.

Lee, who won the best director Golden Globe for Crouching Tiger this week, has been previously nominated for his 1995 film, Sense and Sensibility.

- REUTERS