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Hi Biggus,

No - I wish I'd got that far! I have the 3 surnames from the misprints and so know the theme but I've put it aside for the day so I can tackle the EV - hopefully I'll be able to get it done when I come back:-)

I too have the names and can see where it's going, but cannot discern the two groups. Am I right to think that the entries of clues with misprints remain unchanged and uninvolved with the changes?

I'd suggest listing the letters which do not appear in the grid. That might make things stand out a bit.

i have "tapped" into the set of no-show letters to give two thematic letters for the linked entries. I have entered the non-misprint entries in a different colour, but cannot see anything resembling a 6,6 name or an 8 mythical creature within them, nor can I see how the double-letter cell can fit within the latter closed curve group of 8, especially if it resides solely within the contiguous area of non-misprint entries. I am thinking I have misunderstood something in the pre-amble. And Dreamworks?

Dreamworks only makes sense when you have the 6,6 name, Eraserman. If you know what the two thematic letters represent, (confirmed by the surnames spelt by the 22 misprints) and google that, he appears on the Wikipedia page, but alongside an additional first name he never used. If you then click on his link, you should see how everything fits together, including the mythical creature

Thanks Quisling, I have it now, after your help. I had already found the 6,6 name, but did not Wiki it, as I could not see it in the grid, and I was looking for an 8-letter creature and couldn't see how to fit 8 letters incorporating the double-letter cell.
Thanks Ifor for a memorable challenge - educational for me, to boot!

That was quite the work out! Thank you, Ifor. And thanks also to Google and Wikipedia for taking me from the three names to the fourth and the “symmetric representation”.

Thank you, Jack (and others). Of course one of the factors that setters need to keep in mind is that of ensuring that a pathway through Google, wiki or whatever isn't too well hidden or convoluted for those not familiar with the theme. I'm 100% with the previous poster; as a solver I relish being dragged out of my personal knowledge comfort zone.

Hi, if anyone's still listening.

I'm struggling with the endgame.

First question is, "do I have the correct 22 letters?" because I can't seem to make three meaningful names. The letters I have, in alphabetical order, are:
A C C D E G H I I L L M N O P P R S S T U U

I think one of your S should be an O, puzzledbadger. Possibly in 28a?