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1[[quoteright:276:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/smithee.jpg]]
2[[caption-width-right:276:Hollywood code for [[ThisIsGonnaSuck "You have been warned. Proceed with caution."]] (Though kudos to Alan for giving his son a break in his writing career.)[[note]]These are Mr. Smithee's credits for, from top to bottom, ''Death of a Gunfighter'' (really Don Siegel and Robert Totten), the television cut of ''Film/Dune1984'' (really Creator/DavidLynch), ''Appointment with Fear'' (really Ramsey Thomas) and ''Film/TheNuttHouse'' (really Creator/SamRaimi and his brother Ivan, with Creator/BruceCampbell as R.O.C. Sandstorm).[[/note]]]]
3
4->''"Creator/DavidLynch refuses to have his name attached to certain cuts of the film, because many of the final decisions were taken completely out of his hands and he was so thoroughly bummed with how they turned out that he didn't want to be associated with them. Judging by his filmography, if Lynch had gotten his way, ''Film/{{Dune|1984}}'' would've been utterly indecipherable as opposed to merely confusing."''
5-->-- ''Website/{{Cracked}}'', [[http://www.cracked.com/blog/5-famous-filmmakers-whose-dream-projects-were-disasters/ "5 Famous Filmmakers Whose Dream Projects Were Disasters"]]
6
7Alan Smithee (his first name was sometimes also spelled Allen) was one of Hollywood's longest-working and most diverse filmmakers.[[note]](the Internet Movie Database also lists credits for, among others, writing and acting)[[/note]] From the start of his career in 1969 to his retirement in 2000, he directed dozens of films in practically every genre you can think of, as well as episodic television and even music videos. Though his work was of highly-variable quality, with some films suffering outright backlash, he continued, undaunted, with a truly admirable rate of productivity.
8
9It helps that [[InventedIndividual he didn't actually exist]].
10
11See, in the movie industry of the past, if a director's movie fell victim to ExecutiveMeddling and bad acting to the point where [[CreatorBacklash they were no longer proud of it]], he could request to have his name taken off it, and it would then be credited to "Alan Smithee".
12
13There were, of course, rules about the use of the name - for instance, the studio would have to admit that they had wrested the film from the director's control. Directors using the alias were also required to keep their reason for disavowing the film a secret.
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15Before 2000, Smithee was the only alias Directors Guild members were permitted to use. This was changed because of the comedy film ''Film/AnAlanSmitheeFilmBurnHollywoodBurn'', which revolves around a director who wants his name removed from his film, but is stymied because his name is actually Alan Smithee. Bad press surrounding the film combined with director Creator/ArthurHiller wanting ''[[{{Irony}} his]]'' [[LifeImitatesArt name removed due to studio interference]] created an odd metatextual tangle where, under DGA rules, ''An Alan Smithee Film'' had to be credited to Alan Smithee, causing the name to be retired. Since then, aliases are selected on a case-by-case basis. However, the popularity of the name is such that Smithee's [=IMDb=] page has several post-2000 entries (none of which are presumably under DGA jurisdiction).
16
17Closely related to UncreditedRole.
18
19Coincidentally, "Alan Smithee" is also an anagram of "The Alias Men". Compare this to the use of the name [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolas_Bourbaki "Nicolas Bourbaki"]] in mathematics.
20----
21!!Examples:
22
23[[foldercontrol]]
24
25[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
26* This is a common practice for [[UsefulNotes/UnionsInHollywood union voice actors to use a pseudonym when doing non-union voice work]], not just dealing with hentai or fanservice series. This is the main reason why Creator/SteveBlum used the "David Lucas" pseudonym. Another practice common in video games is [[UncreditedRole not even listing the English dub credits]] ''at all''.
27* Creator/DanGreen is well known for doing voices in children's anime, so whenever he lends his voice talent to a hentai he uses the pseudonym ([[http://www.animenewsnetwork.co.uk/encyclopedia/people.php?id=9354 Tom Wilson]]). This is standard practice for voice actors when doing [[NotSafeForWork NSFW]] work, made by a writers' union declaration. In this case it's a pseudonym ''of'' a pseudonym, as his real name is actually James Snyder.
28* Muppeteer Tyler Bunch uses the pseudonym H.D. Quinn whenever he lends voice talent to an anime dub or cartoon.
29* As explained in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHTBvvRCqmk this rather comprehensive breakdown of]] ''Eiken''[[labelnote:*]]the work to which the page image for WorldOfBuxom belongs to, for those curious[[/labelnote]], its creator Seiji Matsuyama, and Matsuyama's impact on Japanese legislation ([[https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2010-06-16/tokyo-nonexistent-youth-bill-rejected-by-assembly yes,]] [[https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2010-10-07/takashi-murakami-miss-ko2-sculpture-up-for-auction really]]), there are currently (as of 2018[[labelnote:*]]the video itself was posted in 2022[[/labelnote]]) only two recorded instances of the actual Alan Smithee pseudonym being used in the credits of an anime production. The first was the ''Eiken'' OVA, where the director of the second episode was credited as "Aransumi" (アランスミ), a diminutive of the pseudonym (アラン・スミシー, ''Aran Sumishii''). The second, which garnered much more attention from online anime and manga communities, was the 2018 ''Manga/BakiTheGrappler'' ONA for Creator/{{Netflix}}, this time credited to the director of the third episode.
30* Creator/RoughDraftStudios uses the name "Orange" when doing work for anime series due to issues with the Korean unit's stock holders.
31* Episode 6 of ''Literature/MySisterMyWriter'', an anime rife with animation errors, has a credit for Shōjiki Komata; this isn't a real person's name, and it actually translates as either "[[HelpHelpTrappedInTitleFactory Honestly]], [[TroubledProduction I'm Screwed]]" or "We're in serious trouble".
32* In ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar'', Ai Hayasaka doesn't want her classmates knowing she's Kaguya's maid, so she uses the pseudonym Haysaca A. Smithee if she has to meet one of them in uniform. It's not quite as dumb as it looks -- the Haysaca part looks closer in English than it really is, and why would Japanese schoolkids know about Alan Smithee? -- but it's still hard to believe she fools the genius Shirogane this way.
33* Episode 3 of ''Manga/{{Kanamemo}}'' features a ShoutOut to the name when Kana and Mika go subscriber hunting. One of the potential customers they visit has the name "Aran Smythee".
34* The members of Creator/TeamFourStar were credited under various pseudonyms that were all civilian identities of ComicBook/TheFlash when Creator/ChristopherSabat snuck them into the English dub of ''Anime/DragonBallZKai'' as the voice actors for the Cell Games Reenactment. Unfortunately, Toei saw through the ruse and greylisted TFS from doing voice acting roles for not just ''Dragon Ball'', but many other properties.
35* The notorious ''Anime/ChargemanKen'' doesn't directly credit any of the voice actors involved, listing them only as belonging to "the Kindaiza Theatrical Company." Evidently, none of them wanted to be associated with one of the most SoBadItsGood anime ever created.
36[[/folder]]
37
38[[folder:Audio Plays]]
39* Referenced in the ''AudioPlay/BigFinishDoctorWho'' mini-episode "[[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWho100 My Own Private Mozart]]": the unluckily-immortal Music/WolfgangAmadeusMozart has lived for so long and become so infamous for uninspired rubbish that modern audiences assume that it can't all have been made by the same person, instead opting to believe that his name is just an alias used by composers who don't want to admit to making something ''really'' bad.
40[[/folder]]
41
42[[folder:Comic Books]]
43* "[[https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Many_Hands Many Hands]]" and variants thereof (from the idiom "Many hands make little work") is a similar alias used in the comic book industry, for issues whose art had to be rushed by multiple artists and who do not want their name associated with the (usually sloppy) work. Comics credited to this alias include:
44** For ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics'', the stories "Cry of the Wolf" and "Naugus Games" were credited to "Many Hands"; these stories are usually considered to have the worst art in the series, with the later having four pages of complete darkness except for [[ByTheLightsOfTheirEyes Sonic's eyes]] and Sonic's six-page fight with Naugus being completely covered by snow.
45** ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMarvel'' story "DIS-Integrated Circuits!" has the inker credited as "M. Hands".
46* The incredibly '90s ''ComicBook/XMen'' one-shot ''Team X 2000'' gave a writer credit to "A Smithee".
47* Referenced in the ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' miniseries ''Harley and Ivy''; when Harley hijacks [[WhoWouldWantToWatchUs the film being made about the pair]], the director's name is listed as ''Alice'' Smithee.
48* Creator/KarlBollers, a former writer for ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics'', would sometimes write under the name "Benny Lee", usually with stories that were lighter in tone that his usual fare.
49* ExecutiveMeddling led Steve Englehart to insist on being credited by the pseudonym "John Harkness" in protest on several comic books, most notably for the seven final issues of his run on ''Comicbook/FantasticFour''.
50* The final issue of the Threeboot ''ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes'', which rapidly tied up all the plot threads before ''ComicBook/FinalCrisis'' gave us the original Legion again, was apparently written by "Justin Thyme". Mr Thyme has also been an artist for Marvel (penciller on the ''Comicbook/{{Excalibur}} Weird War III'' graphic novel and colorist on ''Comicbook/BlackPanther'' Vol 3 #44) and done some work for Creator/CrossGen.
51* The writer of the short-lived ''ComicBook/XMen'' spin-off ''The Brotherhood'' was listed as "Writer X". Most fans believe the writer was either Howard Mackie or Devin Grayson. 17 years later, Mackie [[https://www.cbr.com/marvel-writer-x-identity-revealed/ confirmed]] in an interview that he was Writer X.
52* The final run of ''Comicbook/StrontiumDog'' SpinOff ''Strontium Dogs'' was credited to an "Alan Smithee" after writer Peter Hogan was fired.
53* 21st-century reissues of Creator/AlanMoore's work on ''ComicBook/{{Miracleman}}'' credit him as "The Original Writer" because he asked for his name to be removed. Not because he no longer likes the work, but because he now believes that original ''Marvelman'' writer Mick Anglo was cheated out of his rights.
54* The "Vid Kid" strip in the British comic ''ComicBook/{{Buster}}'' was credited to "[[PunnyName Sue Denim]]". Initially, this was because the artist, Jack Edward Oliver, drew it very hurriedly in between working on his other ''Buster'' strips and disliked the simplistic art style that resulted, but he kept with it out of habit even after he was able to improve the artwork in the following years.
55* Creator/MarkWaid asked for his name to be removed from an issue of ''Comicbook/CaptainAmerica'' saying that after the editors had finished with it, it was no longer the comic he had written. His name was not replaced with a fictional writer credit, and they didn't even bother taking it off the cover.
56* D. G. Chichester still had five issues left in his ''ComicBook/{{Daredevil}}'' contract when he found out he was going to be fired. He wrote those issues, #338-342, under the byline Alan Smithee in protest. (A few years later, he returned under his own name to write #380, the last issue before the Marvel Knights relaunch.)
57* In the '90s version of Creator/DCComics' ''Who's Who'', [[Comicbook/DoomPatrol Elasti-Girl's]] entry has [[https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_oK41y44tTYk/TYioyEAI1wI/AAAAAAAAFCQ/qPCHsbKuiKg/s800/Elasti%202.jpg Alan Smithee credited as one of the artists]] (probably the inker).
58* Creator/JMichaelStraczynski threatened to have his name removed from the writer credit on ''ComicBook/OneMoreDay'', citing dissatisfaction with Editor-in-Chief Creator/JoeQuesada's extensive ExecutiveMeddling (Quesada was outright credited as a co-writer on the finished version of the story-line) and knowing how reviled the story would be. He was inevitably more or less forced to by Creator/{{Marvel}} under threat of legal action.
59* Letterer Bill Spicer had his name replaced on the credits of ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDoo'' #9 (Marvel run) with Mordecai Richler, mainly because he was a fan of his books.
60[[/folder]]
61
62[[folder:Fan Works]]
63* Website/ArchiveOfOurOwn has an orphaning system for authors who wish to no longer associate themselves with works they wrote but don't want to delete them. Authors lose control over a work once they orphan them and all orphaned works are relabeled as being written by "orphan_account". While this can be done with completed stories, most orphan_account stories are OrphanedSeries.
64[[/folder]]
65
66[[folder:Film -- The Trope Namer]]
67* Smithee "debuted" with the 1969 film ''Death of a Gunfighter''. After a year of work and [[CreativeDifferences arguing]] -- and about 25 days of shooting -- star Richard Widmark [[WagTheDirector arranged]] to have director Robert Totten replaced by Don Siegel. Siegel shot the final two weeks or so, but because he didn't shoot half the movie (and didn't personally like what ''had'' been shot), he didn't want his name used as director of the movie. Totten, not happy with how things went, also refused to take credit. And the DGA agreed that the film didn't really represent ''either'' director's vision. The first suggestion for the name of the fictitious director was Al Smith, but since the DGA already had a director with that name, [[InconsistentSpelling Allen Smithee]] was suggested instead.\
68Unlike most "Smithee" films, while the production of ''Death of a Gunfighter'' was troubled, the finished on-screen work was actually reasonably good. When it was released, ''The New York Times'' and Creator/RogerEbert both praised Smithee's directorial work, though Ebert forthrightly admitted that Allen Smithee was "a name I'm not familiar with". Eventually, "Alan" replaced "Allen" as the standard form of Smithee's name.
69* As noted in the trope description, the Alan Smithee name was officially retired after 1998's ''Film/AnAlanSmitheeFilmBurnHollywoodBurn''. The movie itself was a parody of "Alan Smithee" as a pseudonym, where the titular movie director who wants his name out of the [[ShowWithinAShow fictional movie]] ''Trio'', played by Creator/EricIdle, is actually named Alan Smithee, so he resorts to stealing the only copy of the film and threatening to destroy it. Veteran director Arthur Hiller (of ''Film/LoveStory'' and more) was unhappy with the film's script and asked to have his name taken off the credits — and sure enough, he got credited as ''Alan Smithee'', which caused the Directors' Guild to discontinue the practice.\
70Hiller [[CreatorKiller spent over a decade without directing anything]] due to the movie's awful critical reception and [[BoxOfficeBomb box office gross]]. It was also strike three for screenwriter Creator/JoeEszterhas after ''Film/{{Showgirls}}'' and ''Film/{{Jade}}'' in 1995, and was one of many busts that convinced [[Creator/{{Disney}} The Walt Disney Company]] to shut down the Hollywood Pictures label (which released ''Burn Hollywood Burn''). Its greatest legacy is as part of Creator/RogerEbert's [[https://www.rogerebert.com/roger-ebert/eberts-most-hated Most Hated film list]] and the winner of five {{MediaNotes/Golden Raspberry Award}}s, including Worst Picture of 1998.
71* While ''Burn Hollywood Burn'' discontinued the use of the name, the ''real'' last director to use it was Creator/KieferSutherland, for 1999's ''Woman Wanted''.
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73----
74
75* Creator/AlanMoore hates all [[DisownedAdaptation movie adaptations of his work]], and has requested to be called "Alan Smithee" for anything based on his work — except for Creator/ZackSnyder's ''Film/{{Watchmen}}'', where Moore was simply uncredited.
76** ''Magazine/{{MAD}}'' lampshaded this in its ''Watchmen'' parody, by having a caricature of Moore introduce himself in the opening splash as Alan "Smithee" Moore.
77* Rick Rosenthal didn't want his name on ''Film/TheBirds II: Land's End'', which made Alan Smithee the only director with the guts to try to fill the shoes of Creator/AlfredHitchcock.
