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In Arcadia Ego

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Guest MillenniumIsBliss

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Great research Darlene. So are we to assume that when actors like Terry, Lance or Missy make a variation in the spelling of their name for a role or two it is because someone else is currently using the more tradition spelling? I would have thought that Lance Henriksen (as we know him) would have had first crack of the whip when it came to using the name he is recognised for. What I mean to say (and am doing so badly) if they have to renew their registration yearly say, would Lance not be first in line to use the name "Lance Henriksen" or if he delayed his registration could someone else claim the name causing him to use an alternate spelling on a couple of projects until the matter is resolved?

I do wish we had some biz-folks on the board, I find this sort of thing very interesting.

Eth

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I have also found that many times the names are actually misspelled and has nothing to do with anything, except it being an error.

Wikipedia states that "guilds and associations that represent actors, such as the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) in the United States and British Actors' Equity Association in the United Kingdom, stipulate that no two members may have identical working names. An actor whose name has already been taken must choose a new name." And I can only assume at this point, to be on the safe side, that they would cover themselves with linking variations of the name to prevent someone else from choosing any of them.

I'm also thinking that it also has to do with the variations of spelling their name, including the difference in other languages. Naturally it would be for credit/legal reasons. For example, Darlene has 17 variant forms: Dareen, Darelle, Darla, Darleane, Darleen, Darleena, Darlena, Darlenny, Darlina, Darline, Darlinn, Darlyn, Darlyne, Darrelle, Darryleen, Darrylene and Darryline. I probably wouldn't be able to link them all, just the ones closest to my given name.

That's all I have found so far.

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Superb stuff. That's probably it you know. In an effort to prevent another actor using the name Lance Henrikson (for example) I would assume, as you say, that they register variations of the spelling of their name as well as the more common way they are represented. I guess this is why there are occasions when a variant appears on the credits. It's probably an oversight but perfectly accessibly if the artist has registered a number of name-variations for the above reasons.

Superb deduction work Darlene, I am indebted to you.

Eth

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I remember from a commentary of a Futurama episode that David Cohen had to add something to his name for his screen name, David X. Cohen. Apparently there's another David Cohen.

I notice there are two Stephen Lang, one is our favorite detective from Millennium and the other one is a much more recognized actor, he's been in plenty of TV and films...he was the Party Crasher in The Hard Way with James Woods and Michael J. Fox.

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I managed to get an interview with that Stephen Lang folks only to realise at zero hour that he wasn't out Stephen Lang. Most embarrassing I have to say. That said I constantly referred to Millennium and his *cough* role in it and his agent never picked up on the fact that he wasn't in the show either. Not one of my finest hours I must confess. :whistling:

Eth

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Great site Darelene. I noticed that David Duchovny was originally David William Ducovny so an aitch was added at some point. I do recall reading about this somewhere. Was this something to do with a David Docuvny already using that name in show-business? If someone was they didn't amount to much did they as I've never heard of another David Duc(h)ovny.

Eth

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It could be the case that someone else was using that same last name, or it's just another spelling variation of it and David personally prefers the "H" in it. Who knows really. Any variation they will link to their main "pre-existing" credited name in the database, to receive proper credit, and to cover up for any spelling errors, just like your error in typing my name. :signlol:

Naturally, receiving credit is the main issue. The older movies didn't give a lot of credit to cast and crew like they do now. Plus, there are so many different types of credit. Mainly there's the opening credits and the closing credits, with the first being the most important production members, and the closing credits as we all know, are in many different categories, and each category having its own criteria for credit. I thought this was interesting as an example stated at IMDb.

For cast/acting appearances, you must be identifiable and featured on-screen in the final released cut of the film. In other words, it's not enough to have worked on a production: your scenes must be included in the final cut and it must be possible to easily identify your appearance (i.e. background work as a crowd member or a similar role where it's impossible to recognize the subject are not eligible). If you ended up on the cutting room floor, you are not eligible to be listed. We may ask you to supply evidence of this, so you should be prepared to provide photos/stills/screen grabs to verify that you are featured in the film.

What I thought was interesting is the term "Credit Roll." At Wikipedia:

The term credit roll comes from the early production days when the names were literally printed on a roll of paper and wound past the camera lens. Sometimes, post-credits scenes or bloopers are added to the end of films along with the closing credits.
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