Movie News: Hasselhoff Misses Out on Knight Rider Role

[neps]

Not sure who this source is, but a couple of other sites had picked up the news - so perhaps it's legit. They don't specifically say which movie (film or TV) but based on Victor's comments - I'm gonna say Film.

from: ContactMusic http://tinyurl.com/yumuz4

DAVID HASSELHOFF is furious after missing out on a role in the big-screen remake of his hit 1980s television show KNIGHT RIDER. The 55-year-old actor hoped to reprise his role as police officer Michael Knight for the film - but the movie's producers have informed him the character is to be re-cast. However, Hasselhoff is confident he will make at least one appearance in the movie, if just to thank fans of the original show. He says, "I think fans will demand that I at least pop up in a cameo. I made the show and fans deserve it."

[Victor Kros]

It's really his own fault. He ruined his image twice now not to mention he didn't have the patience to let Glen do things the way he felt they should have been done.

He has no one to blame but himself for not being attached to the project. As far as him "making" Knight Rider, you see several K.I.T.T. car replicas out there, very few Michael Knight impersonators.

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[March2875]

He did help make Knight Rider. It would have never survived against Dallas if Dr. Snapper Foster hadn't lured in the female audience.

[neps]

Please don't use this forum to directly attack another member. It's one thing to disagree with his point, and back it up with facts (like you have) – but there is nothing good that comes from an attack.

Personally - I'm disappointed to hear that he wont be involved in the Movie Film at all. While he wasn't my favorite part of the series (of course KITT was), he was a huge part of it, and I've hoped that the film would pay some gesture to the past.

Hopefully Glen and David can work through some of their bad blood - and maybe we can have something as small as a cameo (like in the Starsky and Hutch remake).

[Victor Kros]

I was referring to David Hassellhoff.

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[March2875]

I apologize and as a gesture of good faith I edited it out.

I wanted David involved in the KR Feature film so bad it was my birthday wish the last 6 years when I blew out my candles. As far as a cameo is concerned I wish David would turn that down. To me a cameo is an insult to any actor. The only cameo I would enjoy is if his appearance would be at the very end. He "Real" Michael Knight comes out decks the "Fake" Michael Knight jumps behind the wheel and drives off in Kitt. With Kitt saying glad to have you back Michael glad to have you back.

[March2875]

Im sorry Victor I was the bad boy I accused you of taking unfair shots at David and then edited it out. I was out of line I apologize. Perhaps I should have left it in so it made sense. Either way I apologize.

[Victor Kros]

No problem. I know there are a lot of Hoff supporters out there, I was just trying to shed some light on why he might have been denied the role aside from the script details.

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[Lyn]

I could see that coming that D. Hasselhoff wouldn't be in the "Knight Rider" feature film at all, so I'm not really enthusiastic about the film itself at all.
I don't blame him for being upset over being passed over for the role he'd done in the original TV series, but if I were DH, I wouldn't get my hopes up about a cameo in the movie, since apparently that movie won't have any famous celeb cameos in it at all.
In any case, he did indeed help create the show, in a matter of speaking, since I feel he'd helped to make the show believable in the 1980s, and that's where I first got to know who he himself was, and realized that his last name wasn't something someone made up at all.
What a waste of film, a "Knight Rider" movie without D. Hasselhoff in it!
I hope the feature film version of the show "Knight Rider" flops at the box office then, for D. Hasselhoff's sake! Ha!
Yeah, I would've loved to have seen him revive his "Knight Rider" character on the big screen, but hey, I'll always have good memories of him doing "Knight Rider" for TV.

[HungarianKnight]

Personally, I don't mind that The Hoff will not return. He's too old and... we all know his personal problems. With him behind the steering wheel of Kitt, the new show would be a parody of the old.

[Michael Pajaro]

For my money, the better cameo is to have William Daniels appear on screen.

[Victor Kros]

Lyn

since apparently that movie won't have any famous celeb cameos in it at all.

That is an unfair statement to make, even if it's an opinion it's misleading.

Michael, we're working very hard to get William Daniels involved. Keep in mind he is in his 80s.

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[Michael Pajaro]

Having William Daniels as KITT's voice is a given; of course that would be great if he's available. What I'm saying is that in ADDITION to his voice talent, it would be cool to have William Daniels appear as a toll booth collector or a gas station attendant or something.

[FuzzieDice]

Well... I kind of expect that none of the original cast will be in the movie or the TV show. I would expect them to all be re-cast. I been thinking about it as I been reading differing viewpoints and information that comes in. All I know is I plan to see the movie (on DVD hopefully since I'm not able to go to a movie theatre) and the TV movie and hopefully series (if I can see it on Broadcast or iTunes). And all I care is that I be entertained.

After reading plenty of KR fanfic, I've grown accustomed to different people, situations, universes and even KITT and KARR as not cars but human or android even. All in all, it was entertaining. So if the movie and/or TV show is good, I don't really care who is in it, I'll enjoy it anyway.

It would be great if William Daniels played KITT again and if they had KARR in the show or movie that Peter Cullen reprises his role. But if not, I was thinking of a really really cool idea: Computer and Cepstral voices! Cepstral William sounds very close to KITT and you can further tweak the sound with the included SwiftTalker software. So one could get a real-live computer KITT talking! Cheaper than hiring a voice actor and the computer never forgets it's lines. LOL! Plus it'd be authentic. Then if they go further with the franchise, they can make a replica of the new KITT car, slap in a Lilliput Blaxtreme or other Car PC system and programs, and the same Cepstral voice setup (plus if you get zabaware.com's Ultra Hal Assistant and do a bit of work on that), you can get KITT to actually converse with people at shows and stuff!

