An Alan Smithee Film: Burn, Hollywood, Burn (1997)

8% of critics liked it
(38 reviews)
20% of users liked it
(1,731 ratings)

First, a little background: in 1955, the Director's Guild of America created the pseudonym Alan Smithee, which film directors are allowed to use if they feel their work has been tampered with to such a degree that they no longer want the credit. (For example, if you look at the credits of the… More First, a little background: in 1955, the Director's Guild of America created the pseudonym Alan Smithee, which film directors are allowed to use if they feel their work has been tampered with to such a degree that they no longer want the credit. (For example, if you look at the credits of the expanded and heavily narrated TV version of Dune, you'll notice the director is not listed as David Lynch, but as Alan Smithee.) An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn is a comedy about a film editor (played by Eric Idle) who finally gets his big break -- he's given the opportunity to direct a big-budget action film starring Sylvester Stallone, Whoopi Goldberg, and Jackie Chan. But filming does not go well (the budget eventually balloons to 200 million dollars) and the producer, James Edmunds (Ryan O'Neal), tampers with the final cut of the film. As a result, the hapless neophyte director doesn't want his name to appear on the credits. But his real name is Alan Smithee, so what's he supposed to do? In a stunning example of art imitating life, director Arthur Hiller was supposedly unhappy with the interference of screenwriter and producer Joe Eszterhas on this project and chose to remove his name from the credits -- so An Alan Smithee Film carries the directorial credit of none other than Alan Smithee. Rappers Coolio and Chuck D appear as the filmmaking Brothers Brothers; Chuck D also contributed to the film's score. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 26 min.
Directed By: Alan Smithee, Arthur Hiller
Written By: Joe Eszterhas
Genres: Comedy

In Theaters: Feb 20, 1998 Wide
On DVD: Apr 6, 2004

Critic Reviews

Todd McCarthy, Variety
A caustic but under-funny "expose" of the venality of the motion picture business.
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
If you harbor an interest in watching so-called "industry smarts" autodestruct, this carries a certain morbid appeal, but that's about the extent of it.
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle
The picture is just a spoof, getting by on wit and a parade of celebrity cameos. Within its modest scope, it pretty much succeeds.
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
A spectacularly bad film -- incompetent, unfunny, ill-conceived, badly executed, lamely written, and acted by people who look trapped in the headlights.
Janet Maslin, New York Times
Incidentally, it's a bad idea to try bailing out hopelessly flat comedy with outtakes that are funnier than the in-takes manage to be.
Maitland McDonagh, TV Guide's Movie Guide
A crude, vulgar satire of Hollywood shallowness, insincerity and moral bankruptcy.
Clint Morris, Moviehole
Not even Stallone and Jackie Chan can save it..
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
It's unafraid of the consequences of its existence, and it's brutally nasty , offensive, and abrasive. In other words, the kind of comedy they used to make in the 70's before things became politically correct.
Dragan Antulov, rec.arts.movies.reviews
Skip it.
Frank Ochieng, Movie Eye
A desperate and disjointed farce that flops considerably. This satirical sabotage on the moviemaking industry is an incoherent and unfunny abomination
Susan Tavernetti, Palo Alto Weekly
This jab at Hollywood seems close in subject matter to another title credited to Alan Smithee, Bloodsucking Pharaohs in Pittsburgh.
Jeffrey M. Anderson, San Francisco Examiner
A very peculiar, abrasive comedy, but not without its merits.
Luke Y. Thompson, New Times
Decent idea, extremely lousy execution. More talent has not gone to waste in a long time.
Brandon Judell, Critics Inc./America Online
a film more noteworthy for its title's lack of commas than for any other asset
Tom Meek, Film Threat
Lots of great cameos, too few laughs.

Read all 15 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Lucas M

Unfunny mockumentary.
Ken S

Fairly funny faux-doc about a fake movie. Also contains an insane amount of cameos.
Steve B

Could have been so much had it been filmed as a mockumentary rather than a comedy-pretending-to-be-a-documentary.
Cameron J

A so-so soundtrack can't keep "Burn, Hollywood, Burn" from being unmemorable, uneventful, repetative, thrown together and dull with unfunny jokes that range from obvious to offensive, leaving it to be an absolutely expendable concauction and an unbearbly boring,… More
A so-so soundtrack can't keep "Burn, Hollywood, Burn" from being unmemorable, uneventful, repetative, thrown together and dull with unfunny jokes that range from obvious to offensive, leaving it to be an absolutely expendable concauction and an unbearbly boring, offensively unfunny and above all, disgustingly pretentious disaster of one at that.

Cast

            Ryan O'Neal as James Edmunds

            Coolio as Dion Brothers

            Chuck D. as Leon Brothers

            Richard Jeni as Jerry Glover

            Eric Idle as Alan Smithee

            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 Sister Lumumba

            Marcello Thedford as Stagger Lee

            Nicole Nagel as Aloe Vera

            Stephen Tobolowsky as Bill Bardo

            Sylvester Stallone
            
            Whoopi Goldberg
            
            Jackie Chan
            
            Larry King
            
            Billy Bob Thornton
            
            Dominick Dunne
            
            Joe Eszterhas
            
            Naomi Eszterhas
            
            Robert Evans as Himself

            Peter Bart
            
            Shane Black
            
            Robert Shapiro as Himself

            Erik King
            
            Jim Piddock
            
            Naomi Campbell
            
See full cast