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NBC’s Official Knight Rider site has updated with a couple of ads for Ford: “The 2008 Ford Mustang, Starring as K.I.T.T. in the new Knight Rider.” NBC are also advertising a Ford Giveaway to tie in with the movie on February 17.
SyFy Portal:
Knight Rider Car, Driver Both Getting Upgrades
Variety have revealed more of the behind-the-scenes goings-on that led to Will Arnett pulling out of the new TV movie, and being replaced by Val Kilmer.
It has come to light that for the better part of a decade, Arnett has been the voice of GMC Trucks in General Motors’ advertising campaigns. The new K.I.T.T. is, of course, a Ford Mustang. Because Ford is taking an active role in the marketing and branding of the telepic, General Motors asked Arnett to withdraw his participation.
“I was very excited at the prospect of playing the part of K.I.T.T. in the new Knight Rider movie,” Arnett said. “However, because of a long relationship with General Motors as the voice of GMC Trucks, I had to respectfully withdraw from the project.”
Obviously this is why we haven’t been hearing Arnett as K.I.T.T. in the last few NBC commercials.
Variety’s Article – Val Kilmer voices Knight Rider
Meanwhile, over at Knight Rider Online, Shapeshifter has revealed that Kilmer read the script, liked what he saw, and the producers secured his services in a 5-year contract… which means that if this incarnation of Knight Rider goes to series, Kilmer will be very much a part of it!
A strange turn of events was reported by Knight Rider insider Shapeshifter over at the Knight Rider Online forums. Unfortunately, due to contract issues, Will Arnett had to back out of the project a few weeks ago, and will no longer be voicing K.I.T.T.
The new voice of K.I.T.T. is none other than Val Kilmer. The producers are reportedly very happy with the choice, and voice work on the production resumed today.
What an amazing choice! I’m reminded of what Glen Larson said on the original series’ DVD commentary… with a fantasy premise like Knight Rider, you have to fill it with really good actors to make it work. This new Knight Rider is anchored with the excellent Bruce Davison, Sydney Tamiia Poitier, and Justin Bruening and Deanna Russo both come from soap backgrounds like Hasselhoff, and there are some other interesting names in there. And now Val Kilmer.
Whether he would remain onboard if the show is picked up for a series is unknown, but this is sure to add some more weight to this already massive project!
Updated:
Shapeshifter’s original post can be found over at Knight Rider Online:
Shapeshifter’s Bombshell – Val Kilmer as Voice of K.I.T.T.
NBC screened another 30-second ad promoting the TV movie! This is the first that is composed of actual scenes from February 17th’s Movie Event. They have added it to the video section of their official Knight Rider site… click the link to go there:
NBC’s Official Knight Rider Site
In it, we see shots of Tracer (Justin Bruening) fighting, K.I.T.T. driving itself — and Sarah Graiman — and our first view of the Knight 3000’s dashboard console. The money shot is the highly-publicised collision between K.I.T.T. and an SUV — a great demonstration that this K.I.T.T. is as “virtually indestructible” as its predecessor!
We also hear a few lines of K.I.T.T.’s dialogue. “Don’t even think about it” gets another airing, as does “Hello, Mike.” If this teaser is anything to go by, K.I.T.T.’s voice fits with the Mustang: there’s more power in this voice, and I think there will be comparisons with Peter Cullen and Paul Frees.
In another quick cut that will leave Knight Rider fans salivating, Charles Graiman (Bruce Davison) tells Mike Tracer, “I’m resurrecting the Foundation.”
It’s about time!
I caught an episode of CSI: NY last night, and it was a real warm-up for the new Knight Rider.
The show was called You Only Die Once, and featured a supercar being used in a series of robberies. The sleek black vehicle was made of a new “memory-polymer” that could repair itself, and also featured lasers, flame-throwers, and tinting windows.
Since the abilities to change shape and self-heal have been announced as the new features of the Knight 3000, it was interesting to see how they might be handled on screen; I wasn’t a big fan of the concepts to begin with, but their presentation in the CSI show was very well done. They presented us with a very cool, believable car of the future. If Knight Rider can do the same, then we’re on to a winner!
If you haven’t caught CSI:NY: You Only Die Once already, look out for it in your TV listings!
2008 is an exciting time to be a Knight Rider fan. It’s a time of new beginnings!
And with that, I welcome you to this new Knight Rider Archive Blog. Long-time visitors will know that the Archive has been online in its various forms for nearly 10 years, and with the renewed interest in the series thanks to two new projects, it’s been necessary to make a few changes around here to continue to archive all things Knight Rider.
Next month sees a new TV-movie sequel to Knight Rider premiere on NBC. Starring Justin Bruening, Sydney Poitier, Deanna Russo and Bruce Davison, the new Knight Rider focuses on Mike Tracer, the estranged son of Michael Knight, and the new K.I.T.T. — a Ford Shelby GT500KR Mustang: The Knight Industries Three Thousand. A new section has been set up for this 21st Century Knight Rider, and you can keep track of any updates and news about it here.
In development over at the Weinstein Company is Knight Rider: The Movie, written and produced by Knight Rider’s original creator, Glen A. Larson. A new section is under construction here to keep track of that, and any news and rumours will be rounded up here in the blog.
Keep checking back for updates — there’ll be a lot between now and February 17th!