But we'll see how they handle KITT's voice. I too hope that William Daniels does it. He might be up there in years, but many people do a lot even into their 80s. My step mom is an active senior in her 80s as well.

80s is the new 60s.

[Garthe Knight]

They can write another role in the script to replace Michael Knight, but they can't re-cast Michael Knight.
I mean, David Hasselhoff is Michael Knight, there is no way any other actor can fill this shoes. David is unique, I don't know anyone who resembles him and could play his part.

So if there is Michael Knight in the movie, it must be Hasselhoff.

[Michael Pajaro]

Batman, Superman, Dr. Who, Dumbledore, the cast of MASH... All very famous characters which have been recast and accepted by fans. Everyone will have their favorite actor for each role (I think we all prefer the late Richard Harris as Dumbledore) but even Michael Knight can be recast.

If Michael Long can turn into Michael Knight, surely Hasselhoff can turn into someone else!

[Lost Knight]

None of this is a surprise judging from the information we've all gathered lately. But my only hope is that exluding David Hasselhoff wasn't Glen Larson's primary motivation in his choice to make the film a remake of the pilot. I mean, knowing that it's going to be a REmake pretty much makes it obvious that everything is going to be redone or recast already. I think it would be extremely unfortunate if this was a case of Glen's revenge or something to that effect. I'd like to believe the man is much better than that and chose his direction for the right reasons, such as what kind of a movie can attract new fans, or would it make things easier to pave the way for sequels, etc.

If David were indeed to make any cameo in this film (which I think is highly unlikely), I'd rather it be as Michael Knight, and have this new (and I'm going to assume young) driver be some separate character entirely. And that would go for the car being a different personality with a different name as well. Of course I don't know how that would work out with the Knight Foundation not having their own operative with the last name Knight, but... Anyway, what I mean is that I'd rather see Michael and K.I.T.T. stick together; if David isn't going to appear in a cameo, keep K.I.T.T. in the same boat. But perhaps getting one of the two in the film is better than none.

[Victor Kros]

Glen's decision to re-imagine Knight Rider from the very beginning has nothing to do with his spite for David. It's largely due to Hollywood's lust for sequels but also to retell his classic story with a fresh approach that still retains the spirit of his original vision. Everything that made "the car" technologically advanced is now dated. We have phones in our cars, we have GPS, on board video monitors, scanning/sensor equipment, and collision detection.

In order for K.I.T.T. to remain the car of tomorrow (or the future) his abilities have to be modified to remain ahead of present technologies. Take away the actors and the iconic designs and you are still left with the notion that one man (and his talking car) can make a difference.

What makes Knight Rider unique is Michael and K.I.T.T.s comical relationship. Still fighting criminals and having time to bicker back and forth trying to one up the other with their witty lines.

If you capture that magic in the characters themselves, it doesn't matter who plays them the spirit of who they are is still there.

After the damage that Universal did with continuity of the Knight Rider universe, the reset allows him to update and expand on his previous creations and modernize them for a new generation to explore.

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[ilana]

If you capture that magic in the characters themselves, it doesn't matter who plays them the spirit of who they are is still there.

In other words, you think, that if the script is good, it does not matter who are the actors and how they can play.

[Knight-Armen]

It doesn't matter if the plot is perfect because without David Hasselhoff there is no original 'Knight Rider' character to relate with! In this case they chose to exclude an actor who really set the bar for the series back in the 80's!

To change the director of a movie or a tv show has always been a failure! They are heading towards the same mistake and that will certainly hit them hard in the end...

[Michael Pajaro]

To change the director of a movie or a tv show has always been a failure! They are heading towards the same mistake and that will certainly hit them hard in the end...

I can't agree with that. Harry Potter, Batman, James Bond... These are all franchises which have changed directors and/or actors and have had some great successes (along with some failures).

And keep in mind, Glen Larson's involvement with Knight Rider was mostly limited to the first half of the first season. He created the universe, and then passed it along to others to write/direct/produce. Obviously, that worked out pretty well.

[March2875]

Mike there is a difference there though. Those were still established Movie franchises with multiple appearances by each actors/directors involved. Knight Rider is just gonna be starting out as a Movie Franchise. The original is still Firmly in people's minds. Plus a lot of those people wanted to leave so fans had to except it from the stars themselves. In the KR case Hasselhoff want's in Larson just don't want him. Therfore the attitude is different. In those cases its you want out will we'll miss you. In David's case we'll be force fed someone else.

[Lyn]

Um, sorry about my unfair statement, Mr. Kros.
Maybe I did jump the gun and came to a conclusion in the matter too soon. Oh, well....

Anyway, DH's personal problems are his own, and he deals with them a lot better than most people in his situation, so that shouldn't be a reason to not have DH himself at all as Michael Knight in the "Knight Rider" feature film, and himself being in his 50s shouldn't keep him from playing certain roles, either, including his own "knight Rider" character.
Besides, we aren't exactly getting any younger.....
Last but not least, to Viktor Kros, I do wish Glen Larson with his "Knight Rider" feature film anyway and hope he has success with it.

[knightprobe89]

im pretty sure from what i have been reading, that david hasselhoff will be a part of the new nbc pilot and tv series, and the tv series will be very close to the way the original series was.

[Michael Pajaro]

knightprobe89: you are probably coming across old articles from several years ago, or new reports which are incorrectly quoting old news. There has been no sign that Hasselhoff will be involved with the new NBC project. If you found an article that says otherwise, please let us know.