6. Burt Reynolds Was Promised A Car If The Movie Hit It Big
On the same DVD documentary, Reynolds revealed that a senior executive at Pontiac had promised him a free car if the movie was a success. Specifically, the executive offered to give him a Trans Am like the ones used in the film.
As we now know, Smokey and the Bandit was a huge box office success. After the film’s release, the 1977 T-Top Trans Am started selling like wildfire.
However, some time passed and Reynolds never got a call from the Pontiac executive about the car he promised him. Reynolds didn’t want to seem like someone begging for free stuff, but he eventually decided to call Pontiac after a few months had passed.
Luck wasn’t on Reynolds’ side. As he learned, the executive he talked to previously had retired. The new executive refused to honor his predecessor’s promise, and Reynolds was left without a car. Ouch!
