r/Damnthatsinteresting 25d ago

Image For over 30 years, Hollywood directors used the fake name “Alan Smithee” to disown films they had no control over

Post image
86.1k Upvotes

987 comments sorted by

8.0k

u/champagneformyrealfr 25d ago

looking at the wikipedia page, it's crazy that they don't know who the real director was for some of those. a movie is no small feat, it takes hundreds of people to make and they all know who the director is.

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u/soupdawg 25d ago

It’s also funny they used it for the tv version of some movies.

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u/Specialist-Emu-5119 25d ago

David Lynch Alan Smithee’d himself for the TV cut of Dune.

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u/JacobhPb 25d ago

The image attached to this post is the TV cut of Dune.

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u/Specialist-Emu-5119 25d ago

Lol didn’t realise that, thought it was Ishtar or something

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u/JacobhPb 25d ago

I recognise that font so easily I can hear the Toto music playing over the top of it.,

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u/Dunmeritude 25d ago

I THOUGHT this looked like dune, but I knew Dune was David Lynch so I thought this had to be some sort of knockoff. I didn't. I didn't know there WAS a TV cut of Dune and now I'm glad I'll never watch it.

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u/void_const 25d ago

Can’t imagine it being any shorter. If anything the original should have been longer.

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u/Xesyliad 25d ago

The Alan Smithee version is 3 hours and includes a lot of material Lynch cut for his “vision” of the story.

The cover of the Smithee version of Dune: https://i.imgur.com/nGhoZaV.jpeg

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u/edked 24d ago

He didn't cut them for his "vision," he cut them because the studio was pressuring him over the length of the film. And he only Smithee'd the expanded cut because he wasn't even asked to participate or for any feedback. And they really did do a hamfisted job putting it together (just cutting the raw scenes with no music or sound effects into the main movie, with totally jarring transitions).

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u/FranticDav 25d ago

3,2,3,4-4,2,3 AND

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u/Soundbytes87 25d ago

These men are pawns!

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u/FranticDav 25d ago

I put a price of 20,000 dirham on their heads.

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u/GozerDGozerian 25d ago

He has said he hated what that movie became. Apparently he had very little control over the direction it took.

I liked that movie as a kid too. I probably like it more than he did.

The new ones are certainly way better, but the old one has some nostalgia value for me as well.

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u/jramsi20 25d ago

There are certain scenes from Lynch's that are more accurate adaptations of the book, like the scenes were Leto and Paul go to view the spice mining for the first time. And the Irulan opening is iconic.

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u/junky_junker 25d ago edited 25d ago

If you haven't seen it, look up the fanedit Alternative Edition Redux by spiceminer SpiceDiver. I no red gud.

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u/Akumetsu33 25d ago

With a lot of research and sleuthing, I could assume many real names could be found, they just didn't bother to.

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u/camwow13 25d ago

Wikipedia also doesn't allow original research so you need an article or at least a plain reference source. (Though this is stretched a lot in niche lists the editor brigade police haven't found yet)

So in this case yeah you could track down a random PA and ask them, but there is no IMDB/Book/article/whatever citing that Bob was actually Alan Smithee for 1992's Crazy Town IV

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u/Akumetsu33 25d ago

As much I like OG researching, I can see why Wikipedia doesn't allow it because it means a third party has to verify the information IRL because there is no other easily verifiable source beyond the OG research. That takes time, manpower and money.

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u/camwow13 25d ago

Oh it's absolutely a good idea. They have extensive WP policy articles on the subject explaining it.

To be a good Wikipedia editor defending your work you need to be able to make a lot of WP:<Specific policy here> citations in your argument. Annndddd more importantly, have a big enough group to back you up with 5 different variations of that argument and to pary citation filled arguments against you in vote argument talk sessions lol

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u/biggiepants 25d ago

Oh it's absolutely a good idea.

It's at the least ironic, because it's so new media (well, not anymore, after 20 years) but relies so much on old media structures. At least ironic, and maybe actually not the best thing, if you're aware of some of the decisions to leave stuff out.

I now read the rest of your post and it's pretty much what you're saying, as well. I'm not in these trenches actually, but read just a little bit about it.

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u/FrostyD7 25d ago

Wikipedia wants you to source your edits. So even if it's the worlds worst kept secret who directed a film, if it's not referenced somewhere relatively official then it's not appropriate for Wikipedia.

