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” The most important thing to remember is: to protect your quarterback – Me!”

Burt Reynolds in The Longest Yard (1974) will be screening at The Wildey Theater in Edwardsville, Il at 7pm Tuesday, January 28th. Admission is $2.

Hollywood veteran director Robert Aldrich gave Burt Reynolds one of his biggest hits – and best roles – in this seriocomic tale of prison life and football. On the surface, the character of Paul Crewe is fairly despicable – he is a smartass, a drunk, and a violent malcontent not above mistreating women. But Reynolds not only makes us like Crewe, he makes us actually root for him to find redemption. With Eddie Albert and Ed Lauter as the villains, and wonderful character performances from Richard Kiel, Michael Conrad, Bernadette Peters, and many others, Yard doesn’t gloss over its portrayal of prison society. The hard life often explodes in violence, racial tensions abound, and then there’s the warden’s secretary.

Burt is gone, but his movies live on! This weekend, the Skyview Drive-In in downtown Belleville, Il, will pay tribute to the late superstar Burt Reynolds with a double feature of two of his best films!

At 8pm is Smokey And The Bandit

Ever wonder what the second highest grossing film of 1977 was, after Star Wars?Redneck bad boys were all the rage in ’77. Cars were still made in Michigan and Cb radios were the hot technology with phrases like “10-4 good buddy” familiar expressions and Smokey And The Bandit captured that side of American culture as well as any film.The plot of Smokey And The Bandit was merely an excuse for the many car chases and gags that comprised the thin story, which is about Bandit (Burt Reynolds) and his buddy Cledus (aka: “Snowman”. – Jerry Reed) attempting to win a bet. They have to drive from Georgia to Arkansas,...

Article by Jim Batts, Dana Jung, Travis Keune, and Tom Stockman

Burt Reynolds, one of We Are Movie Geeks favorite actors, turns 80 today. Happy Birthday Burt!

On February 11th, 1936, Reynolds was born in Waycross, Georgia, before his family moved to Jupiter Florida, where his father served as Chief of Police. Young Burt excelled at sports and played football at Florida State University. He became an All Star Southern Conference halfback (and was earmarked by the Baltimore Colts) before injuries sidelined his football career. He dropped out of college and headed to New York with dreams of becoming an actor. There he worked in restaurants and clubs while pulling the odd TV job or theater role. Burt was spotted in a New York City stage production of Mister Roberts and signed to a TV contract and eventually had recurring roles in such shows as Gunsmoke (1955), Riverboat (1959) and his own series, Hawk...

Article by Jim Batts, Dana Jung, Travis Keune, and Tom Stockman

We like to celebrate the movie tough guys of the ’70s here at We Are Movie Geeks and at Super-8 Movie Madness. We’ve posted Top Ten lists to tie into Super-8 shows featuring Charles Bronson (Here), Clint Eastwood (Here), and Lee Marvin (Here). This month we’re going to honor the #1 top money-making star for five consecutive years – 1978 – 1982 – Burt Reynolds. On February 11th, 1936, Reynolds was born in Waycross, Georgia, before his family moved to Jupiter Florida, where his father served as Chief of Police. Young Burt excelled at sports and played football at Florida State University. He became an All Star Southern Conference halfback (and was earmarked by the Baltimore Colts) before injuries sidelined his football career. He dropped out of college and headed to New York with dreams of becoming an actor. There he worked in restaurants...

The fans are in the seats, the fields have been lined in white and the players are ready for some football action. Can’t you smell it in the air? The early days of Fall are here and we’re in the thick of the hallowed football time of year – high school, college and NFL. Wamg is counting down our 35 favorite football films you need to see before the kickoff of pigskin season. It’s never too early or too late to talk the sport loved by fans everywhere. Many of these true stories can be found on DVD, Blu-ray and Video On Demand. Let us know in the comments section below how you would have ranked your favorite football movies or if we left any on the sidelines.

1. Rudy

“You’re 5 foot nothin’, 100 and nothin’, and you have barely a speck of athletic ability. And you hung in there...

It seems like everybody is getting in on the "Great Tebow Debate" these days -- from retired NFL quarterbacks, to pop culture essayist Chuck Klosterman and now comedy legend Bill Cosby.

"Denver, we're old friends," Cosby said in a recent YouTube video announcing an upcoming comedy show he's doing in Denver in March 31st. But it's not just comedy Cosby talks about, he also comes to Tebow's defense.

Unsure about what the weather will be like come March in Denver, Cosby starts out jokingly, "call Tim Tebow and ask him for a great day."

"I like the way that team plays football," Cosby says in all seriousness about the Denver Broncos, "and all these people that don't understand it, tell them 'come on and beat them.'"

Cosby then says specifically about Tebow, "Tell Tim I said, don't worry about what all these people are saying about him, just look...

Some of sport's greatest rivalries have gone down in history: Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, John McEnroe and Björn Borg, Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost... the list goes on. Generally speaking though, once sporting heroes retire, they find common ground, make up and reminisce about the old days. Ok, it doesn't happen every time. Angelo Mosca is 73 years old. He's a former athlete, playing in the Canadian Football League (Cfl) between 1958 and 1972. Joe Kapp - also aged 73 - is a former football star too, playing both in Canada and in the NFL in the United States. The two were on opposite sides during a controversial Grey Cup match in November 1963, and their rivalry is thought to have begun when Mosca knocked out one of Kapp's teammates. The gridiron (more)...

The wrinkled, arthritic fists were flying at an event for the Canadian Football League this weekend -- when two 73-year-old former players Attacked each other ... and it was all caught on tape. Long story short -- former NFL quarterback Joe Kapp (who also played in the Cfl) came face to face with former Cfl enemy Angelo Mosca during a luncheon for the Grey Cup (the Canadian version of the Super Bowl). Kapp shoved a flower...

Randy calls an audible and goes for a little Burt Reynolds.

It’s not too hard to connect the dots between professional football and prison, or between football and fine wine. It’s quite a bit harder to make a play for all three.

There is no shortage of star football players who have done a little time – or more – in the pokey. Conversely, some football folks have ventured into the field of wine. I’ll take football over prison and wine over either of those choices.

The Longest Yard has Burt Reynolds – himself a former college football player – as a prisoner who heads up the inmate football team in a contest against the guards, a game which is more than just a game to those on the field. It’s fantasy football with real consequences. These football heroes have numbers a lot longer than one or two digits; their football cards are mugshots.