Can I mention a specific authors name in a spec script?
Screenwriting : Book authors name in scripts by Brian McAndrew
Book authors name in scripts
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It depends on what you are going to say about them. Dead authors are less problematic than living ones. If it's nothing more than a line in a script where one character says to another, "You're no Stephen King," then no problem. If you're going to say something derogatory or untrue, you could run into trouble depending on what it is.
Being John Malkovitch mentioned an actor - and they got him. Adaptation had Robert McKee featured briefly. It can work sometimes and it can depend.