Alan Smithee
Updated: 12/20/2025, 1:06:06 PM Wikipedia source
Alan Smithee (also Allen Smithee) is an official pseudonym used by film directors who wish to disown a project. Coined by the Directors Guild of America in 1968, it was used until 2000 when it was largely discontinued. It was the sole pseudonym used by DGA members who were, on paper, directors of a film but were dissatisfied with the final product and able to prove to a guild panel that they had not been able to exercise creative control over its filming process. 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. The Alan Smithee credit has also been adopted for direction credit disputes in television, music videos and other media.
Tables
· Uses › Film direction
| Film | Year | Director | Notes | Reference |
| Fade In | 1968 | Jud Taylor | Also called Iron Cowboy; shown in previews with Taylor credited, then shelved; issued in 1973 with "Allen Smithee" credited as director. | |
| Death of a Gunfighter | 1969 | Robert Totten and Don Siegel (separately) | Credited to "Allen Smithee". | |
| The Barking Dog | 1978 | Unknown | ||
| Gypsy Angels | 1980 | Unknown | ||
| City in Fear | 1980 | Jud Taylor | ||
| Fun and Games | 1980 | Paul Bogart | ||
| Student Bodies | 1981 | Mickey Rose | Produced by Michael Ritchie under the pseudonym | |
| Twilight Zone: The Movie | 1983 | Anderson House | Second Assistant Director Anderson House used the pseudonym for the first segment, in which actor Vic Morrow and two children were killed in a helicopter accident during production. This represents a rare instance where the "Alan Smithee" credit was taken by an assistant director. | |
| Dune | 1984 | David Lynch | Used only for the version as extended and edited for broadcast television. In addition to the "Smithee" directing credit, for the broadcast TV version Lynch's screenwriting credit goes to "Judas Booth" (a reference to Judas Iscariot and John Wilkes Booth). | |
| Appointment with Fear | 1985 | Ramsey Thomas | ||
| Stitches | 1985 | Rod Holcomb | ||
| Let's Get Harry | 1986 | Stuart Rosenberg | ||
| Morgan Stewart's Coming Home | 1987 | Paul Aaron and Terry Windsor | ||
| Ghost Fever | 1987 | Lee Madden | ||
| I Love N.Y. | 1987 | Gianni Bozzacchi | ||
| Gunhed | 1989 | Masato Harada | Used for the re-edited TV release in the United States | |
| Catchfire | 1990 | Dennis Hopper | Originally released in theaters as Smithee. A subsequent video release under the title Backtrack was Hopper's intended "director's cut", for which he received credit. | |
| The Shrimp on the Barbie | 1990 | Michael Gottlieb | ||
| Solar Crisis | 1990 | Richard C. Sarafian | ||
| The Guardian | 1990 | William Friedkin | Credited to "Alan Von Smithee" only for the version as edited for cable television | |
| Bloodsucking Pharaohs in Pittsburgh | 1991 | Dean Tschetter | ||
| The Nutt House | 1992 | Adam Rifkin | Used by writers 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 | 1992 | Martin Brest | Used for the version edited for in-flight viewing | |
| Maniac Cop III: Badge of Silence | 1993 | William Lustig | ||
| Rudy | 1993 | David Anspaugh | Used for the re-edited TV release | |
| The Birds II: Land's End | 1994 | Rick Rosenthal | ||
| The Journey Inside | 1994 | Barnaby Jackson | ||
| National Lampoon's Senior Trip | 1995 | Kelly Makin | Alan Smithee is credited onscreen as the director of a pornographic video featured briefly in the film, "Forrest Humps" | |
| Raging Angels | 1995 | Unknown | ||
| Smoke n Lightnin | 1995 | Unknown | ||
| Heat | 1995 | Michael Mann | Used for the re-edited TV release | |
| Hellraiser: Bloodline | 1996 | Kevin Yagher | ||
| Exit | 1996 | Ric Roman Waugh | ||
| Dilemma | 1997 | Eric Larsen and Eric Louzil | ||
| Le Zombi de Cap-Rouge | 1997 | Simon Robideaux | ||
| Sub Down | 1997 | Gregg Champion | ||
| An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn | 1997 | Arthur Hiller | ||
| Picture of Priority | 1998 | Unknown | ||
| Meet Joe Black | 1998 | Martin Brest | Used for the version edited for in-flight viewing and cable television | |
| Wadd: The Life & Times of John C. Holmes | 1998 | Cass Paley | ||
| The Coroner | 1999 | Brian Katkin and Juan A. Mas | ||
| The Insider | 1999 | Michael Mann | Used for the version edited for television | |
| River Made to Drown In | 1999 | James Merendino | ||
| Woman Wanted | 1999 | Kiefer Sutherland | ||
| The Disciples | 2000 | Kirk Wong | ||
| In the Wrong Hands | 2002 | Chris Johnston and James A. Seale | ||
| Fugitives Run | 2003 | Philip Spink | ||
