For those of us who can remember the days when David Hasselhoff wasn’t known for his talent show motivations and peeing in his pants, there will be great jubilation (or sacrilege) in hearing that the classic TV show Knight Rider is making a return. For those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about, I feel sorry for you and your sad, empty lives.

While information about the return isn’t plentiful, Dark Horizons is saying that NBC will fund a Doug Liman-directed pilot which may see US TV screens in a matter of months. There’s no word on who will play the new Michael Knight, or what his talking-car best buddy KITT will resemble since the original Pontiac Trans Am is no longer being manufactured.

In other Knight Rider news, 2008 may be the release date of the Knight Rider feature film. It’s being scripted by Glen Larson, who wrote much of the original series, as well as that other classic 80s show, Magnum PI, plus wrote for and produced Battestar Galactica (this guy is the architect of 80s culture). Again, info is scant on the movie. Hasselhoff may be making a appearance in the film, according to this article. Also, if you believe it, this thread on IMDB features a person directly involved in the production, and has some interesting things to say about what’s happening.

I’m sure die-hard fans of the original will be whining about trying to resurrect such an important series, but come on, it was a kids action show. Our appreciation for it is 99% nostalgia. There’s nothing wrong with bringing it back to out TV screens, as long as it’s cheesy enough, and doesn’t try to take itself so seriously, like some other ridiculously serious shows on air at the moment.

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I knew them as the G-Force Team. I used to watch them during afternoon cartoon hour way back. Now, their heading to the big screen starting of with the release of their movie poster.

Gatchaman or popularly known by their other name, Scientific Ninja Troop Gatchaman, is scheduled for release in early 2009. It originated in Japan in the early 1970s as the television series Science Ninja Team Gatchaman. Aired in the U.S. as Battle of the Planets and G-Force, it soon became a widely popular syndicated TV series.

Featuring some of the most ambitious action sequences ever seen in animation, Gatchaman is set in a future world grappling with environmental and technological issues. The story focuses on five reluctant heroes whose remarkable genetic code makes them Earth’s only hope of defeating extra-terrestrial invaders. Kevin Munroe (TMNT) is the director, with Lynne Southerland producing.

Check out this poster featured in Collider.com.

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Welcome to Paradise, a Dove Foundation Family recommended film, will be released on DVD this coming October 9, 2007. The film stars Crystal Bernard in an inspirational and heart warming story about Faith, Love and Community.

The film centers on the life of a preacher who is sent from a big city church to Paradise, a small, rural community that is in desperate need of direction. The fact that the preacher is named Debbie only complicates things. She finds a town that is stuck in complacency as well as a town that turns its back on its neediest neighbors. Debbie begins building a new vision for her congregation and the veil of indifference starts to lift. When the Paradise Church is accidentally burned down, and it’s charter is in danger of being revoked, the members rally around Debbie and in doing so, realize that a “church” is defined by it’s community, not by the four walls that house a Sunday Service. Debbie’s kindness and insight bring a blast of fresh air to this out of the way country town. It also brings her a second chance at love.

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Redacted is a feature film written and directed by Brian De Palma that premiered at the 2007 Venice Film Festival, where it earned a Silver Lion “best director” award. But for those who missed it, there’s still some chance as the award winning film will be shown at the prestigious New York Film Festival on Wednesday, October 10th and Thursday, October 11th. But if you miss that event, your last chance will be when it opens in New York on November 16th.

Redacted is a fictional story inspired by true events. It is a unique cinematic experience that will force viewers to radically reconsider the filters through which we see and accept events in our world, the power of the mediated image and how presentation and composition influence our ideas and beliefs.

Centered around a small group of American soldiers stationed at a checkpoint in Iraq, Redacted alternates points of view, balancing the experiences of these young men under duress and members of the media with those of the local Iraqi people, illuminating how each have been deeply affected by the current conflict and their encounters with each other.

The film is scheduled for a limited release in the U.S. in November 2007 and another limited release in the U.S. in late 2007. The producers feel it may be more successful in Europe than the United States. The film was shot in Jordan.

