Soderbergh's Double Honor

By Stephen M. Silverman

Wednesday October 01, 1997 12:00 AM EDT

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Steven Soderbergh was among the five nominees announced by Steven Spielberg on Monday who are in the running to be named top director by the Directors Guild of America. The winner of the DGA invariably goes on to win the best director Oscar. In Soderbergh's case, he is competing with himself (just as he did at the Golden Globes). He is nominated for both "Traffic" and "Erin Brockovich." The only other director to have been given a double nod in a single year was Francis Ford Coppola in 1974, for "The Conversation" and "The Godfather II." Coppola ended up winning for the latter -- both the DGA prize and the Oscar. This year's other nominees are Cameron Crowe ("Almost Famous"), Golden Globe winner Ang Lee ("Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon") and Ridley Scott ("Gladiator"). The winner will be announced March 10. The Oscars are March 25.