I always felt that Burt Reynolds might have sustained his regime as star had he worked with better directors. Because his filmography was littered with the work of journeymen - Hal Needham, Joseph Sergeant. And his career famously never recovered from turning down the role of the astronaut in Terms of Endearment from James L Brooks.
But maybe there is something to be said in his defence.
Burt didn't have great luck with A list directors. Look at the following:
* Stanley Donen - made a hash of Lucky Lady which had been a much-in-demand script
* Steven Spielberg - was to direct White Lightning but pulled out instead Sergeant did it and was rewarded with a big hit
*Sam Fuller - made Shark but Fuller took his name off the film
*John Boorman - helped make Reynolds a star with Deliverance - they were going to do another film together but Reynolds got sick... the film was Zardoz! Bullet dodged. Still it's a shame Reynolds didn't appear in The Emerald Forest.
*Peter Bodganovich - the hottest director in Hollywood used Reynolds for two films, both big flops: At Long Last Love and Nickelodeon
*Don Siegel - directed Rough Cut which was a mess.
*Robert Altman - was meant to direct Heat and would have been perfect but pulled out.
*Michael Crichton - he'd made Coma, Westworld, The Great Train Robbery... but with Reynolds did Physical Evidence
*Blake Edwards - his two films with Reynolds, The Man Who Had Power Over Women and City Heat, were both disappointments.
*Bill Forsyth and John Sayles - a dynamic combination resulted in a good film, Breaking In, but no one cared.
So you can blame him for being wary.
He did work with some top directors with fine results - Boorman, Alan J Pakula, Norman Jewison, Robert Aldrich.
He fought with directors - John Alvidsen on WW and the Dixie Dance Kings, Dick Richards on Heat, Henry Winkler on Cop and a Half and PT Anderson on Boogie Nights.
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