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Name of Actor That Doesnt' Exist

post #1 of 12
1/10/05 at 10:01am
Thread Starter 
I remember reading somewhere that there is a name that has been used repeatedly in Hollywood by actors who do not want their names attached to the movie, so they use this pseydonym as sort of a joke or something.

I dont remember the name that is used. Does anyone know what I am talking about and what the name is? Thanks.
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post #2 of 12
1/10/05 at 10:05am
I believe it's Freddie Prinze Jr.

~T
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post #3 of 12
1/10/05 at 10:07am
I thought it was directors: Alan Smithee, isn't it?

Kind of hard to pretend you're not in a film when you're an actor...
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post #4 of 12
1/10/05 at 10:23am


--
H
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post #5 of 12
1/10/05 at 10:47am
It is the director and the name *was* Alan Smithee. It is no longer used since the lid was blown off the scam. I believe "American History X" was the film that ended it, but I could be wrong.

Quote:
Kind of hard to pretend you're not in a film when you're an actor...


I agree.
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post #6 of 12
1/10/05 at 12:34pm
Actually, Alan Smithee is still used in writing and non-directorial technical capacities (for example, Smithee did camera work on the sex tape "One Night In Paris").

As for Mike's question, I believe the name is George Spelvin.

Sincerely,

John Kilduff...

I could be wrong, though.
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post #7 of 12
1/10/05 at 1:36pm
Here's what IMDB has to say about Mr. Smithee's professional career...

Moe.
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post #8 of 12
1/11/05 at 9:52pm
Simone
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post #9 of 12
1/11/05 at 10:13pm
Writers can use almost any pseudonym that they want to if they think their scripts have been altered excessively. Actors can't because SAG rules require them to use a registered professional name to make it easier to track residuals. Directors used to be able to take their names off a picture and use any nom du bomb they chose, until a Director's Guild of America contract with the studio introduced the single allowable psuedonym of "Alan Smithee". There is an appeals process that must be followed before the Smithee name can appear in the credits. There has never been a similar catch-all fake name for actors as far as I know.

Regards,

Joe
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post #10 of 12
1/12/05 at 3:38am
I thought it was, ironically, "An Alan Smithee Film" that ended Alan Smithee's "career"? Although the IMDB link shows credits after "An Alan Smithee Film".

American History X is still credited to Tony Kaye, although IIRC towards the end of the editing process it was taken away from him and again IIRC Ed Norton finished it? Apparently this probably was the first "good" film where the director requested a "Smithee" credit (but the DGA didn't give it to him).

Have a look at Wikipedia's listing, which is quite informative:-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Smithee

In short, Smithee was dropped after "An Alan Smithee Film", but has still been used since, and nowadays a pseudonym is used on a case by case basis, the first such being "Thomas Lee".
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post #11 of 12
1/12/05 at 12:09pm
Quote:
I believe it's Freddie Prinze Jr.

I was thinking of Denise Richards.
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post #12 of 12
1/12/05 at 3:45pm
"Jim Belushi"

or "Any Baldwin other than Alec"

(I once read a movie review that said, "This film was so lousy I kept expecting to see Jim Belushi turn up in the next scene")

Regards,

Joe
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