Gary Scott Thompson Interview!

[Knight-Armen]

Okay. We've been told that there's a new series in developement! Mr. Thompson was asked on how to avoid turning this series into a Bionic Woman type-failure, well first of all let's remove those stupid CGI modifications!
Keep the original cast if possible (not all of course becuase that would be impossible), fire Mike Tracer, bring back Hasselhoff and the turbo boost function!

5 hours later ..., and finally don't take to f-ing long!!!

It's amazing how you can talk about every aspect of the car and cast but not giving a public statement as to why they didn't want Hasselhoff to play the lead in the show!





Ps. Sorry for making another topic about Gary Scott Thompson, it's the only way of reaching out to people!

[PHOENIXZERO]

Why? Because not many want to see a man pushing sixty (not to mention the potential unreliability due to his personal problems) in an action/adventure series playing the lead every week not to mention "rescuing" girls half his age, unless he's going to be going around helping out those single grandmothers. They need a new mostly younger cast to help attract a more diverse demographic while leaving things open enough to at least attract a good portion of the fans of the original... It's like people complaining about Kirk and the rest of the original Star Trek cast not being the focus of Star Trek: TNG. I think it's a no brainer, it's no where near the crap of the Bionic Woman which was a train wreck and doomed to fail before the pilot was even shot, CGI had nothing to do with it.

Be glad it's not a reboot/remake and they're keeping the previous Knight Rider in its history/mythology, I know I am.

[Kram061-1]

I like the idea of his son taking KITT over. I think Michael Knight would be better used as a recurring character than a regular, as said above, due to his personal issues. I would definitely love to see some interaction between him and KITT though, or perhaps KITT referring to a mission he did with Mike's father. ( I know it's the K3000 but who cares) I know I felt some nostalgia when Michael spoke of Wilton Knight 25 years ago, or the bad guy spoke of KITT and Michael as an 'urban legend.'

Some things from the original show, Like Turbo boost and the freeze frame just prior to commercials would be good too, but The Hoff is getting to old to be reliable for the series lead. I think the movie didn't hit it's potential, and I never thought it would, even before I saw it. You cannot replace awesome car stunts and mumbo jumbo with morphing. But a mix of a little of both would help. Story wise the movie left alot to be desired, as I expected it to.

But, for the first time since this new Knight Rider was announced, I really believe this new guy in charge of the show intends to do it right, and put the time and effort into making sure it is done so.

[Knight-Armen]

I understand you both and for what it's worth I agree with you to some extent but I can't really get over this Mike Tracer character. I know that Hasselhoff is getting old and may not be suitable for this type of role; nevertheless, I believe that he turned Knight Rider into something more than just a man with his talking car. I mean he was a tall, handsome and really good looking, which made it worth watching every week.
This newage Knight Rider felt like something made by unexperienced producers, people who didn't really know how to retrieve that old Knight Rider feeling we all experienced. The car is not a big issue if you ask me because with a sensible budget you can turn it into something amazing that everyone would appreciate but replacing the lead character is very risky.
What if they would replace the lead character in the TV show 24 (Kiefer Sutherland), or any other top of the line TV show?

What really annoys me is that not a single producer or director or even a TICK has given us a brief explanation as to why they didn't want the Hoff in the lead!

[Sue]

I’ll let the following Youtube express my feelings on that.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jS6aBTbeCuc

In as much as I watched David Hasselhoff’s shows and admired and cared for his characters I was more focused on the car or the other lifeguards with my affections. - He was too old for me even back then.

Justin Bruening copy copy.gif (40.2 KiB) Viewed 16635 times

How you cannot think that this one here is hot I do not know.

But hey it you think about it, it’s a perfect fit, both Justin and David had just left soap operas and were 28 when they started their Knight Rider career. So you can’t exactly make any arguments about Justin’s age or where he came from.

I remember David saying he was so nervous he was nauseous for the filming of his pilot, and nevertheless you all managed to fall in love with him.

