Controversial race-hate drama American History X was British director Tony Kaye's first feature, but he apparently attempted to remove his name from the credits.
According to Kaye, the studio recut the finished movie against his wishes, so he spent thousands of dollars taking out full-page ads in the Hollywood trade press attacking the film.
However, by doing this, Kaye thwarted the opportunity to replace his own name in the credits with the traditional director pseudonym Alan Smithee. By publicly attacking the film in national publications, Kaye had violated the Directors Guild of America's rules and was therefore denied the right to the Smithee pseudonym on these grounds.
Tony Kaye also tried to demand a directorial credit for 'Humpty Dumpty' but this was refused as well.
American History X is showing tonight - 14th June - on ITV4 at 12.35am
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Imagine American History X meets Brokeback Mountain... check out my review for the film Brotherhood - currently out on DVD.