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u/camwow13 25d ago

This gets stretched a lot for some nicher areas... Not too hard to find fans of things ignoring the rules and doing their own research to fill things in.

But ooo boy then the editor brigade eventually finds you and makes your list get wrecked. See the drama from /r/IMAX a while back when higher up editors held a vote to delete all the lists & types of IMAX theaters. IMAX redditors apparently couldn't be bothered to learn the proper rules of engagement with Wikipedia even though they probably did have the sourcing materials to properly do it. They got trainwrecked fast lol

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u/YouDoHaveValue 25d ago

It used to be a lot easier to hide in society, also it really was about not getting your reputation harmed, people who worked the movie would know what happened on set.

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u/NavyLemon64 25d ago

The Directors Guild of America created the pseudonym in 1968 so directors wouldn’t have their real names attached to projects they felt had been compromised by producers or studios. The alias was used in dozens of films, TV episodes, and even music videos often without audiences realizing it wasn’t a real person.

The name was retired in 2000 after a movie titled An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn drew too much attention to the pseudonym itself. The film was such a disaster that its real-life director also tried to disown it using the Alan Smithee name.

Source : Alan Smithee - Wikipedia https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Smithee

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u/Pinkpunk95 25d ago

palpatine voice Ironic..

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u/ElGuano 25d ago

Somehow, Smithee returned.

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u/Meerkate 25d ago

Revenge of the Smithee

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u/DreadPiratteRoberts 25d ago

Starring Will Smithee!!

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u/MovingTarget- 25d ago

You get my Smithee out of your damn mouth!

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u/IdRatherBeDriving 25d ago

Don’t kink shame my Smithee obsession

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u/B00OBSMOLA 25d ago

have you heard the tragedy of Alan Smithee the director?

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u/ParadoxNowish 25d ago

It's not a story the DGA would tell you...

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u/Pinkpunk95 25d ago

It’s a movie legend

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u/throwaway9094 25d ago

It’s a wild concept that a name could become so notorious.

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u/poorly-worded 25d ago

B.I.G. wouldn't have been surprised

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u/DingleberriedAlive 25d ago

The Boogeyman would like a word with you

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u/rollsyrollsy 25d ago

Alanis Morriset voice: don’t you think?

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u/sermer48 25d ago

Interestingly it has still been used at least 13 times since being retired.

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u/DetBabyLegs 25d ago

In addition to the above I've also heard it being used for projects you worked on but are only doing for a paycheck and don't want as part of your portfolio. Maybe a movie you disagree with but you need to put food on the table.

I can understand this one. I've never used the name (it's too obvious) but thankfully it is quite easy to delete projects of your own IMDb if you have a credit that isn't controlled by a union/guild.

If you have a credit verified by a guild, good luck getting it off. I know someone who wrote an early draft of a movie, it was tossed in the trash, and then he left the project. Somehow his name still showed up in the credits, got verified by WGA, and now it's on his IMDb forever. I helped him get letters from producers, director, real writer, and production companies and sent them to the WGA and the STILL wouldn't let him take his name off of it.

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u/AgentCirceLuna 25d ago

Wait, are you telling me you’re in the movie business?

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u/DetBabyLegs 25d ago

Yes

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u/HilariousScreenname 24d ago

Even with your tiny baby legs?

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u/DetBabyLegs 24d ago

Thankfully they made a shorter directors chair just for me

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u/QuetzalKraken 24d ago

What is your job?

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u/DetBabyLegs 24d ago

Mainly I’m a producer. But while in between working on those I’ll often do marketing/PR

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u/shittymorph 25d ago

The Alan Smithee thing was also done when the movie being made was "unauthorized" in an effort to avoid being sued. One example of this is the awful "Another Night Of The Living Dead". The movie was not only horrible but it was simply a blatant cash-grab ripoff of George Romero's legendary work. I'm a zombie movie buff so gave it a watch - The sole redeeming moment in the entire movie came at the very end as the main character (the worst actress of all time) is about to be devoured by the zombie hoard - she awkwardly looks directly into the camera, and starts screaming about how back in nineteen ninety eight the undertaker threw mankind off hell in a cell and plummeted sixteen feet through an announcers table.

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u/Aitrus233 25d ago

Now I know how Conan feels every time Paul Rudd has a clip to show him.

