Alan Smithee

Alan Smithee (also Allen Smithee) is an official pseudonym used by film directors who wish to disown a project. Coined in 1968 and used until it was formally discontinued in 2000,[1] it was the sole pseudonym used by members of the Directors Guild of America (DGA) when a director, dissatisfied with the final product, proved to the satisfaction of a guild panel that he or she had not been able to exercise creative control over a film. The director was also required by guild rules not to discuss the circumstances leading to the move or even to acknowledge being the project's director.[2]

History

Before 1968, DGA rules did not permit directors to be credited under a pseudonym. This was intended to prevent producers from forcing them upon directors, which would inhibit the development of their résumés.[1] The guild also required that the director be credited, in support of the DGA philosophy that the director was the primary creative force behind a film.[2]

The Smithee pseudonym was created for use on the film Death of a Gunfighter, released in 1969. During its filming, lead actor Richard Widmark was unhappy with director Robert Totten and arranged to have him replaced by Don Siegel. Siegel later estimated that Totten had spent 25 days filming, while he himself had spent 9–10 days. Each had roughly an equal amount of footage in Siegel's final edit. But Siegel made clear that Widmark had effectively been in charge the entire time.[2] When the film was finished, Siegel did not want to take the credit for it and Totten refused to take credit in his place. The DGA panel hearing the dispute agreed that the film did not represent either director's creative vision.[1]

The original proposal was to credit the fictional "Al Smith", but that was deemed too common a name, and in fact was already in use within the film industry. The last name was first changed to "Smithe", then "Smithee",[1] which was thought to be distinctive enough to avoid confusion with similar names but without drawing attention to itself.[2] Critics praised the film and its "new" director, with The New York Times commenting that the film was "sharply directed by Allen Smithee who has an adroit facility for scanning faces and extracting sharp background detail,"[3] and Roger Ebert commenting, "Director Allen Smithee, a name I'm not familiar with, allows his story to unfold naturally."[4]

Following its coinage, the pseudonym "Alan Smithee" was applied retroactively to Fade In (also known as Iron Cowboy), a film starring Burt Reynolds and directed by Jud Taylor, which was first released before the release of Death of a Gunfighter.[5] Taylor also requested the pseudonym for City in Fear (1980) with David Janssen. Taylor commented on its use when he received the DGA's Robert B. Aldrich Achievement Award in 2003:

I had a couple of problems in my career having to do with editing and not having the contractually-required number of days in the editing room that my agent couldn't resolve. So, I went to the Guild and said, "This is what's going on." The Guild went to bat for me. I got Alan Smithee on them both. It was a signal to the industry from a creative rights point of view that the shows had been tampered with.[6]

The spelling "Alan Smithee" became standard, and the Internet Movie Database lists about two dozen feature films and many more television features and series episodes credited to this name.[7] A persistent urban legend suggests that this particular spelling was chosen because it is an anagram of the phrase "the alias men", but this is apocryphal.

Over the years the name and its purpose became more widely known. Some directors violated the embargo on discussing their use of the pseudonym. In 1998, the film An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn was released, in which a man named Alan Smithee (Eric Idle) wishes to disavow a film he has directed, but is unable to do so because the only pseudonym he is permitted to use is his own name. The film was directed by Arthur Hiller, who reported to the DGA that producer Joe Eszterhas had interfered with his creative control, and successfully removed his own name from the film, so Alan Smithee was credited instead. The film was a commercial and critical failure, released in only 19 theaters, grossing only $45,779 in the US with a budget of about $10 million,[8] and Rotten Tomatoes reports an aggregate critical rating of only 8% positive.[9] The harsh negative publicity that surrounded the film drew unwanted mainstream attention to the pseudonym. Following this, the DGA retired the name; for the film Supernova (2000), dissatisfied director Walter Hill was instead credited as "Thomas Lee."[1]

Meanwhile, the name had been used outside of the film industry, and it continues to be used in other media and on film projects not under the purview of the DGA. Although the pseudonym was intended for use by directors, the Internet Movie Database lists several uses as writer credits as well.[7] Variations of the name have also occasionally been used, such as "Alan and Alana Smithy" (screenwriters for the 2011 film Hidden 3D).