Besides characters today need to have more depth than they did back then. So even if they did use David, they would have to change Michael’s character. It’s better then to just start fresh. You would be complaining even more if they messed with the 1980s version of the type of man Michael was.

[Knight-Armen]

Again, you made some good points; nevertheless, in the end of the day this is just a battle of taste. Perhaps Justin is a better choice at this point and if that's the case then so be it. If I were to choose a character to play the lead role in Knight Rider it would have been someone with a similar looks and personality to David. Atleast that would have kept some of the originality.

Anyways, let's put this discussion aside for a moment!

Why didn't they stick with the original Kitt voice (by William Daniels)? That would have been great because atleast it would feel like Kitt.

[PHOENIXZERO]

Again, because it's not the same KITT hence being the Knight Industries Three-Thousand, that doesn't refer to just the car was the body, the AI which is KITT is the heart/brain/soul, the AI's name/designation was the real Knight Industries Two-Thousand, it makes no sense for them to use the same voice for a new character who happens to have the same acronym for a nickname. Also, William Daniels is 80 years old and probably isn't interested in the least bit about being in a recording studio day after day to do the amount of voice work that'd be required, not just for the two hour pilot but for a new TV series that could go on to have just as many seasons as the original, voice acting can be easy work but it's still time consuming and when you're that age and have worked as long as he has, well I think you can find better things to do with whatever time you have left and lets face it, at 80 years old you don't have a whole lot left. When he does pass away, he takes the original KITT with him whether there's a TV show at that point or a series of films.

As for Bruening not looking like Hasselhoff, it makes an infinite amount more sense for him to NOT look like Michael Knight/Hasselhoff considering the origin of Michael Knight being originally Michael Long unless Wilton Knight's doctors were so good that they were able to rewrite Long's DNA along with changing his face and besides, he could always resemble his mother or a combination of both..

The somewhat cheesy way to look at it is that just as Mike Traceur is the son and successor of Michael Knight, the Knight Industries Three-Thousand is the son/successor to the Knight Industries Two-Thousand. It's better that way since it allows Mike and the new KITT to start off fresh and not have the baggage there would be his having a new lead with the old KITT. The original KITT belongs with Michael and it leaves things open for both to return at some point and I think that would be much more special than if they were just back week after week. The series needs new blood with the old occasionally making a special appearance or two or three every season, probably during sweeps months. But it's not going to survive on nostalgia alone.

I've been a fan of Knight Rider since I was around two years old, for 24 years and I completely understand why these things were done and I for one am very glad they didn't go the reboot/remake route like the Larson film is going to do (and I totally understand and support the reasons for that too because if anyone should do it, it should be the guy who created it), it gives a chance for us to see new adventures while some of the gaps get filled in between the end of the original to now on a somewhat official level. But it'd be nice if NBC didn't go and be stupid about this and at least sought Glen Larson's blessing and some input from him or the people who also had a big hand in the original series.

[Lost Knight]

If I were to choose a character to play the lead role in Knight Rider it would have been someone with a similar looks and personality to David. Atleast that would have kept some of the originality.

Anyways, let's put this discussion aside for a moment!

Why didn't they stick with the original Kitt voice (by William Daniels)? That would have been great because atleast it would feel like Kitt.

I will have to disagree with those who think Bruening does not look like Hasselhoff. I happen to think they look like they could be related. I think it's just enough so that it could either be explained that Bruening looks different enough because Michael Long had a different face; and similar enough that Bruening looks like he could be related to Hasselhoff. The personality differences are irrelevant because they're two different people who came up under different circumstances and never even knew each other.

As for the K.I.T.T. voice, it should be beyond obvious at this point that it's a different car, different personality. The dynamic of giving classic K.I.T.T. a new driver was tried (and failed) in Knight Rider 2000. If any canon were to be followed, either classic K.I.T.T. would be a 25-year-old Trans Am, or "the big red tomato" Knight 4000. Would you really want William Daniels' voice in a Mustang anyway? Personally, I think his voice belongs in a Cadiallac XLR-v, but I digress.

