What happened to Alan Smithee?
Credit where credit’s due — it’s a phrase that underscores the importance of acknowledging someone’s work. The final minutes of most films follow that logic, rolling through names tied to the project. In over 40 films, one of those names is Alan Smithee, credited as the director. But a quick search reveals no face behind the name. So, who is he?
In 1968, the Directors Guild of America introduced the pseudonym Alan Smithee as a way for directors to disown a project when they felt they lacked creative control or were dissatisfied with the final product. With the DGA’s permission, they could credit Smithee as the director to distance themselves from the film. The Guild had the final say and would only approve the request if they believed the director’s case was valid. To avoid public conflict, directors weren’t allowed to explain why they chose to disown the work. It functioned like a pen name for authors — except here, it signalled discontent.
The practice came about when director Robert Totten found himself replaced by Don Siegel during the shoot of Death of a Gunfighter. By the end of the shoot, Siegel refused to take credit for the film, claiming that the lead actor, Richard Widmark, had more control over the creative process than he did. Even Totten refused credit because of the same.
Thus, the DGA was soon surrounded by directors pleading for the ability to disown films, ones that they did not consider their own work. The Guild’s solution had been simple: to make up a fictional director. A solution that had earlier been rejected due to the fear of exploitation by producers.
What was the last movie credited to Alan Smithee?
A name that was initially not recognised as fictional became an increasingly popular choice among professionals over three decades ago. However, in 2000, the very organisation that created it was made to retire Alan Smithee. The 1997 mockumentary, A Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn, is often credited as the catalyst for this retirement. It was about a director named Alan Smithee who was out to disown his film but couldn’t, since the only name available to change to was already his. The film was a flop in every way.
Ironically, the director of the movie, Arthur Hiller, wished to dissociate himself from the film and be listed as Alan Smithee. The ensuing negative fervour around the mockumentary made the DGA retire the pseudonym, letting the directors choose their own. The first movie to credit a director who got to choose their name was Supernova in 2000, with Walter Hill under the alias of Thomas Lee. This landmark move was made because of the fear of the negative emotions attached to Alan Smithee.
Yet many directors still listed Alan Smithee in the credits of films post-2000; simultaneously, these features did not comply with the rules and regulations of the DGA. The last movie to be credited under this infamous name is the Italian film, Anatar.
