Can We Survive...The War Of The KNIGHT RIDERs?!?! Dueling K.I.T.T. Projects Brace For Head-On Collision!!

Merrick here... This has been an odd week for Geeks. We had the bizarre and ill-conceived theft of Spielbergian tech and paperwork related to INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL, there were RUMORS and apparent CONFIRMATION that (sigh) Brett Ratner has replaced Len Wiseman as the director of the ESCAPE FOR NEW YORK remake. And now…this… I’ll streamline matters as much as possible; just know that the situation is far more complex than I’m presenting here. I’m only conveying the nuts and bolts of the matter. As you no doubt recall, there’s this show called KNIGHT RIDER, created by Glen A. Larson (the original BATTLESTAR GALACTICA). It was about a dude named Michael Knight who drives around in a futuristic supercar solving mysteries, fighting crime, and battling badguys. It was on NBC back in the 80s. As we’ve PREVIOUSLY REPORTED, Creator Larson has been hard at work developing a KNIGHT RIDER feature film for The Weinstein Company. KR is to be reinvented, modernized, the works. This project has been in play for some time. So, it came as a big surprise last week when NBC announced a new KNIGHT RIDER television project – a 2hr movie/backdoor pilot. WTF? In short: word on the street says that Universal/NBC own the television rights to KNIGHT RIDER; Larson owns the film rights. Uni/NBC wanted Larson to dump the Weinsteins and set-up his KR project with them. When Larson didn’t budge, NBC launched a television project with the intent of counteracting, or altogether diffusing, Larson and The Weinstein Company’s movie plans. Here’s what’s interesting: Larson & TWC’s movie plans are still very much in play. Here’s a video announcement by Larson, screened recently at KNIGHTCON 2007 in the UK. If I understand my timeline, this predates NBC’s TV announcement.

To shed a little more light on the matter, my man Victor Kros sent along the following message:

Greetings, You can refer to me as Victor Kros. Some of you may know me as the one who was the first to officially debunk the Knight Teaser poster on AICN - a fan released featuring a Koenigsegg CCX, which spread across the internet like wildfire. Days later the creator admitted that it was just a joke and that he was surprised no one noticed the steering wheel was on the wrong side. (you can avoid this just by posting a link to the original article I’m sure) Others may recognize my name from recent posts I have made on several Knight Rider fan forums and IMDb boards to assure the fans that Glen is still working on getting the live action Knight Rider movie to the big screen. I’ve come today however to give AICN the first exclusive footage that proves Glen has been finishing the script and fully intends on getting the film into production. This footage was taped exclusively for the fans of the recent UK event called Knightcon 07 and shown only to those who attended the event. It features a message from Glen A Larson thanking the fans for their 25 years of support to keep his dream that “One man, (and his car) can indeed make a difference” alive. It also contains the first glimpse of pre-production art used for the script approval process. In light of the recent Knight Rider TV series announcement released by NBC/Universal, Glen has decided to release this footage (ABOVE) to the general public to assure the fans out there, his version of the movie is moving forward. If this series is created by Universal, it is not being created to revive the series nor is it to draw in new viewers or for the fans. This series is Universal's attempt to couple together a sub-par rushed project and attach a big name to it with intentions to try and sideline the movie Glen has been working endlessly on getting to the big screen. This series will not be Glen's vision; it will most likely be another train wreck waiting to happen like the other knock off shows Universal has churned out such as Knight Rider 2000, 2010, and TKR. I have noticed that recently fans have been asking what they can do to show their support for Glen especially now that Universal is intended on competing with his vision of what Knight Rider should be. I have designed an emblem so you too can show your support for his movie and his vision that one man (and his car) can make a difference. You may post this image anywhere you like, in fact I encourage you to do so and tell your friends and family if they wish to support the movie to post it as well. Put it on myspace, fan forums, blogs, websites, anywhere you wish to display it. You have carte blanch to do with it as you like (as long as it’s respectful). I hope you enjoy the footage and stay tuned for further developments in the year to come. “Looking to the future, I might suggest you keep your eye on the horizon because like a mighty phoenix, K.I.T.T. will rise from the ashes to fight the forces of evil once more.” --- Glen A. Larson =VK=

Here’s the “support” emblem VK mentions above: So…to encapsulate… At this time, there are actually two KNIGHT RIDER projects ramping up: Larson/TWC’s movie, as well as NBC’s revamping/backdoor pilot. And, fans are once again being asked to chose which flavor they prefer - the creator’s, or the interpreter’s? Can these projects co-exist? Or, must one fall so that the other may stand? Would their coexistence be too much for even the Geekiest to bear, and cause a complete erasure in some matter/anti-matter apocalypse? What is it about Larson projects? They tend to generate such confusion and fervor. Anyone out there remember efforts to bring back GALACTICA (before SciFi Channel’s current iteration)? We had Todd Moyer's IMAX GALACTICA project, Richard Hatch's efforts to revive the original series, and Tom DeSanto & Bryan Singer's scuttled GALACTICA revival. Am I missing one? Guess too much interest is better than no interest at all. And, in the end, this is a;; rather impressive. Clearly, no matter how high concept his creations may be (there’s also a FALL GUY movie in the wind, by the way), Larson's material clearly taps into something fun…and base. How many storytellers have managed to do this successfully? And, how many still have multiple properties in high demand decades after their inception? Something to think about. We'll keep you apprised of movements on both projects; we're particular interested in tracking the status of the KR feature film. More information as more comes in… - merrick -