Just because you created the work does n’t have in mind you want credit entry for it . Sometimes directors , writer , and actors use anonym to protect their true identicalness for works they are not proud of , while other various reasons include modesty , religious and political persecution , and just transparent entertainment value . Here are eight movie pseudonyms you may not have known .
1. Pseudonyms: Peter Andrews, Mary Ann Bernard, and Sam Lowry
genuine Name : Steven Soderbergh
Director Steven Soderbergh often write his own movies and function as his own cameraman and editor program . The 50 - year - sure-enough music director does n’t like to see his name used multiple times , so he adopted the practice session of using pseudonyms for his various movie credits .
While working on the filmTrafficin 2000 , Soderbergh wanted to use the credit “ Photographed and Directed by , ” but the Writer ’s Guild of America ( WGA ) has firm rules against credits between a author ’s credit and a director ’s , so Soderbergh make up one’s mind to expend the pseudonym “ Peter Andrews ” ( his Fatherhood ’s first and middle name ) . He has since used the pseudonym “ Mary Ann Bernard ” ( his female parent ’s first name ) for his editing credits , pop out with his 2002 filmSolaris . At times , Soderbergh also used the pseudonym “ Sam Lowry ” as a writer ’s credit .
2. Pseudonyms: Ian McLellan Hunter and Robert Rich
Real Name : Dalton Trumbo
In 1947 , the House Un - American Activities Committee ( HUAC ) blacklist Dalton Trumbo for distrust intimacy with the Communist Party . Unable to work in Hollywood , Trumbo used the pseudonyms “ Ian McLellan Hunter ” and “ Robert Rich ” to stay as a screenwriter . In fact , Ian McLellan Hunter and Robert Rich encounter Academy Awards for Best Writing for the filmsRoman Holidayin 1954 andThe Brave Onein 1957 . Dalton Trumbo was later give way the Academy Award forThe Brave Onein 1975 , one class before he die . Years later , Trumbo posthumously pick up the Academy Award forRoman Holidayin 1992 .
3. Pseudonym: Douglas Sirk
Real Name : Hans Detlef Sierck
regard as a very pop author and film director in pre - war Europe , Hans Detlef Sierck changed his name to “ Douglas Sirk ” when he fled Nazi Germany to the United States with his Jewish wife in 1937 . Douglas Sirk ’s career flourished in the States ; he made colorful and lavish melodrama includingMagnificent Obsession , All That Heaven admit , compose on the Wind , andA Time to Love and a Time to Die . Sirk remained an influence on the next genesis of conductor such as Rainer Werner Fassbinder , Pedro Almodóvar , Wong Kar - Wai , and Todd Haynes .
4. Pseudonym: Bob Robertson
existent Name : Sergio Leone
Afraid that American audience would n’t accept a western made in Italy , Sergio Leone and composer Ennio Morricone changed their name calling to “ Bob Robertson ” and “ Dan Savio ” onA Fistful of Dollarsin 1967 . The film was a big hit in America for its genre bow conventions and heavily vehement nature . The film also have the popularity of the “ Spaghetti westerly , ” or Italian westerly musical genre in the United States , and Sergio Leone went back to using his tangible name on all of his succeeding films .
5. Pseudonym: Roderick Jaynes
Real Names : Joel & Ethan Coen
The Coen Brothers make together as a filmmaking duad : Joel take the directing credit , while Ethan adopt the acquire credit , and both deal the penning . But when it comes to editing , the Coens decide to habituate the pseudonym “ Roderick Jaynes , ” so their names would n’t seem multiple times in their films ' credits . Roderick Jaynes has doubly been nominated for Academy Awards , for his redaction oeuvre in the filmsFargoandNo Country For Old Men .
6. Pseudonym: Donald Kaufman
Real Name : Charlie Kaufman
Writer Charlie Kaufman shared a writing credit with his late twin buddy , Donald , on the filmAdaptation , which was direct by Spike Jonze ( real name : Adam Spiegel ; the anonym is a reference to player and bandleader Spike Jones ) . The Kaufman brothers were both make for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay in 2003 . If he gain , Charlie Kaufman would have received both of the Oscars — because Donald never in reality existed .
7. Pseudonym: Woody Allen
substantial Name : Allan Stewart Konigsberg
hold Allan Stewart Konigsberg , “ Woody Allen ” exchange his name to Heywood Allen at the geezerhood of 17 after a traumatic experience at an inter - faith summer pack as a child . He afterwards started to write forThe Ed Sullivan ShowandThe Tonight Showat age 19 , before becoming a playwright and a prominent author and film director .
8. Pseudonym: Alan Smithee
Real Name : Any Director Who Does n’t Want Credit For A Movie
The Director ’s Guild of America ( DGA ) cook up a pseudonym for directors who had lost creative restraint on a film ’s yield and require their names off the last version of the movie . “ Alan Smithee ” was a elbow room for director to have a “ clean ” resume divorced from frightful movies . The first economic consumption of the nom de guerre was on the filmDeath of a Gunfighter , which Robert Totten and Don Siegel channelise individually in 1969 .
The DGA retire the Alan Smithee pseudonym in 2000 with Kiefer Sutherland ’s use of it on the filmWoman Wanted . Other “ notable ” Alan Smithee uses were David Lynch ’s directing credit on the extended variant of the movieDune , Michael Mann ’s credit on the edited for television system versions ofHeatandThe Insider , and Steve Langley ’s work on the animated lineament filmMighty Ducks The Movie : The First Face - Off . Director Paul Verhoeven used the anonym “ Jan Jensen ” ( a Dutch variation of Alan Smithee ) on the edited for television translation ofShowgirls .
Although officially retire , the nom de guerre continues to be used as TV , music video , and video game credits .
