Who will step up and help the Bandit? If Jay-Z can help raise awareness for Marina Abramovic’s Performing Arts Institute, surely he can make time for Burt Reynolds. The Burt Reynolds Institute for Film & Theatre (BRIFT, although we wish the acronym was BANDIT) is planning a major fundraising event in August (live auctions, poker games, an exhibit of Smokey & the Bandit cars). All proceeds will go to building a new campus in Jupiter, Florida, (which some people call already Burt Reynolds, Florida; it’s also home to Burt Reynolds Park). Students of BRIFT can sign-up for classes like fundamentals of acting, introduction to vocal and voice projection, improv, and a master acting class with Reynolds himself (by invitation only).
Jay-Z’s charity is a real possibility. The three-day fundraising event will be held at the L’Auberge Resort in St. Charles, Louisiana, August 2-4, 2013. According to the Jay-Z/Justin Timberlake summer tour schedule, Jay-Z is free Aug 2-3. Fingers crossed for a duet or at least a sample from Reynolds’ 1973 album “Ask Me What I Am.” It’s rumored Jay-Z is a huge fan of 1981’s Sharky’s Machine, in which Reynolds directed himself.