78* Creator/DavidLynch took his name off the [[ReCut extended cut]] of ''Film/Dune1984'', which was not only directed by Alan Smithee but also written by [[MeaningfulName Judas]] [[Film/BlueVelvet Booth]].
79* The 1989 sci-fi film ''Gunhed'', directed by Masato Harada, was instead credited to Alan Smithee for its English dub.
80* ''Film/HellraiserBloodline'' was disowned by director Kevin Yagher after ExecutiveMeddling cut chunks from the film.
81* ''Film/{{Leap}}: Rise of the Beast'' was co-produced by Alan Smithee over ''eleven years'' after his retirement.
82* The 1986 {{action|Genre}} movie ''Film/LetsGetHarry'' was credited to Smithee after the [[ExecutiveMeddling studio made a post-production decision]] to expand the character of Harry from a HostageMacGuffin who only appears briefly (giving the film a SecondaryCharacterTitle) to one of the main roles, because he was played by Creator/MarkHarmon, then at the height of his sex symbol phase. Stuart Rosenberg, the director, protested, Harmon's new scenes were done without him, and Rosenberg had his name taken off the film.
83* ''Film/StudentBodies'' director Mickey Rose kept his name on the credits, but the movie was ''produced'' by Alan Smithee ("replacing" Michael Ritchie.)
84* As a result of the infamous and tragic HellishCopter incident on the set of ''Film/TwilightZoneTheMovie'', second assistant director Andy House had his name removed from the credits and replaced with the pseudonym Alan Smithee.
85[[/folder]]
86
87[[folder:Film -- Other Examples]]
88!! Individual creators
89
90* David Anspaugh apparently doesn't like his films to be edited for TV. The TV version of ''{{Film/Rudy}}'' is credited to Smithee, while "Jack [[SomebodyNamedNobody Nemo]]" gets the director credit for the edited version of ''{{Film/Hoosiers}}''.
91* Nathan Juran was not satisfied with his work on the {{B movie}}s ''Film/TheBrainFromPlanetArous'' and ''Film/AttackOfThe50FootWoman'', so he asked to be credited under his middle name Hertz.
92* Inverted by Takeshi Kimura of ''Film/DestroyAllMonsters'' fame: after a CreatorBreakdown, Kimura wrote all his scripts (''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}'' or otherwise) under his real name Kaoru Mabuchi. They were noticeably less-well-written than his pre-Mabuchi screenplays.
93
94!! Specific movies
95* ''Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies'', in addition to spending some time on TheShelfOfMovieLanguishment, was reedited by Creator/TwentiethCenturyFox before finally being released in 1973 (and bombing) - director John Erman, screenwriter Claudia Salter and producers Robert Fryer and James Cresson all took their names off it. The director became Bill Sampson, the writer became Chips Rosen, and the producers became Boris Wilson, which led to a reviewer sarcastically cracking that the person credited with the story kept his real name on it. Said story provider, Creator/StevenSpielberg, [[CreatorBacklash pretty much disowned the thing]].
96* Attempted by Tony Kaye for ''Film/AmericanHistoryX'', which was [[WagTheDirector allegedly re-edited]] by Edward Norton so he had more screen time. Kaye, outraged, wanted to be credited as "Humpty Dumpty" instead of "Alan Smithee", which was flatly rejected. This lead to a war of words culminating in a $200-million-plus lawsuit between Kaye and New Line, and probably costing Edward Norton an Oscar.
97* Soviet example: ''Among Grey Stones'' was recut by Soviet censors so hard that outraged director Creator/KiraMuratova demanded to remove her name from the credits. The film instead credits "Ivan Sidorov" as the director.
98* One of Peppy's film posters in ''Film/TheArtist'' gives a director's credit to Alan Smithee.
99* ''Film/BrendaStarr'' was partially rewritten by Delia Ephron, who chose to be credited as Jenny Wolkind. Tellingly, [[BuryYourArt it's not mentioned on her website.]]
100* Ti West, who went on to create a number of CultClassic modern horror films like ''Film/TheHouseOfTheDevil'' and ''Film/TheInnkeepers'', wrote and directed ''Film/CabinFever 2: Spring Fever''. He was so ashamed of the final result, particularly the amount of [[ExecutiveMeddling reshoots and editing done by the producers]], that he requested to use the name, but since he was not a member of the Directors Guild of America, his request was denied. To this day, West [[http://www.shocktillyoudrop.com/news/12341-excl-ti-west-and-the-cabin-fever-2-experience/ still has no kind words for it it]], viewing it more as a product of Creator/{{Lionsgate}} and the producers than himself.
101* ''Film/CityHeat'' was originally going to be directed by Creator/BlakeEdwards, who wrote the original script--but he was fired (Richard Benjamin took over) and the script rewritten by Joseph C. Stinson; Edwards still has story and co-screenplay credit under the pseudonym "Sam O. Brown" ([[Film/{{SOB}} think about the initials]]).
102* ''Film/EpicMovie'' has an interesting variant with an entire ''film distributor''. Although the film was released by [[Creator/TwentiethCenturyStudios 20th Century Fox]], neither their name or logo appears on the marketing (aside from a very early poster) or even the movie itself, giving sole credit to producer Creator/RegencyEnterprises. Some have speculated this may have been because of the film's incredibly toxic reception from critics, although (as is typical with Creator/SeltzerAndFriedberg's movies) [[CriticProof it made a lot of money]]. This wasn't done with their other films released by Fox.
103* John Alan Schwartz used ''two'' pseudonyms for his work on the ''Film/FacesOfDeath'' series, crediting himself as "Conan le Cilaire" for his directing work, and "Alan Black" for his writing credits. This was in partly due to him working as a network television writer at the same time, but also to avoid being targeted by {{Moral Guardian}}s.
104* An interesting case with ''Film/FridayThe13thPartVIITheNewBlood''. As the WGA was currently on strike, a scab writer was brought in after original writer Daryl Haney got the boot. Credited as Manuel Fidello to avoid getting a swift expulsion from the Guild. Their actual identity remains a mystery to this day.
105* Spoofed in ''Film/TheFirstNudieMusical'', where the FilmWithinAFilm is directed by an incompetent nitwit named John Smithee.
106* The "Z.X. Jones" credited with the script for the Creator/RaquelWelch Western ''Film/HannieCaulder'' covers the film's director Burt Kennedy and David Haft.
107* 1987's ''Film/TheHidden'' was written by Jim Kouf (''Film/{{Stakeout}}'', ''Series/{{Grimm}}'') under the name of Bob Hunt.
108* Russell Mulcahy was threatened with a lawsuit if he attempted to petition the DGA to remove his credit from the ''Film/HighlanderIITheQuickening''.
109* During production of ''WesternAnimation/JetsonsTheMovie'', Creator/JanetWaldo's dialogue for Judy Jetson was re-recorded by singer Music/{{Tiffany}} after Waldo had recorded all her dialogue, as executives wanted more people to see the movie. Creator/AndreaRomano, one of the voice directors, was so against the decision that she asked to have her name removed from the end credits (though this only applies to the theatrical version, since she was still credited on the home media releases and TV airings).
110* The Creator/BetteMidler vehicle ''Jinxed!'' was a TroubledProduction, with, among other problems, Midler and co-star Ken Wahl [[HostilityOnTheSet hating each other's guts and intense mutual hatred between]] The Divine Miss M and director Don Siegel (who, as mentioned earlier, was one of the creators of Allen/Alan Smithee on ''Death of a Gunfighter''). Siegel suffered a heart attack during production and Creator/SamPeckinpah, not the first name that comes to mind when thinking of comedy directors--then again, neither is Siegel--finished the film uncredited. Siegel recovered but this was his final film credit. All of this led to primary screenwriter Frank Gilroy billing himself as "Bert Blessing".
