The first event in the Georgia Brewed Cinema film series was always meant to be a celebration of Burt Reynolds’s 1977 Georgia-filmed Smokey and the Bandit, but after the actor died last week at age 82, the event has also become a tribute.
“We’re going to do a toast before [the screening], and everyone will get a Burt Reynolds mustache” said Matthew Hall, the founder of Patina Pictures, which produces the series. “It’s a celebration of Burt Reynolds as well as of the film. He did a lot for the Georgia movie business, so it fits completely.”
The series, which takes place during three evenings in September, features three movies that were both filmed in and set in the state: Smokey, Drumline, and Baby Driver. Each film will be screened outdoors on the patio at Georgia Beer Garden, and the event features not only a food menu inspired by each specific film, but a three-beer pairing from Wild Heaven Beer as well. Some of the food planned for the Smokey screening includes a version of the film’s Diablo sandwich and fried pimento cheese balls with Dr. Pepper sauce.
