Martin Scorsese, Stephen Daldry and Peter Jackson have all been nominated for the prestigious Directors Guild of America (DGA) award.

They are joined by veteran Roman Polanski and newcomer Rob Marshall, whose debut film Chicago found success at the Golden Globe Awards.

Daldry directed Nicole Kidman in The Hours

The five film-makers will battle it out for the DGA's outstanding directorial achievement award, whose winner usually goes on to win the best director prize at the Oscars.

Scorsese, who is nominated for his epic Gangs of New York, will also receive the DGA's the lifetime achievement award when the prizes are handed out in Los Angeles on 1 March.

With Gangs of New York, Scorsese has cemented his reputation as one of the greatest living directors, and is strongly tipped to win his first Oscar.

The director, who has made films including Taxi Driver, Raging Bull and Goodfellas, has been nominated for the DGA's outstanding directorial achievement award four times before, but has never won.

He will be given the lifetime achievement award for his "remarkable, groundbreaking films, his nurturing of young filmmakers, and his ever vigilant fight to preserve the legacy of motion picture art".

Peter Jackson was also nominated in 2002

Stephen Daldry has been nominated for The Hours, which stars Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep and Julianne Moore in an intertwining story set over three ages.

The Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson picks up his second nomination - he was shortlisted for the first instalment of the epic trilogy in 2002.

Paris-born film legend Roman Polanski makes the list for Holocaust drama The Pianist, which won the Palme d'Or prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 2002.

He has been nominated for the DGAs twice before - in 1968 for Rosemary's Baby and in 1974 for Chinatown.

The final name on the list, Rob Marshall, is nominated for his debut feature film.

Oscars bet

Chicago, a big screen version of the stage musical, has won wide acclaim and three prizes at the Golden Globes on Sunday.

But Marshall lost out to Scorsese in the best director category at the Globes.

The DGA awards have been handed out since 1948, and the main winner has gone on to be named best director at the Oscars on all but five occasions.

Ron Howard picked up the DGA prize in 2002 for A Beautiful Mind - and went on to win at the Oscars.