111* Fred Olen Ray used his real name for ''Invisible Mom 2'' but was credited as Peter Stewart when directing ''Mom's Outta Sight''.
112* Creator/DavidORussell used the name "Stephen Greene" for his failed film, ''Nailed'', which [[TheShelfOfMovieLanguishment was kept on ice for eight years]] (in an incomplete state!) before a 2015 release under a new title, ''Accidental Love''.
113* 2022's ''Series/TheCatherineTateShow'' spin-off ''The Nan Movie'' carries no director's credit whatsoever, only being billed as "A Creator/CatherineTate film" at the start of the credits. It's believed, though unconfirmed, that Josie Rourke directed the lion's share of the film, but left the production when filming was halted by the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic, and that Tate took over directing duties herself afterwards.
114* ''Film/NightAfterNightAfterNight'': Some last minute re-editing by the distributors was responsible for director Lindsay Shonteff adopting the pseudonym "Lewis J Force", making it the only film he's disowned.
115* The 2011 comedy/horror film ''Orcs!'' has a directing credit for "James [=McPherson=]". That was really a pseudonym used by actual director Andrew Black due to being unhappy with the final results.
116* The Creator/StevenSeagal action movie ''The Patriot'' has its script credited to "M. Sussman" and "John Kingswell", neither of whom has any other screen credits. The former is most likely frequent ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' and ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'' writer Mike Sussman, and the latter, based on early publicity material, is likely none other than Creator/DavidAyer.
117* Creator/SidneyLumet used the pseudonym for the TV edit of the 1990 film ''Film/QAndA''.
118* ''Film/TheRamrodder'' was directed by Ed Forsyth under the alias Van Guylder.
119* Creator/AlecBaldwin used the name Harry Kirkpatrick when a recut version of his only directorial effort, a remake of ''Film/TheDevilAndDanielWebster'', was distributed under the name ''Film/ShortcutToHappiness'' in 2007 (six years after the film was made, due to legal issues over the production).
120* Creator/PaulVerhoeven used the pseudonym Jan Jansen (apparently a Dutch version of "Alan Smithee"; literally "John Johnson") for the TV edit of his 1995 bomb ''Film/{{Showgirls}}''.
121* The 2001 French dub credits of Disney's ''[[WesternAnimation/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs Snow White]]'' provide a variation of this trope, where the adaptor's and lyricist's names are listed as [[http://www.alostfilm.com/2015/03/snow-white-in-france-chapter-8-2001.html an "all rights reserved" notice]].
122* Richard C. Sarafian used the pseudonym for his 1990 sci-fi flop ''Film/SolarCrisis'' due to how ashamed he was of the final product of the film.
123* Creator/WalterHill used the name "Thomas Lee" on the 2000 flop ''Film/{{Supernova}}'' after MGM constantly interfered with the production and editing process (even bringing in Creator/FrancisFordCoppola to reshoot some scenes).
124* Actor Brett Halsey didn't have faith in ''Film/TodayWeKillTomorrowWeDie'' and opted to use the pseudonym Montgomery Ford so people wouldn't associate him with it. The film ended up being his most successful ever and to this day he's credited as Montgomery Ford in Italy.
125* Leigh Chapman took her name off the {{Blaxploitation}} film ''Truck Turner'' - when her original script was rewritten as something far what she'd intended. She ''would'' have received "story by" credit - she chose to be billed as Jerry Wilkes... [[TakeThat which was her ex-husband's name]].
126* ''WesternAnimation/WonderPark'' has an interesting variation. Originally, former Pixar animator Dylan Brown was set to direct the movie, but he was booted off the project in 2018 due to allegations of sexual impropriety, and he was replaced by Creator/DavidFeiss. Since Paramount didn't want to credit someone with a sketchy background, nor did they want someone credited for only doing a small portion, it's one of the rare films out there to have no credited director, period.
127[[/folder]]
128
129[[folder:Literature]]
130* In the Discworld novel ''Literature/{{Maskerade}}'', the Opera House has a similar custom surrounding "Walter Plinge" (the real Walter is the janitor). "Walter Plinge" is in fact another common pseudonym in London theaters, used interchangeably with "George Spelvin" (see below). The gag is that the Discworld theater has an ''actual'' Walter Plinge on staff.
131* Creator/RobertHeinlein was prolific enough selling short stories in his early career that he had several psudeonyms, in addition to publishing material under his own name. If he sold two stories to a magazine that were to be published in the same issue, the second story would be credited to "Anson Macdonald". He also used "Simon York", "Caleb Saunders" and "John Riverside" on one-shot sales. But for stories Heinlein felt were really subpar? The total dogs that Heinlein didn't want to acknowledge were sent out as by "Lyle Monroe". (Heinlein always felt the Monroe material was bottom-of-the-barrel, and refused to have three of Monroe's seven published stores reprinted in ANY form during his lifetime.)
132* In the Creator/StephenKing novel ''Literature/TheRegulators'', the script excerpt from the fictious cartoon ''[=MotoKops=] 2200'' is credited to Alan Smithee.
133* Creator/HarlanEllison uses the alias "Cordwainer Bird" under the same sorts of circumstances when a film director might use "Alan Smithee", and has also loaned the name out to writer acquaintances who need an alias for various reasons. A "cordwainer" is an old term for a cobbler, so the pseudonym is that of someone who makes shoes for birds; in other words, he's useless. Ellison would employ it as a relatively subtle editorial comment, such as when TV executives watered down his ambitious early 1970s series, ''Series/TheStarlost''. It's also a reference to the classic sci-fi author Paul Linebarger, who wrote as Creator/CordwainerSmith.
134* Discussed by Creator/ArtSpiegelman in the foreword to the book commemorating ''The Franchise/GarbagePailKids''. He was working for Topps making them and "Toys/WackyPackages" at the same time that ''ComicBook/{{Maus}}'' was being published and released. The publishers for the latter were concerned that Spiegelman would be credited by name for the former, driving away potential customers who wouldn't want to read a comic about the Holocaust done by a gross-out artist. Topps didn't credit Spiegelman and the latter kept his involvement quiet until the foreword to said commemorative book.
135* When Creator/IsaacAsimov was commissioned to write the "Lucky Starr" series of juvenile novels, he took the precaution of using the pseudonym "Paul French" in case he needed to disown them. Fortunately, this proved not to be necessary.
136** Asimov also wrote ''The Sensuous Dirty Old Man'', a parody of ''The Sensuous Woman'', under the name "Dr. A". However, in this case it was not to conceal his participation (which was exposed fairly quickly) so much as it was part of the parody; ''The Sensuous Woman'' was "written" by "J" (later revealed to be Terry Garrity).
137[[/folder]]
138
139[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
140* Roy Huggins used several pseudonyms when providing storylines and scripts for the shows he worked on in the '60s and '70s (and even on ''Hunter'' in the 1980s). "John Francis O'Mara" and "Thomas Fitzroy" were used in the mid-60s; by about 1968, and for the rest of his career, "John Thomas James" was his invariable pen-name. (JTJ even had has own parking space on the studio lot!) In general, Huggins produced material using his own name, but wrote it using a pseudonym -- it was said Huggins disliked seeing his own name continually flashing on screen during the credits.
141* ''Series/DoctorWho'' has had a few examples over the years, usually for cases where serials had to be radically rewritten by the script editor and/or producer. BBC guidelines typically disallowed staff from receiving credits for positions other than the ones they were officially appointed to, and the process for making exceptions was long and arduously bureaucratic. Thus, the affected stories would often be credited to various pseudonyms.
142** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS6E1TheDominators "The Dominators"]] was credited to "Norman Ashby", due to writers Mervyn Haisman and Henry Lincoln falling out with the production office after script editor Derrick Sherwin heavily rewrote their storyline and reduced it from six episodes to five.
143** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS8E5TheDaemons "The Dæmons"]] gave the writer's credit to "Guy Leopold", as writers Robert Sloman and Creator/BarryLetts were unable to take credit for contractual reasons; Sloman was working for another TV company, while BBC regulations forbade Letts from being credited with any role in addition to his producer's credit.
144** Creator/TerranceDicks, unhappy with Creator/RobertHolmes' rewrites of [[Recap/DoctorWhoS13E5TheBrainOfMorbius "The Brain of Morbius"]], asked for it to go out under "some bland pseudonym". So Holmes credited the story to [[MeaningfulName Robin]] [[{{Pun}} Bland]]; Dicks was [[ActuallyPrettyFunny so thoroughly amused by the pseudonym]] that he made up with Holmes afterwards.
145** A special feature on the DVD for the story [[Recap/DoctorWhoS15E6TheInvasionOfTime "The Invasion of Time"]] was a documentary about the story's writer. ''The Elusive David Agnew'' was credited as being directed by Alan Smithee, but the documentary itself was a {{mockumentary}}, since [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Agnew David Agnew]] was also a pseudonym used by the BBC; "Agnew" is the credited writer of "The Invasion of Time", as another story had been discarded at the last minute, forcing producer Creator/GrahamWilliams and script editor Anthony Read to write it themselves, using the pseudonym to sidestep the behemothic process for getting multiple credits.
146** Agnew was also credited as writing [[Recap/DoctorWhoS17E2CityOfDeath "City of Death"]], not because it was a bad episode (it's actually considered to be one of the best serials in the show's history), but because it was hastily rewritten from scratch by Graham Williams and script editor Creator/DouglasAdams after the original writer, David Fisher, was unable to perform the extensive rewrites required. Once again, the staff didn't have time to go through the lengthy appeals process and used the Agnew pseudonym to get everything over with.
147** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS22E1AttackOfTheCybermen "Attack of the Cybermen"]] was credited to "Paula Moore", which disguises an extremely complicated and disputed story as to who wrote it. Although the specifics have never been nailed down, the most commonly accepted version of events is that it was largely written by script editor Creator/EricSaward, based on a story outline by continuity advisor Ian Levine. "Moore" (an ex-girlfriend of Saward's, whose real name was actually Paula Woolsey) just agreed to act as the story's author (and allowed the usage of some elements from an unrelated outline she'd previously submitted) so as to get around BBC regulations preventing Saward from being credited as script editor on his own work.
148* There are 54 episodes of ''Series/EastEnders'' where the credited writer is the fictitious Julia Honour. The name is used whenever a script from an outside writer is deemed to be totally unusable and has to be rewritten from scratch by a member of the show's editorial team. The name is taken from series co-creator Julia Smith, the idea being that they were protecting "Julia's honour" by rewriting the unsalvageable script.
149* The Season 4 episode of ''Series/LaFemmeNikita'' "Catch a Falling Star" was directed by Alan Smithee, known to his parents in this case as Joseph L. Scanlan.
150* ''Series/MacGyver1985'': The pilot was directed by Jerrold Freedman but credited to Alan Smithee, and the episode "The Heist" was also credited to Smithee.
151* The ''Series/MissionImpossible'' episode "Live Bait" credits Michael Adams with the story and (with James D. Buchanan and Ronald Austin) teleplay; this was a pen-name for Meyer Dolinsky (who, like Sonya Roberts below, also suffered from meddling on ''Series/TheOuterLimits1963'' with "ZZZZZ", although he kept his name on the episode). "Michael Adams" also has writing credits on series like ''Series/DrKildare'', ''Daktari'' and ''Series/HawaiiFiveO'' (where he had several credits under his own name--but not "Flash of Color, Flash of Death", which was the last episode he did for the show).
152* Referenced in ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'':
153** During the opening credits for ''Film/{{Morozko}}'', Mike quips that the names they're seeing are all Russian for "Alan Smithee".
154** ''[[Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000S11E12CarnivalMagic Carnival Magic]]'': Upon seeing that Al Adamson was the film's director, one of the riffers quips, "Al Adamson is the name Alan Smithee uses when he doesn't want ''his'' name on a film."
155* Creator/RodSerling scripted the pilot for ''The New People'' (a short-lived 1969 series that was a precursor to ''Series/{{Lost}}'' and ''Series/Flight29Down''), but after it was cut down to fit a 45-minute network TV slot (an experiment on the part of ABC) he chose to be credited as "John Phillips", although he retained "developed for television by" credit under his own name - the series was created by Creator/AaronSpelling and Larry Gordon (Serling described it as "somewhere between ''Series/GilligansIsland'' and San Francisco State. It may work. [[CreatorBacklash But not with me]]").
156* Sonya Roberts's script "Joy Ride" for ''Series/TheOuterLimits1963'' became "Second Chance" in the finished product, which gives her story and (with Lou Morheim) teleplay credit under the name "Lin Dane". Take off the capital letters and you'll guess her reaction to the rewrites (which may have been mandated by ExecutiveMeddling).
157* ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'':
158** Gene L. Coon was credited as Lee Cronin on the third season episodes he wrote, as he was a staff writer on ''Series/ItTakesAThief1968'' by that point, and didn't want to give away the fact that he was still moonlighting on TOS.
159** Creator/DCFontana used the pseudonym Michael Richards on all her third season episodes (except for "[[Recap/StarTrekS3E2TheEnterpriseIncident The Enterprise Incident]]"), as a protest against producer Fred Freiberger and script editor Arthur Singer's handling of the show.
160** Attempted, but failed by Creator/HarlanEllison for "[[Recap/StarTrekS1E28TheCityOnTheEdgeOfForever The City on the Edge of Forever]]", as he wanted to be credited under his pseudonym Cordwainer Bird in order to protest the heavy rewrites, especially Creator/GeneRoddenberry's deletion of a drug-dealing character and the KarmicDeath that he eventually got. However, it was well known that he used that pseudonym to flag up works that he felt were sub-par, and Roddenberry, afraid that people would otherwise go in expecting the episode to suck, was able to tie things up in legal matters until the episode had already aired, by which point it didn't matter (though this had the unfortunate side-effect of also preventing D.C. Fontana -- who had mostly written the final script -- getting a co-writer credit).
161* ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'':
162** D.C. Fontana didn't fare much better on ''TNG'' than she did in the last season of ''TOS''; she was credited as J. Michael Bingham on "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS1E2TheNakedNow The Naked Now]]" after Roddenberry rewrote her original, darker and more character-focused draft into a more comedic episode that focused heavily on his CreatorsPet, Wesley Crusher. She would have done the same for "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS1E15TooShortASeason Too Short a Season]]", which similarly got rewritten beyond recognition by Roddenberry, if not for the fact that she had left the show and simply didn't want to deal with Roddenberry's lawyer.
163** Another former TOS writer, John D.F. Black went under the credit of Ralph Willis for "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS1E7Justice Justice]]" for much the same reason as Fontana; his darker and grittier story ended up being rewritten into one with a hamfisted message about how AllCrimesAreEqual is inherently injust, with ludicrous levels of fanservice thrown in seemingly for the heck of it.
164** Tracy Torme used the pseudonym Keith Mills for "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS2E12TheRoyale The Royale]]", after showrunner Maurice Hurley rewrote his original, more satirical plot into a straightforward gangster pastiche. Later in that season, Torme, wrote another episode, "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS2E19Manhunt Manhunt]]"... which once again got butchered by Hurley in rewrites, resulting in Torme putting another pseudonym (Terry Deveraux) on the episode and storming off the series for good.
165** Hurley himself had previously gone under the pseudonym C.J. Holland for "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS1E9HideAndQ Hide and Q]]", after it was heavily rewritten by Roddenberry. In this case, however, Hurley later admitted that he had been too hasty, and that Roddenberry's rewrite had actually improved the episode.
