An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn
Updated: 12/11/2025, 9:55:42 AM Wikipedia source
An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn (stylized on-screen as Burn Hollywood Burn) is a 1997 American mockumentary black comedy film directed by Arthur Hiller, written by Joe Eszterhas and starring Eric Idle as a director unfortunately named Alan Smithee, a traditional pseudonym used in Hollywood for directors disowning a project. The film follows Smithee as he steals the negatives to his latest film and goes on the run. An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn was universally panned by critics and tanked at the box office. It won five awards (including Worst Picture) at the 19th Golden Raspberry Awards. The film's creation set off a chain of events which led the Directors Guild of America to officially discontinue the Alan Smithee credit in 2000 after its use for decades when an American director disavowed a film. The plot, about a director attempting to disown a film, described the film's own production; Hiller requested that his name be removed after witnessing the final cut, and he is credited as Alan Smithee. An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn was also the final film produced by Cinergi Pictures to be released before the company declared bankruptcy.
Infobox
Tables
| Date of Ceremony | Award | Category | Recipients | Results | Ref. |
| 1999 | Stinkers Bad Movie Awards | Worst Picture | An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn (Hollywood Pictures) | Nominated | |
| Worst Director | Arthur Hiller | Nominated | |||
| Most Painfully Unfunny Comedy | An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn (Hollywood Pictures) | Nominated | |||
| Worst On-Screen Hairstyle | Joe Eszterhas | Won | |||
| March 20, 1999 | Golden Raspberry Awards | Worst Picture | An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn (Hollywood Pictures) | Won | |
| Worst Actor | Ryan O'Neal | Nominated | |||
| Worst Supporting Actor | Joe Eszterhas | Won | |||
| Sylvester Stallone | Nominated | ||||
| Worst Screen Couple | Any combination of two people playing themselves (or playing with themselves) | Nominated | |||
| Worst Director | Arthur Hiller (as Alan Smithee) | Nominated | |||
| Worst Screenplay | Joe Eszterhas | Won | |||
| Worst New Star | Won | ||||
| Worst Original Song | "I Wanna Be Mike Ovitz!", written by Joe Eszterhas and Gary G-Wiz | Won |
| Awards | ||
| Preceded byThe Postman | Razzie Award for Worst Picture 19th Golden Raspberry Awards | Succeeded byWild Wild West |
References
- "An Inside Jab : The making of 'An Alan Smithee Film,' Joe Eszterhas' satiric look at Hollywood, is anything but business as usual"https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-12-04-ca-5408-story.html
- An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burnhttps://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0118577/
- The Numbershttps://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Alan-Smithee-Film-Burn-Hollywood-Burn-An
- Los Angeles Timeshttps://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-jan-15-ca-54271-story.html
- "Eszterhas Script Getting Big Yuks but No Bucks--Yet"https://web.archive.org/web/20250727000517/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-06-15-ca-15125-story.html
- "Die Alan Smithee Die! Did a Marketing Stunt Kill Hollywood's Worst Director?"https://medium.com/@bwcutler1000/die-alan-smithee-die-did-a-marketing-stunt-kill-hollywoods-worst-director-6e5d82a2a58b
- "'Smithee' by Smithee"https://variety.com/1997/voices/columns/smithee-by-smithee-1117341803/
- Rabin, Nathan. "My Year Of Flops: Inside Hollywood Edition, Case File #109: An Alan Smithee Film: Burn, Hollywood, Burn"https://www.avclub.com/my-year-of-flops-inside-hollywood-edition-case-file-1-1798214128?source=post_page-----6e5d82a2a58b--------------------------------
- TCMhttps://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/442671/burn-hollywood-burn#notes
- An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn at Rotten Tomatoeshttps://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/an_alan_smithee_film_burn_hollywood_burn
- An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burnhttps://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/an-alan-smithee-film-burn-hollywood-burn-1998
- Chicago Sun Timeshttps://www.rogerebert.com/roger-ebert/eberts-most-hated
- Los Angeles Timeshttps://web.archive.org/web/20070103155058/http://theenvelope.latimes.com/extras/lostmind/year/1998/1998st.htm
- E! Newshttps://www.eonline.com/news/37900/razzies_ding_eszterhas_willis_dicaprio