Steven Spielberg has a message for Kathryn Bigelow, Ben Affleck and Tom Hooper: “I know how you feel.”

Bigelow, Affleck, and Hooper weren’t nominated in the best direction category at the Oscars, even though their movies Zero Dark Thirty, Argo, and Les Miz are up for best picture.

Many in the industry argue that the success or failure of a film as largely due to the vision of its director.

Spielberg is nominated for Lincoln this year. But he was passed over for a director’s nomination when his movie The Color Purple earned eleven nominations. But Spielberg says he’s never felt anything but ”gratitude” even when he’s not nominated, because at least he was able to make the movie.

Affleck received some compensation last night. He was voted best director by the US Broadcast Film Critics Association. They also named Argo best film of 2012.