[Knight-Armen]

The somewhat cheesy way to look at it is that just as Mike Traceur is the son and successor of Michael Knight, the Knight Industries Three-Thousand is the son/successor to the Knight Industries Two-Thousand. It's better that way since it allows Mike and the new KITT to start off fresh and not have the baggage there would be his having a new lead with the old KITT. The original KITT belongs with Michael and it leaves things open for both to return at some point and I think that would be much more special than if they were just back week after week. The series needs new blood with the old occasionally making a special appearance or two or three every season, probably during sweeps months. But it's not going to survive on nostalgia alone.

Amen to that! May your words be written in stone... (believe it or not but I've had those thoughts as well)

As for the K.I.T.T. voice, it should be beyond obvious at this point that it's a different car, different personality. The dynamic of giving classic K.I.T.T. a new driver was tried (and failed) in Knight Rider 2000. If any canon were to be followed, either classic K.I.T.T. would be a 25-year-old Trans Am, or "the big red tomato" Knight 4000. Would you really want William Daniels' voice in a Mustang anyway? Personally, I think his voice belongs in a Cadiallac XLR-v, but I digress.

Okay, I get the fact that this is the Knight Industries 3000 (i.e. a new vehicle) and not the Knight Industries 2000 which seems to popup in my head everytime I think about it. The car is fine if you can clear your mind form how it's going to perform the Turbo Boost function without wrecking itself (the car is worth around $155 000) but the voice was really cheesy and bad if you ask me. It sounded like it came from the passenger side or something and not from the actual voicebox in the car...

[goldbug]

It sounded like it came from the passenger side or something and not from the actual voicebox in the car...

Technically it was coming from the middle in between the driver and passenger seats. However, if you rewatch the film, you will note the audio was modulated differently depending on the needs of the scene. When they are on the bridge talking and KITT is following them slowly, his voice is clearly being amplified through an external speaker.

[Knight-Armen]

Exactly right! So, to make a long story short we can say that the voice needs a lot more work. Off the record I'd still prefer the old William Daniels voice, which was much more elegant and futuristic to my ears. You guys are talking about actually bringing him back to do recordings from the studio; however, with the CGI technology avaliable today i'm sure they can find a way to do the voice without William himself.

Who's to say that Hasselhoff is satisfied with the movie?

Have a look at this, he's furious with the imperfections:

http://teamsugar.com/group/124906/blog/1611600

[Sue]

Who's to say that Hasselhoff is satisfied with the movie?
Have a look at this, he's furious with the imperfections:

http://teamsugar.com/group/124906/blog/1611600

Yes, we are blogging about that over here:

viewtopic.php?f=1041&t=11509

It's the same article.

[goldbug]

Exactly right! So, to make a long story short we can say that the voice needs a lot more work.

Um...I wasn't saying that at all. I was trying to illustrate that the sound techs on the movie put effort into KITT's voice sounding as if it was projected from different sources depending on the demands of the scene.

You guys are talking about actually bringing him back to do recordings from the studio; however, with the CGI technology avaliable today i'm sure they can find a way to do the voice without William himself.

I believe it would be disrespectful to do so even if it was technologically feasible. That said, what the heck does Computer Generated Imagery have to do with Williams' voice?

Who's to say that Hasselhoff is satisfied with the movie?

Actually, he expressed enthusiasm on his web site: http://www.davidhasselhoff.com/. An excerpt from his February 25 blog:

"Wow… I am blown away by the response to Knight Rider. Thanks for all your amazing messages of support. I hope I do keep a role in the upcoming show… It was one of my all time favorite parts and it’s great to get back into Michael’s shoes again…"

Even though it's the role he's focusing on in that quote, he sounds like he was satisfied with the movie if he enjoyed his time there.

His more recent quote you indicate has yet to be substantiated or clarified (and it hasn't appeared on his official site).

[Knight-Armen]

Um...I wasn't saying that at all. I was trying to illustrate that the sound techs on the movie put effort into KITT's voice sounding as if it was projected from different sources depending on the demands of the scene.

So you think it's okay for the sound to be projected from different directions?

