KITT Bytes of the Week

  • Deanna Russo turned 29 this week, we wished her well.
  • IGN had a pretty positive review (for them) from this weeks episode A Hard Day's Knight
  • Knight Rider UK relaunched their site this week, bringing a fresh coat of paint and a bunch of updates about the new series. If you like your KR news with a UK slant - check out their site.
  • The Gazette has an interview with Paul Campbell and his role as a clown in the new series: ""I think they're trying to keep me away from KITT as much as possible," the Knight Rider star whispers conspiratorially, referring to the show's infamous robot car. "I don't know why, but I hear them in the hallways. I hear 'Don't let him near the car!'"
  • Bild.de runs down the top ten car-actors in film and TV history, KITT holds his own at tenth place.
  • Sioux City Journal interviewed Justin Bruening, where he talks about he got into acting, the audition process as well as being a fan of the original:

    "I was the second person to read for 'Knight Rider,'" the 29-year-old says proudly. Producers cast him in a two-hour TV movie (viewed as a pilot for the revival) and strapped him inside a car.

    The movie got mixed reviews (even though it brought David Hasselhoff back as Michael Knight) and complaints about product placement. It was shot during the writers strike, however, and might have benefited from another revision.

    "I'm a fan of the original series and there were things I wanted to see in the pilot," Bruening says. "But we can't fit everything from a four-year show into two hours. Now, if we run five years, we can."

    In the intervening months, Bruening bulked up (one look tells you he's ready for those no-shirt scenes), studied stage fighting and learned how to do stunt driving.

    "I'm trying to do reverse 180s and slide a car into the camera without hitting anyone -- which is really nerve-racking," he says with a laugh. "It's not that I'm not comfortable behind the wheel, but if there's a group of 30 people standing there and I have to slide the car, I don't want to hit them." His stunt driver "can take a car and make it go in a circle all day long. It's amazing."

    The goal: To be able to do those stunts without help. Currently, he does 98 percent of the fights. "I've come out of them bruised and banged up, but nothing that wouldn't have happened anyway."

    When he goes home at night, Bruening often finds himself playing video games. Grand Theft Auto 4 is a favorite. "After not being able to crash cars all day, I go home and take it out on the game."

    Since landing "Knight Rider," Bruening hasn't had one speed ticket. "I haven't had any since college," he corrects. "And that was a speed trap."