NEWS

SEPTEMBER 29, 2008

Our interview with "Cannonball" 1&2 producer Albert S.Ruddy is up. Truly one of the greats, Mr.Ruddy talks about all things "Cannonball" as well as upcoming projects with Jet Li and Clint Eastwood..

SEPTEMBER 1, 2008

We're back!, but on a very sad day for fans of the "Smokey and the Bandit" movies as well as music fans in general. Jerry Reed, who was hilarious as good ol' Snowman, has died at the age of 71. Read our tribute to Cletus himself HERE.

APRIL 14, 2007

Just thought this was cool: In the "Death Proof" segment of "Grindhouse", Kurt Russell's character is refered to at varying times as "Cannonball Run" and "Hooper". Guess Tarantino is a Needham fan.

JANUARY 14, 2007

The Cannonball Run Pit Stop has its first celebrity interview...and it's a big one! Check out our interview with Hal Needham, who directed all the movies listed on this site, as well as "Megaforce" and "RAD", HERE !

JANUARY 1, 2007

Happy New Year everybody! As a pretty cool way to usher in 2007, Warner Bros. has just released one of their triple feature discs featuring some of Burt's 80's classics. The new two disc set retails for around ten bucks and features Hooper, Stroker Ace, and Sharkey's Machine.

JUNE 20, 2006

When news comes, baby it comes fast and furious! Cannonball Run II has just been re-released on DVD as part of the Warner Bros. Comedy Double Feature Collection. And no, it's not teamed up with the first Cannonball (Warner doesn't own the rights to that), it's teamed up with The Gumball Rally, an earlier 'cross country road race' comedy that certainly was inspired by the real life 'Cannonball Sea to Shining Sea Memorial Trophy Dash'. "The Gumball Rally" is thought to be the first REAL kick at the cinematic Cannonball can.

JUNE 3, 2006

Adrienne Barbeau, she of the spandex jumpsuit in the first "Cannonball" has just released her autobiography, 'There Are Worse Things I Could Do' (funny, would expect Stockard Channing to snag that title, but I digress). In it she talks about her shock and dismay to find out her character in "Cannonball" was nothing but one long boob joke. See, seems Adrienne was trying to create 'a character'.

The Smokey and the Bandit Special Edition DVD came out this week with a 20 some odd minute documentary about the making of this car chase classic. New interviews with Burt, Hal Needham, and Paul Williams rev it up. Thoughts? Ideas? Happy? Disappointed? Post it in the comments section!

APRIL 24, 2006

A Smokey and the Bandit Message board is now up, no doubt in order to help promote the upcoming Special Edition DVD. Pop a Coors and race on overHERE

APRIL 7, 2006

SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT:SPECIAL EDITION DVD RELEASE!! 

It's coming! May 30th, 2006 will see a special edition DVD release of "Smokey" ! Announced extras include "Loaded Up and Truckin' - Making Smokey and the Bandit" Featurette, "Snowman, What's Your 20? - The Smokey and the Bandit CB Tutorial" Featurette. Can we hope for a Needham commentary too?

Anyhow, y'all gonna be 'Texas Bound and Flyin' to the DVD store on that date?

Check it out: The SOJU After Movie guys on Movie Web have done a commentary pod cast for "The Cannonball Run" that can be run concurrent with the DVD. A lot of it is the guys getting drunk- there's a "Cannonball Rum" drink recipe- and talking about parties and babes, but it's still a lot of fun. HERE

The "Sharkey's Machine" remake mentioned here about a year ago looks to be finally on the way. Phil Janou, best known for "U2: Rattle & Hum" directs. Early rumour for the lead has Mark Walberg starring.

Marco Passarelli, at his site www.popjunkie.com, has created a fantastic tribute to "Smokey and the Bandit". There's memorabilia, trivia, and the soundtracks to all three movies! Check it out!

APRIL 20, 2005

Finally some news! 

In an article posted today on Latino Revue, Burt let slip that there is, indeed, a "Cannonball Run" remake in the works! Unfortunately, he has no plans to have anything to do with it, saying "You can't top the first one...especially the cast we had". Burt also announced that he hopes to direct a remake of his 1981 flick "Sharkey's Machine' with George Clooney tops on his wish list to play the lead.

Let's hope if this "Cannonball" remake does happen (and if "Dukes of Hazard" is big this summer, trust me, it will) he changes his mind. You can't have a Cannonball without Burt! 

More, as they say, on this story as it develops.

Also, I recently picked up the book "Cannonball! World's Greatest Outlaw Race" on Amazon. The book is by Brock Yates, screenwriter of the first movie, and creator of the real life race, and covers the real Cannonball Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash from its inception in 1971, to its final legal running in 1979. It's mostly a book for hard core automotive fans, but there are all sorts of great anecdotes about the actual race (Yes, a team did actually enter once dressed as priests.)

About the movie, Yates original script was a serious adventure/comedy meant to star Steve McQueen. When McQueen died, Reynolds and director Hal Needham took over and farce became the order of the day.

FEBRUARY 5, 2005

Well, there's not much to tell. News in "Cannonball" land is, as you might imagine for a series whose last installment came out 21 years ago, pretty slow. For updates on Burt's career, you can check out his page HERE. Otherwise, all I have to say is, Welcome to the new site! I'll do my best to keep you up to date on any info as it comes in, and if you hear anything new and noteworthy, please let me know. Until then, check out this very weird French poster for the first "Cannonball". Enjoy!

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