| Eep! (Dutch: Iep!) | 2010 | Rita Horst | Credited as Ellen Smith, the only time a Dutch director asked for this credit. Ellen is a Dutch name that is pronounced similarly to Alan. | |
| Another Night of the Living Dead | 2011 | Unknown |
References
- Los Angeles Timeshttps://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-jan-15-ca-54271-story.html
- Directed by Allen Smitheehttps://archive.org/details/directedbyallens0000unse/page/8
- Thompson, Howard (May 10, 1969). "Screen: Tough Western: 'Death of a Gunfighter' Stars Widmark" The New York Times [1]https://web.archive.org/web/20160302021255/http://movies2.nytimes.com/mem/movies/review.html%28Movie%29%26title2%3D%26reviewer%3DHOWARD%20THOMPSON%26pdate%3D19690510%26v_id%3D12954
- Death of a Gunfighterhttp://rogerebert.com/reviews/death-of-a-gunfighter-1969
- "Postscripts: Almost Famous: The Spelvins, the Plinges and the Smithees"https://notorc.blogspot.com/2006/06/almost-famous-spelvins-plinges-and.html
- "MAGAZINE | DGA Awards Aldrich: Jud Taylor | VOL 27-6: MAR 2003"https://web.archive.org/web/20081121011911/http://www.dga.org/news/v27_6/feat_taylor_aldrich.php3
- Alan Smithee at IMDb.https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000647/
- Burn Hollywood Burnhttps://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=burnhollywoodburn.htm
- Burn Hollywood Burnhttps://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/burn_hollywood_burn/
- IndieWirehttps://www.indiewire.com/2015/02/review-stephen-greenes-accidental-love-starring-jake-gyllenhaal-jessica-biel-doesnt-nail-its-mark-267222/
- Bit of triviahttps://bitoftrivia.com/2022/11/07/who-is-alan-smithee/
- Encyclopedia of Television Film Directorshttps://books.google.com/books?id=kW8j6sHvrewC
- Fun and Games at IMDbhttps://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080769/
- Directed by Allen Smitheehttps://books.google.com/books?id=bhF3-AqlWIcC&pg=PA102
- "Dune (Comparison: Theatrical Version - Extended TV Version)"https://www.movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=1380
- Gizmodohttps://gizmodo.com/the-story-of-dune-david-lynch-and-hollywoods-most-not-1843885321
- JoBlo.comhttps://web.archive.org/web/20120923011051/http://www.joblo.com/hollywood-celebrities/gossip/then-now-amy-yasbeck
- Dread Centralhttps://www.dreadcentral.com/reviews/421811/maniac-cop-iii-badge-of-silence-4k-review-worth-buying-for-the-commentary-track-alone/
- www.youtube.comhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlp7jGxWHgI&t=90
- "THE JOURNEY INSIDE | The Bedlam Files"https://thebedlamfiles.com/film/the-journey-inside/
- bloody-disgusting.comhttps://bloody-disgusting.com/news/3355506/review-old-37-crowdfunded-slasher-done-right/
- Old 37 at IMDbhttps://www.imdb.com/title/tt1600429/
- Anatar (2023) at IMDbhttps://www.imdb.com/title/tt17351870/
- Tiny Toon Adventures, Strange Tales of Weird Science at IMDb.https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0979180/
- A Nero Wolfe Mystery: Motherhunt: Part 1 at IMDb and Motherhunt: Part 2 at IMDb.https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0394811/
- Call of the Wild at IMDb.https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106506/
- It's Academichttps://web.archive.org/web/20080418104435/http://www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/transcripts/s1682940.htm
- Riviera at IMDb.https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093867/
- The MacGyver Projecthttps://themacgyverproject.blogspot.com/2015/08/jerry-freedman-conversation.html
- The MacGyver Projecthttps://themacgyverproject.blogspot.com/2015/01/52-heist.html
- "The Owl (1991) - Tom Holland's Director's Cut"https://theactionelite.com/the-owl-1991-tom-hollands-directors-cut/
- "Marine Sharpshooter 4 (2008) Windows credits"http://www.mobygames.com/game/windows/marine-sharpshooter-4/credits
- "Alan Smithee - Porn Director"https://web.archive.org/web/20100723235256/http://www.iafd.com/person.rme/perfid%3Dalansmithee/gender%3Dd/alan-smithee.htm
- "Kojima VS MGS4"https://metagearsolid.org/reports_mgs4_kojimaVSmgs4.html
- "The oral history of 12 Monkeys, Terry Gilliam's time travel masterpiece"https://inverse.com/entertainment/12-monkeys-oral-history
- The Elusive David Agnew at IMDb.https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1266555/
- Den of Geekhttps://web.archive.org/web/20120714042118/https://www.denofgeek.com/dvd-bluray/7587/doctor-who-invasion-of-time-dvd-review
- "10 things You Didn't Know About LogansRun"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPpyq7_xhfQ%3Ft%3D687
- TV Guidehttps://web.archive.org/web/20170826105824/https://www.tvguide.com/movies/solar-crisis/review/129498/