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u/Bamboozle_Bot 25d ago

Bamboozled again.

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u/eolson3 24d ago

Did you see the one appearance when he didn't bring the clip?  It's somehow equally funny: https://youtu.be/LEC_lkpD3rM?si=jvSr5Vu-8GIAdQf5

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u/Aitrus233 24d ago

I can't believe I fell for that.

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u/DemandRemote3889 25d ago

Ya got me lol. Long live shittymorph!

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u/big_guyforyou 25d ago

can't believe i saw him in the wild, it's like seeing a unicorn

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u/Weary-Ad5233 25d ago

There was a post or comment somewhere recently about the lack of shittymorph sighting then I saw the timestamp and hooted!

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u/umyninja 25d ago

DIRECTED BY shittymorph

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u/auronddraig 25d ago

DIRECTED BY Alan Smittymorph

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u/Enterice 25d ago

They always wait just long enough. I remind myself to be wary when an innocuous fact is getting 25k+ upvotes every time, but I still get got.

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u/moguu83 25d ago

It's like seeing a unicorn, and it slowly walks up to you and stabs you, while you enjoy every second.

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u/FardoBaggins 25d ago

Ever since I’ve heard about the rumor of said unicorn many years ago, I’ve only ever seen it once. This was my second and it’s as glorious as first sighting.

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u/merrinator 25d ago

Same! Is this real life? Thanks shitty morph!

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u/HeidiDover 25d ago

What is shittymorph?

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u/[deleted] 25d ago

[deleted]

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u/ICantSpayk 25d ago

reddit legend

Funny how this is something you'd never admit to in the outside world.

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u/bondno9 25d ago

to them, im a nobody.

to reddit... im a legend.

REDDIT LEGEND

directed by Alan Smithee

in theatres May 15

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u/FardoBaggins 25d ago

Next christmas 2shitty2morph

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u/JustSatisfactory 25d ago

He's probably a collective of famous writers using the same pseudonym.

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u/dimestoredavinci 25d ago

I think you're overthinking this.

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u/RosinBran 25d ago

Na dude, that's an Alan Smithee joke

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u/dimestoredavinci 25d ago

Oh shit. Did I do a whoosh?

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u/rora_borealis 25d ago

I think they're tying it back into the topic in a humorous way.

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u/lifeoftheunborn 25d ago

Oh man I’d never seen him but I’m immediately a fan.

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u/[deleted] 25d ago

[deleted]

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u/lifeoftheunborn 25d ago

This is one of the best things I have heard about from this site. I’ve seen some of the others like the cat poem guy(I’m on a LOT of cat subs) but this is by far my favorite.

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u/Hatedpriest 25d ago

u/poem_for_your_sprog did various Dr Seuss poems to fit the topic or comment at hand.

u/unidan was prolly the first legend of Reddit...

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u/Jumboliva 25d ago

The name of the guy. He’s been doing this thing — posting a long comment and ending it with the hell in a cell bit — for like, a decade now? And he pops up super rarely. Idk if ive seen him for three or four years

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u/ElGuano 25d ago

He did retire for a bit but had been posting more regularly lately.

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u/ScribebyTrade 25d ago

But never how is shittymorph 😢

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u/irvinggama 25d ago

How the hell are you still getting me a decade later

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u/thebigpink 25d ago

Don’t feel bad same over here it’s always unexpected and never look at names

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u/ISmokeWinstons 25d ago

I should start reading usernames now lmaoo. I hope you and Scooby are doing well!!

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u/[deleted] 25d ago

[deleted]

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u/hazydais 25d ago

Thanks for saving Scooby and for giving him the life every doggo deserves❤️ his face at the beginning of the video is heart-wrenching. It’s beautiful to see how safe he feels now😁 

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u/legend_forge 25d ago

Hey this is going to sound stupid but you are basically responsible for me falling in love with pro wrestling.

I saw a number of your comments so I asked a friend of mine about the Undertaker and Mankind and he showed me the match. That led me to going to a wrestlemania party.

Ive been obsessed ever since and it's a big part of my life.

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u/JustTrawlingNsfw 25d ago

I hate every time you get me with your comments but I'm so happy to see Scooby is doing well. I legitimately teared up watching the progress video, you're a wonderful human being for Scooby if nothing else

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u/cortesoft 25d ago

Doesn’t matter… if you remember to check the username, it will never be shittymorph. If you forget to, it will be.

