On Thursday, Hollywood directors unveiled the nominees for their feature film awards, having chosen Christopher Nolan and his Batman movie “The Dark Knight” among the ones worthy of the top honor from the Directors Guild of America.

The DGA awards are usually some sort of a rehearsal for the Academy Awards, since DGA winners have been known to go on and also earn an Oscar for best director.

The Directors’ Guild’s other nominees for best feature film director were Danny Boyle for his „Slumdog Millionaire” movie that tells the story of a young Indian boy who is on the verge of winning a television game show and Gus Van Sant for „Milk,” which stars actor Sean Penn as the murdered gay rights activist Harvey Milk.

Joining them in the competition for the DAG awards will also be David Fincher for „The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” which is based on a F. Scott Fitzgerald story about a man who ages backwards, and Ron Howard for „Frost/Nixon” that makes for a recount of former United States president Richard Nixon’s interviews with TV host David Frost.

Since the DGA initiated the awards back in 1948, only six winning directors have not gone on to be honored with an Academy Award for best director, as well.

The DGA awards are scheduled to be given out in Los Angeles on January 31, while the Oscars, which are awarded by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), on February 22.