That screwy ballyhooey Hollywood

Allen Smythee, sometimes spelled Smithee, is a real director. In fact, he or she is quite a few directors, and this window that honors them all can be found in Disney's Hollywood Studios' Echo Lake district.

The directorial pseudonym of Smythee began being used in 1968 and was permitted by the Directors Guild of America (DGA) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers until 2000. Smythee was an alias allowed to directors who were able to prove that they had not been able to produce a film where they held the creative control. As a penance of sorts, the directors in question were also required to conceal the reasons they were using a pseudonym. Though the time-honored practice of using the name Smythee, or Smithee, to disassociate oneself with a film, video, television show, or cartoon continues in other countries, where the DGA has no say, the DGA in the States decided that it will create different aliases for each Smythee case as they arise.