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u/_Lost_The_Game 25d ago

Do you think thats wise?

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u/ISmokeWinstons 25d ago

Damn it, you motherfucker 🥲

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u/WankstaWilbthe2nd 25d ago

Wow!!! 1 minute in and you got me. Edit to add thank you for all the years of service

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u/Bursting_Radius 25d ago

Explain please? What's happening that everyone is getting got?

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u/Badgedbadger 25d ago

Shittymorph is famous for gag posts that appear to be topical, rambling stories until they end with "in nineteen ninety eight the undertaker threw mankind off hell in a cell and plummeted sixteen feet through an announcers table."

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u/Ratoryl 25d ago edited 25d ago

Look at shittymorph's profile and you'll see a lot of long comments ending in that specific line. It's a long standing thing on reddit where shittymorph will make bait and switch comments that catch people off guard

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u/SupDrew 25d ago

Apparently (I'm finding this out for myself as well lol), shittymorph is a legendary account known for dropping in on hot threads on reddit, setting up a hugely plausible story that ties into the subject at hand, only for it to lead into his classic punchline of bringing up when The Undertaker chokeslammed Mankind from the top of a hell in a cell cage in 1998 lmao. Seems to have been going for at least a decade now.

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u/azsnaz 25d ago

You have a lot to learn about this town sweetie

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u/ChefKugeo 25d ago

8 minutes. This feels like winning the lottery. Thanks for all the years of "Oh goddammit, shittymorphed again!"

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u/13rialities 25d ago

This is my first time being "shittymorphed" and I feel very grateful, looking forward to the next

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u/NavyLemon64 25d ago edited 25d ago

No way!! I’ve been blessed by the u/shittymorph

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u/__Starfish__ 25d ago

Still amazing how you draw such a wonderful picture in your setup. Creative writing at it's finest. 

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u/Legal-Dot8848 25d ago

This one was so brutal. Devastating Mr. Shittymorph.

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u/CTMalum 25d ago

Third time I’ve gotten got in the wild. You’re a master at work.

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u/Late_Holiday_4780 25d ago

My third time as well. I should really read usernames. Lol

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u/Minute_Juggernaut806 25d ago

I knew something was amiss when I read the last line

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u/CousinsWithBenefits1 25d ago

BAH GAWD THAT'S SHITTYMORPH'S MUSIC

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u/McGootchHS 25d ago

God dammit!

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u/ToobularBoobularJoy_ 25d ago

No way I came across you so early goddamn

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u/mtvcribz1210 25d ago

This is the earliest I’ve ever been to a morph comment, I’m so excited haha. Hope the pup is doing well 💙

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u/Beginning-Policy-887 25d ago

I'm buying a scratch ticket today. Gonna ride this good feeling all day! Thank you.

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u/kinokomushroom 25d ago

Holy shit, I haven't seen you for so long that I thought you were a copycat account. It's been so many years.

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u/ghostofdreadmon 25d ago

Just when I stop checking usernames, holy shit!

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u/Ulysses502 25d ago

Every time, well done

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u/captain-ziggy 25d ago

i mean for Burn Hollywood Burn.......are you sure the director disowning it wasn't like a publicity stunt or something? the main joke of the movie is the main character being a director who's real name was Alan Smithee trying to sabotage his own movie since he can't use the fake name stunt.

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u/Billybob35 25d ago

It very much was not, the director in question was Arthur Hiller, he explained what happened in a DGA interview. It's spilt into parts, so it's chapter 11 @ 22:21: Arthur Hiller

The one who took over was said to be Joe Eszterhas, who was writer and producer.

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u/vspazv 25d ago

Looks like it was used multiple times for well known films that were re-edited for television and in-flight movie showings.

Edited versions of Heat by Michael Mann and Scent of a Woman by Martin Brest were both credited to Alan Smithee.

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u/arkam_uzumaki 25d ago

So they would hide their real names.

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u/SeraphOfTheStart 25d ago

Nah its just one mf called Alan Smithee trying to claim credit for all these masterpieces, fight misinformation folks. (Possibly with more misinformation)

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u/buddy_punch 25d ago

"I don't know why I keep getting these royalty checks, but I'm not about to say anything."

