LOS ANGELES (January 8, 2013)--Steven Spielberg Tuesday earned an 11th nomination for the Directors Guild top prize for his Civil War epic "Lincoln."

He has won the guild prize a record three times.

Also nominated were past winners Kathryn Bigelow for her Osama bin Laden thriller "Zero Dark Thirty"; Tom Hooper for his musical "Les Miserables"; and Ang Lee for his lost-at-sea story "Life of Pi."

Rounding out the field is first-time nominee Ben Affleck for his Iran hostage-crisis tale "Argo."

Winners of the 65th annual Directors Guild awards will be announced at a dinner Feb. 2, which Kelsey Grammer will host for the second year in a row.