An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn

"Burn Hollywood Burn" redirects here. For the song by Public Enemy, see Fear of a Black Planet.

An Alan Smithee Film Burn Hollywood Burn
Promotional poster
Directed by	Alan Smithee
Produced by	Ben Myron Joe Eszterhas (uncredited)
Written by	Joe Eszterhas
Starring	Eric Idle Ryan O'Neal Coolio Chuck D Richard Jeni
Music by	Chuck D Joel Diamond Gary G-Wiz
Cinematography	Reynaldo Villalobos
Editing by	L. James Langlois
Studio	Cinergi Pictures
Distributed by	Hollywood Pictures
Release date(s)	February 20, 1998 (1998-02-20)
Running time	86 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$10 million
Box office	$52,850

An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn (the onscreen title is simply Burn Hollywood Burn) is a 1997 comedy film and is regarded as one of the worst films of all time, scooping five awards (including Worst Picture) at the 1998 Golden Raspberry Awards. The film had an estimated budget of $10 million and grossed at least $52,850.

The film's creation set off a chain of events which would lead the Directors Guild of America to officially discontinue the Alan Smithee credit in 2000. Its plot (about a director attempting to disown a film) eventually described the film's own production; director Arthur Hiller requested that his name be removed after witnessing the final cut of the film by the studio.

Plot

A director by the name of Alan Smithee has been allowed to direct Trio, a big-budget action film starring Sylvester Stallone, Whoopi Goldberg, and Jackie Chan. The studio recuts the film, and when Smithee sees the results (which he describes as being "worse than Showgirls") and realizes that he cannot use a pseudonym (because the only one allowed is "Alan Smithee") he steals the film and goes on the run, threatening to burn it.

Cast

• Eric Idle as Alan Smithee
• Ryan O'Neal as James Edmunds
• Coolio as Dion Brothers
• Chuck D as Leon Brothers
• Richard Jeni as Jerry Glover
• Leslie Stefanson as Michelle Rafferty
• Sandra Bernhard as Ann Glover
• Cherie Lunghi as Myrna Smithee
• Harvey Weinstein as Sam Rizzo
• Gavin Polone as Gary Samuels
• MC Lyte as Sista Tu Lumumba
• Marcello Thedford as Stagger Lee
• Nicole Nagel as Aloe Vera
• Stephen Tobolowsky as Bill Bardo
• Erik King as Wayne Jackson
• Dina Spybey as Alessandra

Cameos as themselves

• Sylvester Stallone
• Whoopi Goldberg
• Jackie Chan
• Robert Evans
• Robert Shapiro
• Shane Black
• Mario Machado
• Lisa Canning
• Joe Eszterhas
• Larry King
• Peter Bart
• Dominick Dunne
• Billy Bob Thornton
• Billy Barty
• Norman Jewison (uncredited)

Production

The film was written (and produced, though he was not credited for it) by Joe Eszterhas. The released film credits the Alan Smithee pseudonym as director. Arthur Hiller, the film's real director, objected to the way Eszterhas recut the film, and as a result, had his name removed. But in his autobiography Hollywood Animal, Eszterhas claims that Hiller still sat in the editing room with him to make certain suggestions. In his entry on Burn Hollywood Burn for his "My Year Of Flops" Column, pop culture critic Nathan Rabin sarcastically commented that Hiller's decision to use the Alan Smithee credit was "very transparently not a stupid, stupid gimmick to raise interest in a terrible film."

Reception

Film critic Roger Ebert gave the movie zero stars, his lowest possible rating.

The film currently holds an 8% rating on Rotten Tomatoes; the consensus states: "A witless Hollywood satire whose hammy, obvious jokes are neither funny nor insightful of the movie business."

Awards and nominations

Award	Subject	Nominee	Subject
Razzie Award	Worst Picture	Ben Myron	Won
		Joe Eszterhas	Won
	Worst Screenplay		Won
	Worst New Star		Won
	Worst Supporting Actor		Won
		Sylvester Stallone	Nominated
	Worst Actor	Ryan O'Neal	Nominated
	Worst Screen Couple	Any combination of two people playing themselves	Nominated
	Worst Director	Arthur Hiller as Alan Smithee	Nominated

See also

• List of biggest box office bombs
• List of films considered the worst

External links

• An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn at the Internet Movie Database
• An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn at AllRovi
• An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn at Box Office Mojo
• An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn at Rotten Tomatoes

Awards
Preceded by The Postman	Razzie Award for Worst Picture 19th Golden Raspberry Awards	Succeeded by Wild Wild West