<P> 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 . </P> <P> Reportedly, Needham had great difficulty getting any studios or producers to take his project seriously, as in the film industry, he was better known as a stuntman . He managed to obtain studio attention after his friend Reynolds agreed to portray the Bandit in the film . </P> <P> The movie was primarily filmed in Georgia in the cities of McDonough, Jonesboro and Lithonia . The scenes set in Texarkana were filmed in Jonesboro and the surrounding area, and many of the chase scenes were filmed in the surrounding areas on Highway 54 between Fayetteville and Jonesboro for a majority of the driving scenes, Mundy's Mill Road, Main Street in Jonesboro, Georgia State Route 400, I - 85 (Pleasant Hill exit), and in McDonough . However, the scene where they drive through the Shell gas station was filmed in Ojai, California on the corner of Ojai and El Paseo . Much of the surrounding scene comes from that immediate vicinity . The scene featuring the racetrack was filmed at Lakewood Speedway at the old Lakewood Fairgrounds on the south side of Atlanta . The roller coaster seen in the movie was the Greyhound . It had not been used for some time and was repainted for the film . It was destroyed in Smokey and the Bandit II and a flashback scene in Part 3 . </P> <P> The film's theme song, "East Bound and Down", was written virtually overnight by Jerry Reed . He gave Needham a preview of the song, and when initially he got no reaction from the director, offered to rewrite the song . Needham, however, liked the song so much he assured Jerry not to change a word . It became one of Reed's biggest hits and his signature number . </P>

Where was smokey and the bandit 1 filmed
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