The Directors Guild of America announced its selections in the best feature film category today:

• Alfonso Cuarón: Gravity
• Paul Greengrass: Captain Phillips
• Steve McQueen: 12 Years a Slave
• David O. Russell: American Hustle
• Martin Scorsese: The Wolf of Wall Street

I wouldn't have gone Greengrass (Coen Bros., yo), but four out of five ain't bad. Although I might not have gone Cuarón, either, despite the spectacle of his film. And maybe not McQueen, despite its ... gravity? But hey, I'm glad Russell and Scorsese are nom'ed.

Even so, it's a good list.

As I mentioned last January, there is a pretty direct line between the DGAs and the Oscar for best director and/or best picture. Generally, who wins the DGA wins the Oscar for best director and his picture wins the Oscar for best picture.

Last year ... a bit of a wrench.

I'd actually forgotten what happened. I thought Affleck didn't get the DGA or something ... while Spielberg won the Oscar for best director or something. All wrong. Affleck did get a DGA nom, and the DGA, but he wasn't even nominated for a directing Oscar. But his picture, “Argo,” won best picture. Meanwhile, the Oscar for best director went to Ang Lee for “Life of Pi,” not Spielberg for “Lincoln.”

Crazy times.

Are crazy times ahead? Oscar noms announced in nine days.

ADDENDUM: My favorite Oscar watcher, Nathaniel over at Film Experience, weighs in and crunches the numbers between DGA noms and Oscar noms.