How have I lived this long without seeing
Posted on 11/01/2026 9:03:59 AM PST by Leaning Right
When a creator is dissatisfied with how the final product turned out, it’s not uncommon for them to use a pseudonym rather than their real name.
*snip*
There are multiple names that have been used, often created by each individual person, but one name stands above them all.
Alan Smithee.
(Excerpt) Read more at dreamreachmedia.com ...
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**Alan Smithee** is a **fictional name (a pseudonym)** historically used by film directors who wanted their names removed from a movie.
For example, if a director lost creative control and did not want to be credited, the Directors Guild of America could allow the credit:
**Directed by Alan Smithee**
The name was used from **1968 until 2000**, when it became too widely recognized to remain anonymous.
A famous example is the 1984 film *Dune*, whose extended TV version was credited to Alan Smithee rather than director David Lynch.
So, if you see **Alan Smithee** in movie credits, it generally means: **the credited director did not want to be publicly associated with the finished film.**
The ULTIMATE Alan Smithee Story!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_Alan_Smithee_Film:_Burn_Hollywood_Burn
How have I lived this long without seeing
AKA, L.N. Smithee
"All these names are Russian for Alan Smithee."
I think he also changed the writer's name to Judas Booth.
Meanwhile Alaska Democrats are trying to find a real person named Alan Smithee to collect the royalties for all those movies.
I am guessing Alan Smithee is on most movies made today or should be.
He might be like Roger Corman, who kept getting better over time as he accumulated experience despite his preference for low-budget projects.
But the first director/producer deserving the Smithee name long before it emerged had to be Ed Wood of "Plan 9 From Outer Space" fame. He wouldn't have used it because he couldn't see his work was crap.
He might be like Roger Corman, who kept getting better over time as he accumulated experience despite his preference for low-budget projects.
But the first director/producer deserving the Smithee name long before it emerged had to be Ed Wood of "Plan 9 From Outer Space" fame. He wouldn't have used it because he couldn't see his work was crap.
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