An Alan Smithee Film: Burn, Hollywood, Burn

Challenger Films president Jerry Glover and producer James Edmunds specifically hired Alan Smithee because he was an acclaimed English editor with no directorial experience. They believed his inexperience would make him easier to control and manipulate throughout the production. However, Smithee became genuinely invested in the project and its success, which ultimately clashed with their intentions.

Early in the film, Smithee's passion for the project is evident when he accepts the job and begins working on Trio, showing his commitment despite his lack of directorial experience.

Edmunds hired prostitute Michelle Rafferty to seduce the drunken Smithee and gather blackmail material to keep him compliant. However, Michelle develops genuine feelings for Smithee after witnessing his kind nature and integrity. She ultimately chooses to help him rather than continue with Edmunds' scheme, becoming his ally and eventual romantic partner.

The moment Michelle is hired, she's described as being captivated by Smithee's kind spirit, establishing her eventual betrayal of Edmunds' plans.

When Smithee is advised to drop his directorial name and use the Directors Guild of America's official pseudonym (which allows directors to be removed from a film), he cannot do so because the DGA pseudonym for anonymous directors is already 'Alan Smithee'. Using it would still credit him as Alan Smithee, defeating the purpose of disowning the film.

Edmunds' office scene establishes early on that Smithee is trapped by his own name, creating the central conflict that drives his later actions.

After constant interference from producers Edmunds and Glover, stars demanding changes, and realizing he has lost all creative control over Trio, Smithee volunteers to edit a scene and drop the master at the lab. Instead, he steals the master copy and flees. This act represents his final break from the producers' control and gives him leverage in the ensuing negotiations.

Smithee's growing frustration throughout production, combined with his withdrawal from the set, foreshadows his dramatic act of stealing the film.

After going on Larry King and announcing his intention to burn Trio so it cannot be released, Smithee follows through on his threat. He drives to the La Brea Tar Pits and burns the master copy there. The location is symbolic, it represents a prehistoric grave, suggesting he's burying the film forever. His public declaration creates a media spectacle that ultimately generates public sympathy for his situation.

Smithee's call to Larry King, where he has a mental breakdown and declares he'll 'burn Hollywood Burn,' directly foreshadows this climactic act.

Attorney Robert Shapiro negotiates for Smithee to be sent to a psychiatric hospital in England instead of facing criminal charges. The strategy works because Smithee's appearance on Larry King, where he defended his actions by saying 'they killed Trio, I ended its suffering,' generates public sympathy. The media portrayal of him as a heroic underdog fighting against Hollywood corruption convinces authorities that criminal prosecution would be unpopular.

The Larry King interviews serve as the catalyst that shifts public perception and enables the legal diversion strategy.

After burning Trio and defending his actions on Larry King, Smithee becomes a cultural figurehead, a symbol of artistic integrity against studio exploitation. This notoriety makes his life story extremely valuable. Glover and Edmunds engage in a bidding war with producer Robert Evans to secure the film rights to his story. The producers then offer Smithee a new film deal, recognizing that his newfound reputation can be monetized. He sells his story on the condition that the Brothers brothers get final cut.

Smithee's appearance on Larry King in person, where he delivers the line 'they killed Trio, I ended its suffering,' transforms him from a troubled director into a sympathetic figure.

Smithee agrees to sell the rights to his life story for a film adaptation because it gives him leverage to ensure the Brothers brothers get final cut on Trio. During the bidding war between Glover, Edmunds, and Robert Evans, Smithee uses the opportunity to negotiate his terms. He ultimately sells on the condition that the indie filmmakers get creative control, turning his notoriety into a tool for helping other directors.

The Brothers brothers' demand for final cut during the negotiation meeting establishes Smithee's willingness to leverage his situation for others.

Smithee calls into Larry King Live in the middle of his mental breakdown while on the run with the stolen film master. The call serves as both a desperate release and a strategic move, it allows him to publicly declare his intention to burn Trio, creating a record of his actions. This public declaration later becomes crucial to his legal defense by generating public sympathy and framing him as a martyr for artistic integrity.

The escalating pressure from producers, stars, and the blackmail scheme builds to Smithee's psychological breaking point.

At the psychiatric hospital in England, Smithee discusses plans for a new film called Duo with Michelle Rafferty, who reconciles with him there. The film appears to be his next project after the Trio controversy. The title Duo suggests a more intimate production compared to the massive ensemble action film Trio, possibly indicating a return to a more personal style of filmmaking that he can control.

The ending scene where Smithee and Michelle discuss Duo establishes the hopeful continuation of his directorial career.

During production, Stallone requests that one of Jackie Chan's lines be cut from the film. This represents the kind of star interference that frustrates Smithee throughout the production. The specific line is not detailed in the summary, but it symbolizes the power struggles between the big-name stars and the director, contributing to Smithee's growing sense of losing control over his own film.

The star interference is mentioned early in the summary as adding pressure to Smithee's directorial challenges.

Alan Smithee is a pseudonym used by directors who wish to disown a film, typically when a studio has taken creative control away or made changes against the director's wishes. The name has become a standard industry device for removing a director's credit. The movie itself plays with this concept, as the protagonist is literally named Alan Smithee, making it impossible for him to use the pseudonym to escape his credit.

The film was actually directed by Arthur Hiller but credited to Alan Smithee, making it one of the most famous uses of the pseudonym.