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OT: Director’s credit
Does anyone know that name that directors use when they don’t want credit for a work?
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10 Replies
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Alan Smithee
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Craig Shields
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[NICK B] “Craig Shields”
Nick, that was rude and totally uncalled for on this board.
…I wish I’d thought of it 😉
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Craig Shields 🙂 funny
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Thanks.
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So, Craig Shields, if that is your real name.. ;-p
Is there a story that goes along with the reason you asked the question? You certainly can leave out any telling information that may get you in hot aqua. I usually find it interesting how things like this come about. Although most of the time such things are out of one’s control, the more stories one hears, the better prepared one can be if it ever “happens to them”.
Please, if it’s not too painful of a story, would you mind sharing a wee bit of it?
debe
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From Wikipedia:
Alan Smithee, Allen Smithee, and Adam Smithee are pseudonyms used between 1968 and 1999 by Hollywood film directors who wanted to be dissociated from a film for which they no longer wanted credit. It was used when the director could prove to the satisfaction of a panel of members of the Directors Guild of America (DGA) and Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers that the film had been wrested from his or her creative control. The director is also required to keep the reason for the disavowal a secret. The pseudonym cannot be used to hide a director’s failures.
The first movie to use it was Death of a Gunfighter. During its filming, Richard Widmark was unhappy with director Robert Totten. He arranged to have Totten replaced by Don Siegel. When the film was finished, neither Totten nor Siegel wanted to be credited with the result. At first it was decided that the credit should go to Al Smith, but the DGA said there had already been a director by that name. The DGA decided the film could carry the pseudonym “Allen Smithee”. Smithee’s work was praised by film critics.
…slow day here…
tjs
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I bartered with a photographer/videographer friend. For my part, I had to edit this two camera health care graduation shoot. It wasn’t worthy of one camera let alone two and I didn’t want my name associated with it so as a joke I decided to use Alan Smithee. The DVD is burning now. I’ll never barter again. 🙂
-Craig “Alan Smithee” Shields
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