Back in 1977, Smokey and the Bandit harnessed trucker culture to become a huge hit. It was the second biggest film of that year -try to guess what movie was #1. The comedy was full of stars, led by Burt Reynolds and Sally Field. It wasn't Oscar material, but it was funny. Let's have some trivia about Smokey and the Bandit.
9. Burt Reynolds was promised a Trans-Am if the film was a hit.
Obviously the film was a hit, but Reynolds didn’t get his car. He didn’t want to rock the boat but when he went to check on the car he found out that the executive that promised him the car had retired, and the new senior executive wouldn’t honor the promise.
8. Coors actually wasn’t allowed east of Mississippi at the time this film was made.
Coors wasn’t allowed in certain states due to the fact that it wasn’t pasteurized and needed to be kept cold at all times. That’s what spawned the idea for the movie.
That last fact explains how I was able to get rides to college and back home for holidays, since we were crossing the Mississippi anyway. Find out more about Smokey and the Bandit at TVOM.