Alan Smithee

Pseudonym designated by the Directors Guild of America to replace the actual names of directors who wish to not be credited for a particular film. The name seems to have been first used for "Death of a Gunfighter" (1969) which was actually directed by, among others, Don Siegel. Other Smithee credits include the severely edited TV version of "Dune", the original theatrical version of which was directed by David Lynch, and "Let's Get Harry" (1987), directed by Stuart Rosenberg but released with nearly half an hour cut out. In 1998, Joe Eszterhas scripted "Burn, Hollywood, Burn", an insider comedy about a British director named Alan Smithee who wants to remove his name from a film he directed. Ironically, the film was credited to Alan Smithee (in reality Arthur Hiller who clashed with the screenwriter over the final cut).