Smokey and the Bandit episodes of the series. Needham saw an advertisement for the soon-to-be-released 1977 Pontiac Trans Am and knew right away that would be the Bandit's car, or, as Needham referred to it, a character in the movie. He contacted Pontiac and an agreement was made that four 1977 Trans Ams and two Pontiac LeMans 4-door sedans would be provided for the movie. The Trans Ams were actually 1976-model cars with 1977 front ends. (From 1970 to 1976, both the Firebird/Trans Am and Chevrolet Camaro had two round headlights, and in 1977, the Firebird/Trans Am was changed to four rectangular headlights, while
Smokey and the Bandit puke" (a roadside diner) was not in the original story, but rather was Gleason's idea. Before Gleason was cast in the film, Richard Boone was originally considered for the role of Buford T. Justice. Sally Field only accepted the part after her agent advised her that she needed a big movie role on her resume. Reynolds actively pushed for her casting after Universal initially resisted, claiming Field was not attractive enough. Field enjoyed making the film, but remembers that virtually the entire project was improvised. Reportedly, Needham had great difficulty getting any studios or producers to take his project seriously,