Burt Reynolds: He's still calling them like he sees them.
The latest newsworthy tidbit from the outspoken hometown movie star came earlier this month when he attended a party for the Florida Music Awards in Fort Lauderdale.
Reynolds took on Gov. Rick Scott, according to ABC news affiliate local10.com, for not sufficiently promoting the Florida film industry and not pushing for a renewal of a statewide tax incentive program for moviemaking in Florida.
And, as always, Reynolds found a colorful way to express himself:
"More films should be shot here," Reynolds said, according to local10.com. "It's not Florida's fault, because Florida's got everything, you know? It's the governor. I remember I went in to see him and I said, 'You know, we ought to be shooting more movies down here.' And he said, 'Why?' I said, 'How did you get to be governor?' He's dumber than a peach orchard sow."
Hey, the man starred in “Smokey and the Bandit.” He knows the vernacular.
So, what’s a peach orchard sow?
According to everything2.com, there is a Southernism, "crazy as a peach orchard sow," which means somebody who is acting recklessly: "This phrase is derived from the idea that a peach orchard sow would eat fruit that had been shaken from the tree by the wind and which had been fermenting. This would cause the sow to become drunk and crazy."
Variations include “drunker than a peach orchard boar” and “nuttier than a peach orchard boar,” but you get the idea. Reynolds was not complimenting the governor.
VIDEO: Burt Reynolds at SXSW 2016
This isn't the first time Reynolds has criticized a Florida governor on filmmaking. He also blasted former Gov. Reubin Askew in the 1970s, saying he had to make movies in Georgia because it was more welcoming to movie crews, according to local10.com.
Reynolds was also happy to see “Moonlight,” a made-in-Miami movie, win the Best Picture Oscar, especially since it was directed by Barry Jenkins, a Florida State University alumni like Reynolds.
“That was great. It was long overdue.”
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Photos: Burt Reynolds through the years
