Nicole Nagel Movies
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, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ryan O'Neal, Coolio, (more)
- 1995
In the opening episode of ER's second season, Carter (Noah Wyle) gets off to a bad start on his first day as new surgical sub-intern by showing up extremely late and woefully unprepared. Also on hand is new third-year student Harper Tracy (Christine Elise), who endures an ordeal by fire thanks to a psychotic patient -- and who catches the eye of the still-unattached Carter. Elsewhere, Greene (Anthony Edwards) ruffles more than a few feathers with his choice of new chief resident: the contentious and highly irritating Kerry Weaver (Laura Innes). With this episode, William H. Macy returns in the role of ER chief Dr. David Morganstern. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1995
In his zeal to prove his value to the ER and impress Harper (Christine Elise), Carter (Noah Wyle) loses his first patient, a barfly named Ed. Meanwhile, Carol (Julianna Margulies) and Shep (Ron Eldard) work together to subdue a drug-crazed patient, and Ross (George Clooney) copes with a four-year-old Asian child suffering from AIDS. And perhaps inevitably, the ongoing conflict between Lewis (Sherry Stringfield) and Weaver (Laura Innes) reaches another crisis point, compelling Lewis to go over Weaver's head and file a complaint with Greene (Anthony Edwards). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1995
When Benton (Eriq La Salle) breaks his hand in a parking-lot fracas, Carter (Noah Wyle) must replace him in surgery. Greene (Anthony Edwards) is forced to mediate in the ongoing battle of wills between Lewis (Sherry Stringfield) and Weaver (Laura Innes), and also tends to the needs of an elderly, abandoned woman (Celia Kushner). And outside the walls of the ER, paramedic Shep (Ron Eldard) again puts his life on the line. This ER episode originally aired on the same evening that the heavily promoted ABC series Murder One debuted, leading observers to wonder which series would pull the biggest audience (guess who won). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1994
Hired by the DMV, Bud (David Faustino) struggles to communicate with long lines of potential drivers, none of whom are remotely familiar with the English language. But Bud's most formidable task is to administer a driving test to his own father Al (Ed O'Neill). Meanwhile, Kelly (Christina Applegate) loses her job as "The Verminator" thanks to the interference of Jefferson D'Arcy (Ted McGinley), compelling Jefferson's wife Marcy (Amanda Bearse) to find employment for Kelly at the bank--a most "revealing" assignment. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