166** In an odd variation, this trope applies to the shooting script of "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS3E2TheEnsignsOfCommand The Ensigns of Command]]", but not the aired episode. Writer Melinda Snodgrass wrote the story as depicting Data having to learn that sometimes he would need to resolve a situation through force rather than logic, only for new showrunner Michael Wagner to change the story so that Data is instead prevented from using the forceful solution by TechnoBabble radiation. Snodgrass felt that Wagner's rewrite completely destroyed the point of her story and demanded to be credited under the name H.B. Savage, but later relented and allowed her real name to be used after viewing the finished episode, and feeling that her original intent still came through in Creator/BrentSpiner's performance (it also helped that Wagner had quit by this point).
167* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1985'':
168** Alan Brennert thought that his script "[[Recap/TheTwilightZone1985S1E3 Healer]]" was so badly acted and directed that he took his name off of the episode. It is credited to Michael Bryant.
169** "[[Recap/TheTwilightZone1985S1E7 Paladin of the Lost Hour]]", which was directed by Gilbert Cates, is credited to Alan Smithee, as Cates disliked the manner in which it was edited.
170** Creator/RichardMatheson had his name taken off of "[[Recap/TheTwilightZone1985S1E20 Button, Button]]", as he was displeased with the [[AdaptationalAlternateEnding changed ending of his short story]] made at the insistence of [[ExecutiveMeddling CBS executives]]. It is credited to Logan Swanson.
171* The pilot for ''Series/WalkerTexasRanger'' and the episode "Storm Warning" were written and co-written respectively by Leigh Chapman under the name "Louise [=McCarn=]".
172* The theme song composer for several TV series produced by Ziv in the 1950s was, according to BMI's publishing records (he was never credited on-screen), one "Ray Llewellyn". This was actually a pseudonym shared by several composers who worked for hire at Ziv under a buyout contract (Ziv would buy the rights for the compositions and keep the royalties). The actual composers possibly included David Rose (for ''Series/HighwayPatrol'' and ''Sea Patrol''), Ray Bloch (for ''Science Fiction Theater''), Dominic Frontiere, Victor Young, Warren Barker and others; some later worked for Ziv under their real names.
173* ''Series/DoubleDare1986'': Dana Calderwood, who was the original director from 1986-1988, directed the ''Double Dare 2000'' revial under the pseudonym "Hal Leigh". He based the name on his daughter Hallie.
174[[/folder]]
175
176[[folder:Magazines]]
177* Over the years, ''Magazine/{{Mad}}'' has used several pseudonymous bylines for varying reasons. One of the most common is "J. Prete", actually ex-editor John Ficarra. Also, Sam Viviano began crediting his own artwork to "Jack Syracuse" after he took over as art director in the early noughties.
178* After the Platform/ZXSpectrum magazine ''Crash'' ended, it was discovered that the letters-page editor "Lloyd Mangram" never existed. The actual editor was sometimes Barnaby Page, but not always.
179* Most of the writers for ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' and its sister magazines didn't actually exist, they were just head writer/photographer Bill Apter using various pseudonyms so people didn't know that roughly 3/4 of the magazine was written by one guy.
180[[/folder]]
181
182[[folder:Music]]
183* Alan also "does" music videos. Among his credits are "I Will Always Love You" by Music/WhitneyHouston, "Lose My Breath" by Music/DestinysChild, "Hunting for Witches" by Music/BlocParty, "Juicebox" by Music/TheStrokes, "Building a Mystery" by Sarah [=MacLachlan=], and "Waiting for Tonight" by Music/JenniferLopez.
184** [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Bayer Samuel Bayer]] directed "Ridiculous Thoughts" by Music/TheCranberries but the band recut it against his wishes after being displeased with his cut, so the video ended up being credited to someone named "Freckles Flynn".
185** The music video for "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit" by Gina G was directed by someone named "Fruit Salad" (probably [[Music/TenCC Kevin Godley]] due to [=Medialab=], a company he directed several music videos for, having produced the video).
186* On the soundtrack album for 2002's ''Trapped'', the conductor of John Ottman's score is called "L. Ton Jon" (a pseudonym for Damon Intrabartolo).
187* Austrian film composer Thomas Wanker (''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'') changed his professional billing on American and British productions to Thomas Wander, for what should be obvious reasons.
188* The last track on Music/RandyNewman's score album for ''Film/{{Maverick}}'' is a song called "Tartine De Merde" sung by a fellow called "S. Bush." [[Film/ThreeAmigos Anyone who gets the reference can probably guess who Mr. Bush is]]. [[spoiler: But if you can't, it's Randy Newman]].
189* The single "I'm The Urban Spaceman" by Music/TheBonzoDogBand credits its producer as one Apollo C. Vermouth - a pseudonym for the one and only Music/PaulMcCartney. The band later paid tribute to him with the song "Mr. Apollo."
190* Manager of Music/TheClash Bernie Rhodes produced their infamous final album ''Music/CutTheCrap'', being credited under the name "Jose Unidos", which many people mistakenly thought was actually frontman Joe Strummer.
191* During production of Music/MichaelJackson's "Black or White", producer Bill Botrell did a reference take of a short rap hoping to get a big name to re-record it. [[PermanentPlaceholder Jackson liked it enough to use it in the final version]], in spite of Bottrell's insistence in getting a real rapper, hence he only gave in while asking to be credited as L.T.B. (referencing ''Series/LeaveItToBeaver'').
192* The 1951 hit "My Heart Cries for You" was written by Carl Sigman and Percy Faith. The first issued recordings of this song gave the credit to Sigman and "Peter Mars", as Faith had written the lyric to Sigman's melody as a joke (he was dared to compose a "commercial song") and was appalled to see it recorded as a serious song so he refused to have his name attached to it. Later recordings credit Faith under his real name.
193* Several albums by Music/TheyMightBeGiants, including ''Music/Apollo18'' and the B-side compilation ''Miscellaneous T'', have their artwork credited to a German artist named "Rolf Conant"--in reality, a pseudonym for (American) frontman John Flansburgh, whose middle name is Conant.
194** Flansburgh also used this pseudonym for various side projects in the 90's--Rolf Conant is credited with "fake drums" on the debut EP of the band Spondee (led by his wife Robin Goldwasser) and as the co-founder of the short lived Hello The Band with frequent TMBG collaborator Joshua Fried
195* Within Punk music, the name "Dale Nixon" is occasionally used as a psuedonym. Originally used by Greg Ginn of Music/BlackFlag to hide that he had performed the bass parts on the band's second album himself, the name has also been used by musicians such as Music/DaveGrohl and Brian Baker of Music/MinorThreat.
196* Music/EricClapton's 2016 album ''I Still Do'' features a credit to one "Angelo Mysterioso" on the song "I Will Be There". Since the name bears a similarity to "L'Angelo Misterioso", a pseudonym used by Music/GeorgeHarrison, the media began to speculate that "Angelo Mysterioso" was George's son, Dhani Harrison. While Clapton's spokesman refused to reveal Mysterioso's identity, Clapton would perform the song with Music/EdSheeran at a show in 2016, and after a guitar solo on Sheeran's ''÷'' was credited to "Angelo Mysterioso", Sheeran confirmed that he and Clapton had decided to collaborate, appearing on each other's albums.
197* Back when Music/{{TIX}} made [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russ_music russ music]], he collaborated with an anonymous writing collective known as "The Pøssy Project", which got the credit/blame for the songs' controversial lyrics. However, an [[https://www.dagbladet.no/kultur/hevder-anonymt-skrivekollektiv-star-bak-grisetekstene---star-registrert-som-opphavsmann-alene/60671174 article]] claims that TIX is listed as the sole copyright holder for many Pøssy Project songs, which raises the question of whether he himself wrote the lyrics and was using the label as a way to distance himself from them (the other option is that The Pøssy Project simply agreed not to be listed as a copyright holder).
