With the award season in disarray thanks to the Writer’s Guild strike and the unwillingness of actors to cross picket lines to pick up their hardware, the nominations just a-keep on keepin’ on. The latest group to throw out some nominations for an award show is the Director’s Guild of America. They put together a list, that despite its brevity compared to say, the Golden Globes, holds a few surprises.

There are a couple of no-brainers on the list, of course. Joel and Ethan Coen, who have won the best director nod from almost every critic’s list yet released and the clear frontrunner for the Oscar, were nominated for No Country for Old Men. Paul Thomas Anderson continued to distance himself from the other Paul Anderson who directs movies by picking up a nomination to the still not released in my area, There Will Be Blood. Another choice that, while not assured, wasn’t unexpected was Julian Schnabel who led the troops making The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. Following those three are Sean Penn for his travelogue of death, Into the Wild and Tony Gilroy whose Michael Clayton bored the hell out of audiences everywhere.

Gilroy and Penn can’t be considered total longshots but either one of them supplanting Joe Wright for Atonement is a bit of a surprise. Also, where are Tim Burton and sentimental favorite Sydney Lumet? The DGA likes to trumpet being the closest predictor of an Oscar victory of any awards show. Since it seems likely that the Coens are going to carry home the statue in both presentations, I would say the guild’s winning percentage will continue. The winner will be announced on January 26th.