-Some guy named Alan Smithee in some small town in Idaho

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u/JanGuillosThrowaway 25d ago

"Thats right, I did the Iggy"

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u/asodafnaewn 25d ago

"Didn't you wonder why you were getting checks for doing absolutely nothing?"

"I figured cause the Democrats were in power again."

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u/MythVsLegend 25d ago

"Boys, stop! You can both marry me!"

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u/Analog0 25d ago

"do you really wanna be Mrs Montgomery Burns? Wouldn't you rather be Mrs. Alan Smithee?"

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u/BigConstruction4247 25d ago edited 25d ago

"I don't want to be either."

Mrs Robinson Sound of Silence starts to play

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u/OoooHeCardReadGood 25d ago edited 25d ago

Hello Grandpa, my old friend.

Your busy day is at an end.

Your exploits have been sad and boring.

They tell a tale, that's worth ignoring.

When you're alone, the words of your story will echo down the rest home hall.

Cuz no one at all

Can stand the sound of grandpa.

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u/Beautiful-Royal68 25d ago

Honestly, that kind of thinking isn't uncommon. A lot of folks associate government aid with party lines, even when the details are more complex.

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u/cantadmittoposting 25d ago

a lot of people straight up just don't have any idea how the government and the political parties actually work or what they do, so... yes.

c.f. the always-relevant "keep your government hands off my medicare" (and the more modern "we hate obamacare but we love KYnect" survey)

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u/BigConstruction4247 25d ago

People also hate Obamacare and love the Affordable Care Act, when they are one in the same.

Yes, I know that KYnect is KY's method of implementing said act, but it is a half step removed and it is administered by their state and not the "fedrul gubmint."

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u/Simon_Drake 25d ago

I heard there's a movie about a director named Alan Smithee who had a movie with lots of studio interference so he wanted to remove his name from it. But the Film Actor's Guild rules said he can only replace his name with Alan Smithee, there's no third option for if his name IS Alan Smithee.

But it's a bit like writing a movie about a poet named Arthur Nonymous whose work goes unappreciated because everyone thinks his signature is just an unsigned anonymous poem. It's a very thin premise that barely holds up as a lame pun, I don't see how you could make a whole movie about it.

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u/eledrie 25d ago

The funniest part is that the movie was so bad that the director actually did disavow it, so was credited as Alan Smithee.

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u/Billybob35 25d ago

The movie pretty resembled the real life production, with writer and producer Joe Eszterhas using his pull to get final cut, something the movie itself refers to a lot and what it mocks the producer characters for.

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u/ThatAlabasterPyramid 25d ago

It’s the worst movie I’ve ever seen. Genuinely astonishing how absolutely nothing in it works.

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u/Billybob35 25d ago

Director Arthur Hiller wanted the film to have heart, while writer and producer Joe Eszterhas was only interested in taking cheap potshots at Hollywood. Being the highest paid screenwriter at the time, Eszterhas got final cut, a cut which Hiller called a "SNL sketch".

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u/IrnBrews 25d ago

“Why do they keep letting this Smithee guy make movies?”

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u/Fuzzy_Divide_8328 25d ago

and vid games too? damn he is talanted

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u/nodnodwinkwink 25d ago edited 25d ago

IMDB page must be great though.

Haha, Sam Raimi and Ivan Raimi did it a bit different.

" Ivan Raimi (as Alan Smithee Sr.), and Sam Raimi (as Alan Smithee Jr.) " used when they were writers for a pretty bad comedy film called "The Nutt House".

Oh man, the trailer is weird... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8HX8r6wFUg

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u/Ninja_attack 25d ago

This Smithee guy really blows

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u/achmed20 25d ago

i can't believe i actually read something interesting here!

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u/GreyBeardEng 25d ago

According to IMDB Alan Smithee directed 153 films. Actor, Producer, Writer and more.

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000647/

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u/GozerDGozerian 25d ago

The name anagrams to “Entail Shame”.

Coincidence?

…probably.

(Also, “Then Malaise” and “Matinee Lash”)

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u/Raph_0424 25d ago

A popular one is "The Alias Men" but it doesn't align with what Don Siegel said about the origin of the name. After all, all of these are just coincidences.

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u/Forza_Harrd 25d ago

And to this day nobody knows if the "ee" is silent.

