One of the most underrated, entertaining directors/stuntmen of all time, Hal Needham passed away today at the age of 82.
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Hal Needham, probably the greatest stuntman who ever lived, died today at the age of 82. Needham changed everything about Hollywood stuntwork, and when he was done doing that, he made some of the most entertaining movies of all time. SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT was his first time out as a director, but he learned every lesson that Hollywood filmmakers could give him, having worked with so many of the great directors during his long, illustrious career as a stuntman. The resulting film is one of the best films of the 1970s - tight as a drum, enjoyable as hell, and featuring Burt Reynolds in his most iconic role as Bo "Bandit" Darville. There are very few films, pound for pound, that are as flat-out fun as SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT. It's a masterwork of directing and stuntwork, and it's all due to Hal Needham, who made movies for everyone, young and old, who ever wanted to stick it to the man and drink some ice cold Coors beer (preferably brought from over the state lines) while doing it.
It's difficult to believe today that SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT almost didn't happen, that it would be any kind of risk for a studio, but Universal balked at the budget and trimmed it by $1 million days before shooting started. Undeterred, Needham revised his schedule and made it happen. From his long years working as one of the highest paid stuntmen in Hollywood, Needham knew how to change things up on
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