I believe it would be disrespectful to do so even if it was technologically feasible. That said, what the heck does Computer Generated Imagery have to do with Williams' voice?

It sure as hell is not disrespectful! If he turns down on your request of doing the voice recording for Kitt I think it's fair to ask for his approval in using a computer generated voice program to do so. As for the CGI, it has jack *?$# to do with the voice! I was merely pointing out that with the CGI avaliable in todays film recordings i'm sure they can find a way to project the voice of William with a computer program.

Actually, he expressed enthusiasm on his web site: http://www.davidhasselhoff.com/. An excerpt from his February 25 blog:

"Wow… I am blown away by the response to Knight Rider. Thanks for all your amazing messages of support. I hope I do keep a role in the upcoming show… It was one of my all time favorite parts and it’s great to get back into Michael’s shoes again…"

Even though it's the role he's focusing on in that quote, he sounds like he was satisfied with the movie if he enjoyed his time there.

His more recent quote you indicate has yet to be substantiated or clarified (and it hasn't appeared on his official site).

What about those videos showing him drunk? Those were published on YouTube before they got onto other websites...

[Lost Knight]

Actually, he expressed enthusiasm on his web site: http://www.davidhasselhoff.com/. An excerpt from his February 25 blog:

"Wow… I am blown away by the response to Knight Rider. Thanks for all your amazing messages of support. I hope I do keep a role in the upcoming show… It was one of my all time favorite parts and it’s great to get back into Michael’s shoes again…"

Even though it's the role he's focusing on in that quote, he sounds like he was satisfied with the movie if he enjoyed his time there.

His more recent quote you indicate has yet to be substantiated or clarified (and it hasn't appeared on his official site).

Given the fact that David's blog is dated February 25th and the original airdate for the first showing of the backdoor pilot was February 17th, this appears to suggest that David had watched the full movie by this point. (Of course that doesn't necessarily mean he watched it). However, if he had watched it, then the quote on his Web site definitely contradicts the information stated in the ENI article. At the same time, the ENI article features a lengthy quote supposedly from David, which if it's not real, means that ENI went out of their way to make up the quote.

[Knight-Armen]

Lost Knight - Good point!

"What about those videos showing him drunk? Those were published on YouTube before they got onto other websites..."

I mean the blog was posted on may 7th which is probably why it hasn't been uploaded on his site.

[goldbug]

So you think it's okay for the sound to be projected from different directions?

Yes, because if I'm inside the car, KITT would speak to me from an internal speaker. If I'm standing outside and he's talking to me, he would use an external speaker. It's only logical.

It sure as hell is not disrespectful! If he turns down on your request of doing the voice recording for Kitt I think it's fair to ask for his approval in using a computer generated voice program to do so. As for the CGI, it has jack *?$# to do with the voice! I was merely pointing out that with the CGI avaliable in todays film recordings i'm sure they can find a way to project the voice of William with a computer program.

CGI (Computer Generated Imagery/images) is a technology used to create images in a computer, not sound.

What about those videos showing him drunk? Those were published on YouTube before they got onto other websites...

Not my point. The point is not time frame, it's that he made a statement that is contradicting his newer "negative" statement.

[Knight-Armen]

Yes, because if I'm inside the car, KITT would speak to me from an internal speaker. If I'm standing outside and he's talking to me, he would use an external speaker. It's only logical.

I still think they need to work on the voice because to me it's really important to know that it's projected from the actual car. It didn't seem to come from the car on several occations...

CGI (Computer Generated Imagery/images) is a technology used to create images in a computer, not sound.

You didn't quite understand me, did you? I'm very aware of the fact that it's not used for the creation of sounds. My point is that there must be a program for creating voices.

Not my point. The point is not time frame, it's that he made a statement that is contradicting his newer "negative" statement.

Clearly the first statement is positive and the second negative, right?

I think he was angry right from the start! I mean someone else get's your role and now you're asked to do a 3-sec-cameo with no single line about Kitt. In my opinion he had to make a positive statement at first in order to keep the fans happy and not disappointed. The last statement is potraying what he really felt about the pilot and the upcoming series. Accoriding to Hasselhoff himself they missed the point of heart, humor and action.