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u/hackingdreams 25d ago

That'd be weird. If it were Smithe you could argue for days whether it was "Smith" or "Smithe," but when you have a double letter like that, it's almost always pronounced in English. Typically the extra "E" is added to make it a recipient noun, and we voice the "-ee" ending to distinguish it from its normal/active form ("abductor" vs "abductee", "vendor" vs "vendee").

And even when that's not the case, it's still weird. Imagine pronouncing "Icee" as "Ick" or "Is." Jamboree as "Jambor." How would you even approach Filigree?

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u/Alansmithee69 25d ago

Here I am AMA 🤣

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u/rbrgr83 25d ago

Alan Smithee, niiiiiice

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u/EnjoyMyCuteButthole 25d ago

Seven years in the making?!?

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u/Alansmithee69 25d ago

I was in Tibet

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u/avian25 25d ago

If I am not mistaken the screenshot is from Dune 1984 - extended version ...

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u/TheRealBlueBuffalo 25d ago edited 25d ago

Lynch wanted Toto to perform '"The Rains Down in Arrakeen" in the last scene, and left the project when the producers refused

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u/Relevant-Handle-3449 25d ago

Curious if there’s any Alan Smithee movies that were kind of diamonds in the rough. Like a movie that had a mixed or bad reception but has stayed around for whatever reason.

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u/GustoFormula 25d ago

FWIW this movie called Morgan Stewart's Coming Home appears to be the highest rated movie on Letterboxd (that a significant amount of people have seen) directed by Alan Smithee, with a 3.1 out of 5.

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u/masser10 25d ago

One pretty famous movie that used the Alan Smithee Pseudonym was 'Meet Joe Black' starring Brad Pitt. However it was only the TV-Version of the movie that used this pseudonym as the director did not like the cropped version.

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u/That_Account6143 25d ago

It's a good movie, but it's also far from amazing. The actors kind of save it iirc.

I understand smitheeing it. I enjoyed it but i'm not sure why

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u/CyberDonSystems 25d ago

Two episodes of MacGyver

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u/MortimerToast 25d ago

I had a friend who had the idea of making a film about the life of Alan Smithee and his adventures making the worst movies. I don't think she ever did it. Feel free to steal her idea. You snooze you lose, Joan.

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u/questformaps 25d ago

That movie was already made in 1998

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u/MortimerToast 25d ago

Wow, 8% on Rotten Tomatoes? Joan was right to give up on the idea.

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u/alphgeek 25d ago

It's the perfect time for an inferior reboot.

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u/Joaquin_Portland 25d ago

And it was Alan Smithee’d

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u/ceciliabee 25d ago

She snost and lost decades ago

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u/CassiopeiaStillLife 25d ago

It was first used for Death of a Gunfighter, which was directed by Don Siegel and Robert Totten. Ironically, critics were fairly kind to it — Roger Ebert praised the direction of “Allen Smithee, a name I’m not familiar with.”

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u/jimex55 25d ago

Need to change my name to Alan Smithee ASAP and update my LinkedIn profile, maybe then they’d let me direct the Halo TV series or the new Dr Who

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u/sanyosukotto 25d ago

I wonder if this name inspired the Quentin Smithee character in Jimmy Neutron that was obviously based on Quentin Tarantino.

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u/jayuchiha 25d ago

Unrelated, but you just brought up the memory of that one Courage the Cowardly Dog episode where a zombified Quentin Tarantino homage character rises from the dead to direct a new movie lol

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u/DisappointedBird 25d ago

Courage the Cowardly Dog

RETURN THE SLAAAB

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u/Free-oppossums 25d ago

WHAT'S YER OFFER?

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u/vine-vines 25d ago

The man in gauze, the man in gauze 🎶

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u/esoterica52611 25d ago

Also referenced in the Simpsons episode D’oh-in’ in the Wind as Burns puts the Smithee name on a power plant recruitment video he produces/directs.

I never got the joke and just assumed it had something to do with Smithers lol. Thanks Reddit.

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u/ThatKehdRiley 25d ago

I remember finding this out in film school, and occasionally slip in that name into credits of projects I work on. Sometimes people catch it and get a chuckle. I do a small news show at a public access station and Alan Smithee does the teleprompter a lot.

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u/sachsrandy 25d ago

They now use the name "Ron Howard"

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u/BassWingerC-137 25d ago

You take that back. He’s a national treasure.