Uses

Historical uses of the "Alan Smithee" credit (or equivalent), in chronological order:

Film direction

The following films credit "Smithee"; the actual director is listed when known. In a few cases the alias is used for a creative contributor other than the director, shown in boldface.

The following films were credited to their actual directors during their original theatrical presentations. When re-edited for TV, or for other reasons, the Smithee credit was used:

Modified versions

  • The Nutt House (1992), written by Scott Spiegel (as Peter Perkinson), Bruce Campbell (as R.O.C. Sandstorm), Ivan Raimi (as Alan Smithee Sr.), and Sam Raimi (as Alan Smithee Jr.)
  • Scent of a Woman (airline version) (1992) Directed by Martin Brest (as Alan Smithee)
  • Dune (extended TV version) (1984) directed by David Lynch (as Alan Smithee)

Television direction

Music video direction

Other media

  • Daredevil #338–342, a comics series published by Marvel Comics: Writer D.G. Chichester learned during a brief break from the series that he was to be replaced; for the five issues he was obligated to write he demanded an Alan Smithee credit.
  • Team X 2000, a one-shot comic published by Marvel Comics, is credited to two writers. One being Sean Ruffner, the other being credited as "A. Smithee," is also believed to be D.G. Chichester.
  • Strontium Dog, a 2000AD comic strip: In 1996, writer Peter Hogan was dropped from the series and his episodes rewritten, and demanded that his name be removed from the credits.
  • Eternal Sonata, a Japanese role-playing video game credited Alan Smithee for "Additional voices" in the US-release.
  • Miracle: Happy Summer from William Hung, a 2005 CD by William Hung: Alan Smithee played guitar.
  • Allen Smithee was credited for the plot of the one-shot comic book Godzilla vs. Barkley.
  • Marine Sharpshooter 4, a first person shooter game, had Alan Smithee listed as the Art Director.[22]
  • Alan Smithee was credited as the director and included in the title of three adult movies in the early 2000s.[23]
  • A teaser for the video game Metal Gear Solid 4 shown at E3 2005 credits "Alan Smithee" as the director of the title before being replaced by Hideo Kojima's name.[24]
  • In the loose-leaf 1990's run of Who's Who in the DC Universe, the art for Elasti-Girl is partially credited to Alan Smithee.
  • Equinox, a video game released by Sony Imagesoft for the Super NES in 1993, credits Alan Smithee as director.
  • The version of "Save Your Kisses for Me" recorded by UK indie pop group Kenickie for Channel 4's Song For Eurotrash includes a mixing credit for Fred Pursor and Alan Smithee in the credits for the single "Stay In The Sun" where it was included as a b-side.
  • Alan Smithe is credited as the voice of Rolento in the video games Street Fighter X Tekken and Ultra Street Fighter IV. The actor's true identity is Dameon Clarke.
  • Alan Smithee is credited as the science advisor in the 2012 movie Decay.
  • For the Arthur CGI film, Arthur's Missing Pal, Bruce Dinsmore (who voices Arthur's father David Read, as well as Binky Barnes) is one of only two voice actors from the series proper to voice his respective characters, though he was credited as "Bruce Smithee".
  • In The Simpsons episode "D'oh-in' in the Wind," Mr. Burns directs a recruitment video for the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant, but puts the Smithee name on it in place of his own after having to berate Homer for nearly ruining it.
  • A character in 2013 video game The Wonderful 101 is named Luka Alan Smithee.
  • in the 2015 video game Sunset Overdrive in the Mystery of the Mooil Rig DLC, a character is named Alan Smithee, and is in the side quest "Alan Smithee's treasure ocean"