198* Music/PaulMcCartney wrote the 1966 Peter & Gordon hit "Woman" under the name Bernard Webb, not because he didn't want credit, but to see if people would still buy the song without seeing his name on the label.
199* Music/TaylorSwift co-wrote the Music/CalvinHarris & Music/{{Rihanna}} hit, "This Is What You Came For" with Calvin who was her boyfriend at the time, but they decided they didn't want to draw attention to her contribution so she was credited as Nils Sjöberg. She also did backing vocals on the song.
200** Swift's then-boyfriend, Creator/JoeAlwyn co-wrote 6 songs on her albums between 2020 - 2022. "betty" and "exile" on 2020's folklore, "champagne problems", "coney island" and "evermore" on 2020's evermore, and "Sweet Nothing" on 2022's Midnights.
201[[/folder]]
202
203[[folder:Puppet Shows]]
204* ''Series/{{Terrahawks}}'' often used this trope stylistically to cover up the fact it only had a few writers; while all but four of the series' 39 episodes were written or co-written by Gerry Anderson regular Tony Barwick, the scripts were usually credited to a variety of pseudonyms ending with "-stein", often feline-connected, due to a major character being called Dr. Tiger Ninestein (example: "The Ugliest Monster Of All" was written by P.U. Mastein). The show [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] this on several occasions, most blatantly with "Child's Play" being credited to Sue Donymstein. Only three episodes eschewed fake names -- "The Midas Touch", by Trevor Lansdowne and Barwick (credited ''as'' Barwick for once) and the two-part opener "Expect The Unexpected" by Anderson himself; the only other non-Barwick episodes in the series are "From Here to Infinity" and "The Sporilla", written by Katz Stein and Leo Pardstein respectively (both pseudonyms for Donald James).
205[[/folder]]
206
207[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
208* ''TabletopGame/ArsMagica'': Alan Smithee is credited as the co-author of the fourth edition ''Mythic Seas'' supplement, though the reason why has never been made public. The fan consensus does seem to be that it’s not one of the better books for that edition, though it’s not all ''that'' terrible.
209[[/folder]]
210
211[[folder:Theatre]]
212* Alan Smithee has a theatrical counterpart. His name is George Spelvin. George Spelvin (or, for females, Georgina or Georgette Spelvin) is also used when the same actor is playing two roles but that fact should not be made obvious to the audience beforehand by the cast list.
213** He first appeared in the 1906 stage version of ''Literature/BrewstersMillions''.
214** The (probably hallucinating) main character of the play "The Actor's Nightmare" is referred to as George Spelvin.
215* The book for ''Theatre/YoureAGoodManCharlieBrown'' was credited to "John Gordon". Gordon didn't actually exist; the original 1967 New York production didn't have a script as such. The cast and crew literally just went through ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'' books and picked out strips to dramatize for the scenes between songs, but they needed to credit ''someone'' for the book, so Gordon was invented.
216[[/folder]]
217
218[[folder:Video Games]]
219* Using nicknames or pseudonyms in credits, such as [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI "Ten Ten"]], [[Franchise/{{Kirby}} "Mammy Preco"]], or [[VideoGame/MegaManClassic "Yuukichan's Papa"]] was common in the video game industry (especially in Japanese games, like Capcom's arcades whose credits roll are usually about 90% pseudonyms) up through the beginning of the fourth generation, although the practice itself remained until at least 2005. In this case, the reason for not putting their real names on the product was not out of dissatisfaction with their work, but to prevent rival companies from hiring away their talent.
220* ''VideoGame/MetalGear'':
221** Almost everyone in the English voice cast for ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' were initially credited under pseudonyms due to them not knowing if their work had the Screen Actors Guild's blessing. The only voice actors who used their real names were Creator/DavidHayter, Doug Stone, and Scott Dolph[[note]]the demo and the European manual credit Hayter as Sean Barker[[/note]]. When the cast returned to re-record their lines for the Platform/NintendoGameCube remake, ''The Twin Snakes'', they all used their real names thanks to the project having open SAG support.
222** EVA from ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'' and ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPeaceWalker'' was voiced by one "Suzetta Miñet", who has no other credits to her name, with co-star Hayter and voice director Kris Zimmerman eventually confirming was a pseudonym (Zimmerman denied it being an issue regarding Creator/{{Konami}} or legal reasons; it was apparently [[ReclusiveArtist just a personal decision]]). The true identity of EVA's actress remains unknown.
223** Referenced in the "CHAIR RACE" teaser trailer for ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots''--when we see the back of the Director's chair, Alan Smithee's name is written on it, which eventually drops off to reveal the name "Shuyo Murata". This references how Creator/HideoKojima originally planned to work only as a producer for ''[=MGS4=]'' (as he planned on leaving the series after ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'') and hand it over to his junior team, with Shuyo Murata as the appointed director. This didn't last long, as the rest of the trailer shows.
224* Referenced in ''VideoGame/WildARMs3'', though in a totally different context. Alan Smithy is a legendary Drifter who leaves signposts with advice all over the landscape.
225* In ''VideoGame/StreetFighterXTekken'', [[VideoGame/FinalFight Role]][[VideoGame/StreetFighterAlpha nto]]'s voice actor is credited as Alan Smithee. It's actually Creator/DameonClarke.
226** Clarke is no stranger to this, having reprised his voice of ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' villain Cell in the ''[[VideoGame/DragonBallZBudokai Budokai]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/DragonBallZBudokaiTenkaichi Budokai Tenkaichi]]'' series of games under the pseudonym "Dartanian Nickelback".
227* Referenced in ''VideoGame/TheWonderful101'', with one of the supporting characters being a kid by the name of [[VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}} Luka]] Alan Smithee.
228* ''VideoGame/DragaliaLost''[='s=] English voice credits is subverted, while there are some characters that are credited under actual voice actors/actresses (Vincent Tong, Creator/TabithaStGermain, Creator/KazumiEvans, Sabrina Pitre, Creator/LizzieFreeman, and Creator/SamuelVincent), the majority of the characters credited are credited with pseudonymous names.
229* In 2000, Creator/{{Acclaim}} briefly brought back its long-retired [[Creator/LJNToys LJN]] label for the Platform/SegaDreamcast port of ''Spirit of Speed 1937'', likely fearing poor critical reception.
230* In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemHeroes'', the artist for the Mythic Hero Elimine is anonymous, credited as "Alan Smithee" in English, with the same name transliterated into kanji in Japanese.
231* ''VideoGame/SunsetOverdrive'': InUniverse: The ''Mooil Rig'' mission called "Alan Smithee's Treasure Ocean", where a film director called "Alan Smithee" starts with talking about directing:
232--> '''Alan Smithee:''' You know what the key is to directing a great film? Lots of money.
233[[/folder]]
234
235[[folder:Western Animation]]
236* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':
237** InUniverse: in "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS10E6DohInTheWind D'oh-in in the Wind]]", Mr. Burns' recruitment film for the power plant, which had script problems from Day One (i.e., nobody read the script), and which ends with Mr. Burns physically accosting Homer for getting his lines wrong, is credited to Alan Smithee.
238** Jon Vitti and David Silverman used the pseudonyms "Penny Wise" and "Pound Foolish" for writing and directing the second and third ClipShow episodes, "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS6E3AnotherSimpsonsClipShow Another Simpsons Clip Show]]" and [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS7E10TheSimpsons138thEpisodeSpectacular The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular]]".
239** Two guest stars appeared under pseudonyms in early episodes: Creator/DustinHoffman as [[PunnyName Sam Etic]] in "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS2E19LisasSubstitute Lisa's Substitute]]" and Music/MichaelJackson as John Jay Smith in "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS3E1StarkRavingDad Stark Raving Dad]]".
240** Creator/AlbertBrooks is credited as "A. Brooks" when he voices a character on the show.
