Our next stop for Movie Star Monday , a series that has us looking at film productions in Covington, is The Cannonaball Run directed by Hal Needham and written by Brock Yates featuring a large cast of stars including, Burt Reynolds, Jackie Chan and Farrah Fawcett. The film itself was released in 1981 and was based on an unofficial and unsanctioned race from east to west known as Cannonabll Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy dash, also known as the Cannonball Run or Cannonball Baker. This comedy, action and racing film features a wide variety of eccentric competitors participating in a wild and illegal cross-country road race. However, the eccentric entrants will do anything to win the road race, including low-down, dirty tricks. The Scene in Covington featured Burt Reynolds and Dom DeLuise landing an airplane in the middle of the downtown square and showcasing perhaps one of Covington’s most famous features, the historic Newton County Courthouse.
The Cannonball Run was a box office hit and spawned a sequel, Cannonball Run II. The movie (and Burt Reynolds) has its own paver on the Covington Walk of Stars highlighting its contribution in creating Hollywood of the South. If you want to have a much shorter “Cannonball Run” of your own, why not travel through all of Covington? Not only will it be nostalgic seeing some locations of classic film and television you saw when you were growing up, but you will also get to explore the beautiful natural scenery of Covington.
