1. Producers Weren’t Interested In The Film
Previously known as a stunt man, Smokey and the Bandit director Hal Needham made his directorial debut with the film. He also came up with the story behind it, which he had a lot of faith in.
However, no one else seemed to feel the same. As Needham confessed in a contributing article for Fortune, no one seemed keen on the idea of him directing a film. But everyone changed their tune once Reynolds was brought into the picture.
As the biggest movie star at the time, everyone wanted to produce a film of Reynolds’. Needham decided to market the film as a Reynolds project, and it worked. Universal Studios offered to back the project for $5.3 million.
We’d say that decision paid off for everyone involved!