241** When "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS16E12GooGooGaiPan Goo Goo Gai Pan]]" originally premiered, the story was credited to "Lawrence Talbot", a pseudonym for regular writer-producer Dana Gould. All subsequent versions (US repeats, international broadcasts and home video releases) used Gould's real name.
242* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'':
243** "[[Recap/FuturamaS6E2InAGaddaDaLeela In-A-Gadda-Da-Leela]]" was written by "Carolyn Premish", and "[[Recap/FuturamaS8E3HowTheWestWas1010001 How the West Was 1010001]]" was written by "Nona di Spargement". Both are pseudonyms for regular writer-producer Ken Keeler. In the 2022 L.A. Comic Con panel, Patric M. Verrone mentioned that How the West Was 1010001 was written by Keeler, with crew member Corey M. Barnes later confirming on Reddit that "Carolyn Premish" was Ken Keeler as well.
244* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'' had a couple of cartoons with inferior animation directed by "Allen Smithee." The episode's CreditsGag was: "Number of Retakes: Don't Ask."
245* The late Creator/MaryKayBergman was often credited as "Shannen Cassidy" (derived from SHANNEN Doherty and Ryan CASSIDY) for voicing many of the female characters of ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark''. This was very likely due to it being a non-union production, and her simultaneously working for Disney (most notably as the voice of Snow White and Jessie's yodelling in ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory2'').
246** ''South Park'' also uses this for a gag at the end of "[[Recap/SouthParkS9E12TrappedInTheCloset Trapped in the Closet]]". After Scientologists threaten to sue Stan for denouncing their religion, Stan yells that he's not afraid of getting sued. Cue a credits sequence where everybody's name is replaced with "John Smith" or "Jane Smith," referencing Scientology's tendency to file lawsuits against their critics.
247** The voice actress for Nichole Daniels, the token black girl at South Park Elementary, is credited to the alias "[[PunnyName Laylo Incognegro.]]" The real identity of her voice actress is currently unconfirmed.
248** The second pilot of ''WesternAnimation/TheSpiritOfChristmas'' was credited to "Robert T. Pooner" instead of Parker and Stone's real names. After the short went viral, many other animators claimed ownership of the pilot to get jobs before Parker and Stone went public. This name also appeared in the credits of the episodes "Chickenlover" and "Mr. Hankey's Christmas Classics."
249* For unknown reasons in ''WesternAnimation/SanjayAndCraig'', Chris D'Elia was credited as "Remington Tufflips AsHimself".
250* Creator/JohnKricfalusi was so embarrassed about having directed "[[Recap/RenAndStimpy1x02RobinHoekNurseStimpy Robin Hoek / Nurse Stimpy]]" of ''WesternAnimation/TheRenAndStimpyShow'' (all he could see when he watched the final product were drawing mistakes and timing errors), he credited himself as "Raymond Spum" on the title card.
251* Creator/TouchstonePictures was temporarily revived ''specifically'' so that Creator/{{Disney}} could use it to disown ''WesternAnimation/StrangeMagic'' (which they acquired with [[Creator/GeorgeLucas Lucasfilm]]). Touchstone was previously used in this manner for ''WesternAnimation/GnomeoAndJuliet'', which stayed with Disney after Miramax was sold off.
252** Similarly, after Disney refused to let Miramax release ''Film/{{Kids}}'' for its sexual content, the Weinsteins created a new company called Shining Excalibur Films to release it.
253* Creator/{{Filmation}} founder and head Lou Scheimer voiced Orko and King Randor on ''WesternAnimation/HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse1983'' (and other characters on his shows) under the name Eric Gunden; Erika Lane, who shares music credit on the show, is also Scheimer (taken from his children's names). Similarly, the Yvette Blais who has music credit on numerous Filmation series is actually Ray Ellis (who often used that pseudonym - she was his wife).
254* ''WesternAnimation/{{Anatole}}'''s first episode "Anatole's Parisian Adventure" was credited to Alan Smithee.
255* A VHS compilation movie based off ''WesternAnimation/MightyDucksTheAnimatedSeries'' is credited to Alan Smithee.
256* A rare ''quintuple''-whammy: Joey D'Auria, Cheryl Chase, Rebecca Forstadt, Paul Greenberg and Rick Zieff had voice acting roles in ''WesternAnimation/TheMrMenShow'' under the respective credits of "Joseph J. Terry", "Sophia Roberts", "Reba West", "Aaron Albertus" and "Danny Katiana".[[note]]Forstadt has used the stage name "Reba West" previously, notably playing Lynn Minmei on ''Anime/{{Robotech}}'' under that name.[[/note]] This is likely due to the non-union status of the show.
257* Creator/PhilLaMarr [[TheOtherDarrin Darrin'd]] Creator/AhmedBest as Jar Jar Binks for much of Season 1 of ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'' under the pseudonym of "BJ Hughes", a fact that went unrevealed for over a decade. Unlike other examples of this trope, it should be noted that this is the only role of his on the show in which [=LaMarr=] was credited by a pseudonym, whereas he is credited by his real name for all his other roles, making this a case of choosing not to be associated with a specific role rather than an entire work. Given that Best was going through a CreatorBreakdown at the time due to harassment he received from being associated with Jar Jar, [=LaMarr=] likely went by the pseudonym to avoid going through the same ordeal.
258* ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'': Creator/FrizFreleng has two notable instances which invert this:
259** He declined a screen credit for 1949's "Dough For the Dodo" as it was a remake of Creator/BobClampett's original version "Porky in Wackyland" (1938) and Friz felt he'd be stealing Clampett's ideas.
260** In 1946 Friz was suspended for a month for refusing to direct "Hollywood Daffy," feeling it was too much like Avery for his style. Hawley Pratt (a layout artist in the Freleng unit) directed it uncredited.
261*** Of other films, 1942's "Crazy Cruise" was started by Avery and finished by Clampett after Avery quit (following the "Heckling Hare" confrontation). It went uncredited.
262* Creator/TonyDaniels did a number of voices for ''WesternAnimation/TransformersCyberverse'' -- including both Teletraans, Kup, Croaton, Drift and Lockdown -- under the pseudonym of "Mike Rose" due to the non-union status of the show.
263* A number of Creator/PorchlightEntertainment productions were non-union, so the voice cast often went under pseudonyms.
264** The ''WesternAnimation/{{LeapFrog}}'' animated movies they produced often made use of these cast lists. For example, all the voice actors on ''The Letter Factory'' are credited under pseudonyms. For example, Creator/DebiDerryberry was credited as "Dee Dee Green", while Creator/CandiMilo was credited as "Mary Jo Rogers".
265** ''WesternAnimation/{{Tutenstein}}'': For the main cast of the first 35 episodes, the titular character was voiced by Creator/JeannieElias under the pseudonym of "Marcus Muldoon" and Cleo was voiced by Crystal Scales under the pseudonym of "Babi Mosquito".
266* ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'': The episode "Operation: F.O.O.D.F.I.T.E." is a MusicalEpisode set to the tunes of ShockRock band Music/{{GWAR}}. Since pretty much all of their discography is definitely ''not'' for children, the band is credited as [[SdrawkcabName "RAWG"]] in the episode.
267* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' producer Kara Vallow removed her name from the episode "Excellence in Broadcasting" in protest of the episode's guest appearance from Rush Limbaugh, as a result she went uncredited.
268* ''WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}'' voice actors Daniel Brochu and Bruce Dinsmore reprised their regular roles of Buster, Binky Barnes and David Read, respectively, for the direct-to-video film ''WesternAnimation/ArthursMissingPal'', however since it was a non-union project recorded in Los Angeles rather than Montreal and Toronto like the show, they went under pseudonyms. Brochu was credited as "Conway Bruce" for voicing Buster, while Dinsmore voiced Binky and David Read under the pseudonym of "Bruce Smithee".
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