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Macon Film Festival Announces Special Guest Burt Reynolds

Staff Report From Middle Georgia CEO

Thursday, June 25th, 2015

Today the Macon Film Festival announced that Academy Award nominee and Golden Globe winner Burt Reynolds will be a special guest at the tenth annual festival, which will be held July 16-19, 2015. Mr. Reynolds will headline the Special Screening of DELIVERANCE, which was filmed in Georgia, on Friday, July 17, at the Douglass Theatre, located at 355 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd. 

DELIVERANCE is an iconic Southern film about four city-dwelling friends (Reynolds, Jon Voight, Ned Beatty, Ronny Cox) who decide to get away from their jobs, wives and kids for a week of canoeing in rural Georgia. When the men arrive they are not welcomed by the backwoods locals who stalk the vacationers and savagely attack them in the woods. Reeling from the ambush, the friends attempt to return home but are surrounded by dangerous rapids and pursued by a madman. Soon, their canoe trip turns into a fight for survival.

Reynolds, who portrays alpha male Lewis Medlock in the 1972 backwoods thriller, will be available for a Q&A following the screening.  The special film print secured from Warner Brothers Pictures will screen at 8:00pm. 

“I love Georgia! I've made most of my movies there, and I'm very proud that the Macon Film Festival has selected two films that show two very different sides of what I call my lucky state,” said Burt Reynolds. “Deliverance shows a “good ole boy south” in transition, as well as the power of nature, while Sharky's Machine features Atlanta as a modern city in the new emerging south. I was lucky to work with many friends in each of these pictures – while directing “Sharky,” I was able to work with Charles Durning, Brian Keith, and introduce the beautiful Rachel Ward to the world in her film debut." Reynolds added, "Playing Lewis in Deliverance was a once in a lifetime experience. John Boorman is a master at directing, and working on the river created a bond between Jon Voight, Ned Beatty, Ronny Cox, and me that few have ever had on a film set. I look forward to sharing these with you this summer!”
Julie Wilkerson, Macon Film Festival president said, “For our 10th Festival, we wanted to celebrate an impactful Georgia film, continue our tradition of hosting industry respected and interesting celebrities, and pay homage to our first festival. Screening Deliverance with Burt Reynolds as our guest accomplishes all three goals. Forty-three years later the film is still generating huge tourist dollars for North Georgia and the rafting industry. Burt Reynolds is an icon, and Deliverance was the film that secured his spot in stardom. It was also the first special screening at the 2006 Macon Film Festival, so showing it this year brings us full circle. We are honored to welcome Burt Reynolds to Macon to help us celebrate this milestone year.”
Reynolds will also be screening SHARKY’S MACHINE on Sunday at 5pm at The Douglass Theatre. A Question & Answer session will follow the screening. 

Macon Film Festival is July 16 – 19. Passes are now available on the festival’s website http://www.maconfilmfestival.com or at this Ticket Derby link: http://www.ticketderby.com/event/?id=248709&mode. Tickets are $10 for single blocks (Single Block tickets do not provide admission to Special Screenings), $25 for one-day passes; $75 for Screening passes, valid all four days; and $150 for All-Access passes that include admission to all screenings and after-parties. Day passes are Free to Students with a valid I.D.

Media: If you are interested in covering the film festival please send an email to [email protected]

To keep up with the latest festival news follow us on Facebook (Macon Film Festival) or Twitter (@MaconFilmFest). Tickets, programs and merchandise will be available at Macon Film Festival Headquarters located at 567 Cherry St., from Wednesday, July 15, through Sunday, July 19.