Other pseudonyms

  • City Heat (1984) as originally released in theaters, fired director Blake Edwards had his screenwriting credit changed to "Sam O. Brown" (a nod to another of his films, S.O.B.)
  • Showgirls (1995) as edited for television, directed by Paul Verhoeven (who used the pseudonym "Jan Jensen", instead of "Smithee"). However, the edited, R-rated version of Showgirls that was prepared for release at Blockbuster was supervised and authorized by Verhoeven, and this version carries the director's name.
  • Supernova (2000), dissatisfied director Walter Hill was credited as "Thomas Lee".
  • Accidental Love (2015) originally filmed in 2008, director David O. Russell left the film in 2010, later disowning it while the directing credit was changed to "Stephen Greene".
  • Exposed (2016): during the editing process Lionsgate changed the story's focus. Gee Malik Linton is the director of the film, but is listed under the pseudonym of "Declan Dale".

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Wallace, Amy (2000-01-15). "Name of Director Smithee Isn't What It Used to Be". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-01-27.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Braddock, Jeremy; Stephen Hock (2001). Directed by Allen Smithee. University of Minnesota Press. pp. 8–10. ISBN 0-8166-3534-X.
  3. ↑ Thompson, Howard (May 10, 1969). "Screen: Tough Western: 'Death of a Gunfighter' Stars Widmark" The New York Times
  4. ↑ "Roger Ebert's review of ''Death of a Gunfighter''". Chicago Sun-Times. 1969-05-12. Retrieved 2010-01-27.
  5. ↑ Notorc (2006-12-06). "Postscripts: Almost Famous: The Spelvins, the Plinges and the Smithees". Notorc.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2010-01-27.
  6. ↑ "MAGAZINE | DGA Awards Aldrich: Jud Taylor | VOL 27-6: MAR 2003". Dga.org. Archived from the original on 2008-11-21. Retrieved 2010-01-27.
  7. 1 2 Alan Smithee on IMDb .
  8. ↑ "''Burn Hollywood Burn'' at Box Office Mojo". Boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved 2010-01-27.
  9. ↑ "''Burn Hollywood Burn'' at Rotten Tomatoes". Rottentomatoes.com. 2003-08-05. Archived from the original on 2 March 2010. Retrieved 2010-01-27.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Roberts, Jerry (5 June 2009). "Encyclopedia of Television Film Directors". Scarecrow Press – via Google Books.
  11. ↑ Fun and Games on IMDb .
  12. ↑ Braddock, Jeremy; Hock, Stephen (2001). Directed by Allen Smithee. University of Minnesota Press. pp. 102–106. ISBN 9780816635337. OCLC 237557899.
  13. ↑ "[Review] 'Old 37' As a Crowdfunded Slasher Done Right - Bloody Disgusting". bloody-disgusting.com.
  14. ↑ Old 37 on IMDb .
  15. ↑ Tiny Toon Adventures, Strange Tales of Weird Science on IMDb .
  16. ↑ A Nero Wolfe Mystery: Motherhunt: Part 1 on IMDb and Motherhunt: Part 2 on IMDb .
  17. ↑ Call of the Wild on IMDb .
  18. ↑ "''It's Academic'' credits". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 2006-06-19. Retrieved 2010-01-27.
  19. ↑ Riviera on IMDb .
  20. ↑ "Jerry Freedman: A Conversation". The MacGyver Project.
  21. ↑ Sweedo, Nicholas (25 January 2015). "#52: The Heist". The MacGyver Project.
  22. ↑ "Marine Sharpshooter 4 (2008) Windows credits". MobyGames. 2008-07-28. Retrieved 2013-05-30.
  23. ↑ "alan smithee - porn director". internet adult film database. Archived from the original on 2010-07-23. Retrieved 2013-05-30.
  24. ↑ "Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns Of The Patriots" Video Game, E3 2K5 Trailer- Video Clip. Retrieved 18 July 2011
  • Alan Smithee on IMDb
  • Music videos credited to Alan Smithee
  • Directed by Allen Smithee, ( ISBN 0-8166-3534-X) a 2001 book about the director and auteur theory in general. See contributions by Craig J Saper.
  • * The Top 10 Films of Alan Smithee - Meditoria.com
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