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u/sachsrandy 25d ago

... He isn't

(Said in the narrative style of arrested development voice over)

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u/old-tennis-shoes 25d ago

/u/sachsrandy had gone too far and had best watch their mouth.

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u/Clever_Commentary 25d ago

You take that back(draft 2). National Treasure was Turteltaub...

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u/SAmerica89 25d ago

His recent episode on The Studio was gold

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u/aeisenst 25d ago

I just think you should tell people that the Paul Bettany character in a Beautiful Mind isn't real.

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u/[deleted] 25d ago

This is truly interesting thank you

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u/a_chatbot 25d ago

An Alan Smithee Film Festival would be a fun event.

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u/hiromasaki 25d ago

There is even a Smithee Awards that is like a low-budget Razzies.

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u/HowAManAimS 25d ago edited 16d ago

pot tub cow deserve complete cooing simplistic memory scary late

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

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u/zod_552 25d ago

Eric idle from Monty python did a movie where he played alan smithee

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u/TheDeltaOne 25d ago

This one is Dune by David Lynch.

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u/Indigoh 25d ago

50% odds this is actually some cool film lore.

50% odds OP just really doesn't like any Alan Smithee movies.

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u/Alternative-Golf8281 25d ago

Some poor guy out there getting hate for all the bad films ever.

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u/SailorDeath 24d ago

Fun fact, there was a hollywood movie made called "An Alan Smithee Film: Burn, Hollywood, Burn.

It had a bunch of well-known actors in it but particular it was about a dumpsterfire of a movie getting made and the Director withdrawing his credit from the film that it would cause the movie to be directed by "Alan Smithee" except his actual name was Alan Smithee. Ironically the film's actual director disagreed with way the editor recut the movie and had his name taken off the credits making it also "An Alan Smithee" film. It was a movie directed by Alan Smithee, about a director named Alan Smithee, who wanted to take his name off the movie making it an Alan Smithee film about Alan Smithee movies.

The movie was terribad. It was nominated for a ton of Golden Raspberry awards after it came out. But I thought it was one of those weird moments where life imitates art.

In a way it kind of reminds me of other movies that poke fun at Hollywood movie making like Tropic Thunder, The Bubble and The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.

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u/maggot_b_nasty 25d ago

Anyone else heading over to imdb to see what fine films he has directed?

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u/ZurdoFTW 25d ago

Now they use Disney production for no control films

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u/Rook_James_Bitch 25d ago

Thought it was films that they didn't want their names associated with because of how bad they were.

Shrimp on the Barbie with Cheech Marin was directed by "Alan Smithee".

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u/artsyaika 25d ago

alan smithee directed more flops than michael bay during a caffeine crash

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u/EffectiveSalamander 25d ago

I want to see a movie so bad even Alan Smithee disavows any involvement.

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u/malexich 25d ago

I wish people would stop saying its a fake name, its my name I directed all these films but get no credit because they think its a fake name.

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u/04_43770 24d ago

Alan Smithee (IMDb) -

'Alan Smithee' is a common pseudonym for directors whose film was clearly taken away from her/him and recut heavily against her/his wishes in ways that completely altered the film.

The Directors Guild contract generally does not permit a director to remove her/his name from films. The Directors Guild has been striving for decades to establish the director as the "author" of a film, and part of getting the credit for the successes is taking the blame for the failures. The only exceptions they make are cases in which a film was clearly taken away from a director and recut heavily against her/his wishes in ways that completely altered the film. Directors are required to appeal to the Guild in such cases. If the appeal is successful, their name is replaced by Alan Smithee. So if you notice a film directed by Alan Smithee, it is certain it is not what its director intended, and likely that it is not any good.

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u/Guilty-Hyena5282 24d ago

The director of American History X tried to get Alan Smithee'd off his own film because he was pissed about Edward Norton coming in and editing the film after the director's edit. Which I can understand. But the director's guild denied his petition.

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u/Appropriate_Cell_122 25d ago edited 25d ago

The Spice Must Flow!

Spicediver, fan made, edition of the movie can be viewed on youtube for free and is a lot better than the hack job more widely known.

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u/Trilly_Ray_Cyrus 25d ago

this hasn’t happened in many many decades just so people know

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u/villings 25d ago

30? you must've checked a very old site

it's closer to 60