Conclusion: He didn't like it!

[goldbug]

You didn't quite understand me, did you? I'm very aware of the fact that it's not used for the creation of sounds. My point is that there must be a program for creating voices.

I didn't, because you brought up "CGI" twice in your discussion, which has nothing to do with sound.

There are sound programs, but I think the show wants to distinguish their own KITT's personality without using the original as its crutch.

[Knight-Armen]

Just forget about it because i'm not explaining it again! You still wouldn't understand.

[Lost Knight]

I think he was angry right from the start! I mean someone else get's your role and now you're asked to do a 3-sec-cameo with no single line about Kitt. In my opinion he had to make a positive statement at first in order to keep the fans happy and not disappointed. The last statement is potraying what he really felt about the pilot and the upcoming series. Accoriding to Hasselhoff himself they missed the point of heart, humor and action.

Conclusion: He didn't like it!

That may be true. But even if it is, David Hasselhoff still wanted to be a part of it and is at odds with the producers over how much involvement he should have. While I'd love to see Michael Knight again, Hasselhoff needs to realize that he's lucky the producers even contacted him to be a part of the pilot in the first place. Instead of being thankful for that, he's criticizing the production and trying to impose his will on someone else's production which he has no authority to do. And don't get me wrong, it would be great if he had a role in the series, but if he's in it too much, it will be more difficult for the new series to hold its own ground with the original. Michael is someone who should be reserved for the finale or a special episode. William Daniels is highly unlikely to come back, let alone the Trans Am as well, so there would be no vehicle for Michael to be driving unless it's the Mustang.

[Knight-Armen]

In my opinion he had to meet with the producers at some point in order to establish an involvement as you are saying. In this case they wanted him to do a cameo, something that he certainly didn't expect and after all he came up with the idea to do a retro version of the series as he wasn't happy with the movie Knight Rider 2000 (1991) and now 17 years later they're asking him to do something entirely different from what he wished for. In other words, as much as he hated the role (if you can call it a role to begin with) that he was assigned for in the pilot he felt that maybe one day when the series is on developement he could have the role as Mikes father but the producers are most certainly not thinking along those lines if you ask me. This type of father-son-action-type movies doesn't seem very successful to them and perhaps they're right; nevertheless, if they didn't change all of which the Knight Rider franchise stood for in terms of cast, story, producers, directors, humor etc. they wouldn't have to deal with these type of issues to start with. I've said it many times before and the vehicle might strike us as odd in terms of the shape and brand but I can live with that. After all it's a new century, age and other people in charge but the one thing they had to stay with is Hasselhoff. I know he's old and bla bla bla... but if you're going to replace the lead character of a well known movie or series you may go on and change the name of it as well.

How well did xXx: The Next Level (Ice Cube) do as oppose to the first one with Vin Diesel?

[Shapeshifter]

A lot has been said about how small Hasselhoff's part was in the pilot.

Hasselhoff's part in the pilot script was originally larger. It had to be cut down for reasons I'm not comfortable going into here, but it was NOT the fault of the studio, writer or the producers.

[goldbug]

Just forget about it because i'm not explaining it again! You still wouldn't understand.

I understand. You want them to use computers to manipulate a voice just to sound like William Daniels. My point is, I think that would be to the detriment of the show since this is a new KITT.

[Knight-Armen]

A lot has been said about how small Hasselhoff's part was in the pilot.

Hasselhoff's part in the pilot script was originally larger. It had to be cut down for reasons I'm not comfortable going into here, but it was NOT the fault of the studio, writer or the producers.

I think they would have done better without that pointless part of him attending a funeral looking as sad as one could possibly be. They could have done so much better, for instance doing a stunt scene with Kitt and teach Justin on how he used to fight criminals!

I understand. You want them to use computers to manipulate a voice just to sound like William Daniels. My point is, I think that would be to the detriment of the show since this is a new KITT.

Maybe, but atleast it would feel like Kitt and not Batman.