Albuquerque Journal

‘Bandit’ rides again as fans mark film’s 40th anniversar­y

- BY JEFF MARTIN ASSOCIATED PRESS

ATLANTA — They had a long way to go and a short time to get there, but hundreds of fans in Trans Ams have put the hammer down and made it to Atlanta to celebrate the 40th anniversar­y of “Smokey and the Bandit.”

About 350 cars this week retraced actor Burt Reynolds’ wild ride from the Texas-Arkansas line to Atlanta in the 1977 movie.

“Every town we drive through, people come out to film us, take pictures and wave as our convoy of cars comes through — it’s like being in a huge parade,” said organizer Dave Hall of Lincoln, Nebraska.

Truckers took part in “Snowman’s Run,” a road trip that raises money for wounded veterans in the name of the late actor and musician Jerry Reed, who played the trucker Snowman in the movie.

All of them have gathered in Jonesboro, Ga., a city 15 miles south of Atlanta where much of the movie was filmed.

This weekend, they plan to recreate some of the movie’s memorable scenes, including a stunt driver’s attempt to jump 150 feet through the air in a Trans Am. Also planned: A Burt Reynold’s look-alike contest.

Reynolds himself will also be in attendance, and will take part in a question-and-answer session in a city park, Jonesboro City Manager Ricky Clark Jr. said.

“People are coming from all over the U.S. and other countries,” Clark said. “I got a message from someone from Switzerlan­d who is flying over for this event.”

A stunt man driving a Trans Am hoped to re-create the Bandit’s jump across the Flint River west of downtown Jonesboro.

But organizers decided the river site, now overtaken by weeds, wasn’t feasible for another jump. So they will instead re-create the jump at the nearby Atlanta Motor Speedway tonight.

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