The Little Movie That Could can do no wrong. Danny Boyle has just been handed the DGA Award for outstanding directorial achievement in feature film for "Slumdog Millionaire."

Boyle walked away with the honor Saturday night during the DGA's annual awards ceremony at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel. David Fincher ("The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"), Gus Van Sant ("Milk"), Christopher Nolan ("The Dark Knight") and Ron Howard ("Frost/Nixon"), who won the award in 1995 and 2001, also were nominated.

It was Boyle's first DGA nomination.

It's been a miracle year for Boyle, the 52-year-old British director of "Shallow Grave," "Trainspotting," "A Life Less Ordinary," "The Beach," "28 Days Later…," "Millions" and "Sunshine." He's already been named the year's best director by several critics groups and took the top director's prize at the Golden Globes.

"Slumdog" almost didn't make it into theaters when Warner Independent folded, until audiences at the Telluride and Toronto film festivals responded fervently to its heartwarming story of a Mumbai street orphan with a shot at 20 million rupees. Fox Searchlight subsequently picked up and distributed the film, which has now grossed more than $75 million worldwide and earned 10 Oscar nominations.

The DGA Award for feature film has traditionally been an excellent predictor of the Oscar race. Only six times since 1948, when the guild began giving out awards, has the DGA Award gone to a director who didn't then win the Oscar. Those awards will be handed out Feb. 22.

Recent winners of the DGA Award are Joel and Ethan Coen in 2007, for "No Country for Old Men"; Martin Scorsese in 2006, for "The Departed"; Ang Lee in 2005, for "Brokeback Mountain"; and Clint Eastwood in 2004, for "Million Dollar Baby."

Why was the title edited? I don't care but I'm just curious. Heh.

They don't want winners in the title