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Union Station Home Entertainment is going to releaseon DVD this coming October 16, the movie “The Other Conquest.” The Other Conquest is written and directed by Salvador Carrasco and produced by Alvaro Domingo. Legendary tenor Plácido Domingo is executive producer and is featured on the soundtrack singing an aria composed especially for the movie. Heading the picture’s international cast are Damián Delgado (Men with Guns), Elpidia Carrillo (Tortilla Heaven), José Carlos Rodríguez and Iñaki Aierra.

The film, a boldly imaginative and affecting story of faith and courage, is set during the November 8, 1519 invasion of Spanish Conqueror Hernando Cortés. His small rode into the Aztec capital of the vast Mexican Empire, where they were welcomed by the Emperor Moctezuma. Within two years, the Aztec civilization was in a state of orphanage, the survivors having lost their families, homes, language, temples… and Gods.

For those history buffs and overall interested in the film itself, you can check out their trailer found here.

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Wes Anderson’s short film, Hotel Chevalier, a prequel to his latest movie, The Darjeeling Limited, is now available on iTunes for viewing.  Originally, it was slated to be included with The Darjeeling Limited release in theaters, but at the last minute Fox Searchlight decided to remove it.  Anderson came to the conclusion that offering it on iTunes would make it available to the largest audience possible.

Hotel Chevalier is about ten minutes long, and stars Natalie Portman and Jason Schwartzman, who Anderson say even starred in the short for free.  By the time they finished with Hotel Chevalier, Anderson, Schwartzman, and Roman Coppola had finished up the script for the short film’s sequel, The Darjeeling Limited.

Portman has just a small cameo appearance in  The Darjeeling Limited, and insisted that Fox not use her image in advertising for the feature film, however, she is reported to be pleased with the short and happily made an appearance in SoHo last night for the Apple store mini-premiere.  Also joining Portman at the Apple store premiere were Anderson and Schwartzman, who also participated in a question and answer session after the screening.

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One of this summer’s biggest smash-hits, Transformers,  will be getting a sequel.  It’s not the least bit surprising, however, but we do finally have a clearer idea of when we can expect to see the next incarnation of Transformers.  Paramount and DreamWorks are holding the date of June 29, 2009 for Transformers 2, with Michael Bay being expected to return to direct.

Although there have been reports of tensions between DreamWorks and Paramount, it’s nothing that several hundred million dollars can’t patch up.  After all, the first movie grossed nearly $700 million worldwide, giving DreamWorks their first live-action franchise.

Michael Bay hasn’t officially signed a deal to direct Transformers 2, but is currently believed to be in the early stages of negotiations.  And with Bay on board, Shia LaBeouf is expected to return as well.   DreamWorks and Paramount are hoping to start production on the Transformers 2 sequel before a possible strike, even if they are faced with having to finish it up afterwards.

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After doing “Chuck and Larry,” Kevin James is set to protect and serve for Columbia Pictures. The “Hitch” star has signed on to write, produce and star in the comedy “Mall Cop.”

Story centers on a mild-mannered security guard thrust into action when highly organized thieves take over his mall. James will pen the screenplay with Nick Bakay. James is considered home-grown talent at Sony. The former standup comedian became a sitcom star on Sony Pictures Television’s long-running CBS comedy “The King of Queens.” In 2005, he starred opposite Will Smith in Col’s hit comedy “Hitch.”

Sony-based Happy Madison is producing alongside James, Jeff Sussman and Todd Garner.

“Mall Cop” also re-teams James with Adam Sandler and his Happy Madison shingle, which produced the Sandler-James starrer “I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry.”

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Here’s a quick one. Jennifer Aniston is set to star with Aaron Eckhart in Universal Pictures new project in “Traveling.” Aniston will play a floral designer who works in a Seattle hotel where a charismatic self-help guru is conducting a weekend seminar on coping with grief. As they get to know each other, she factors heavily into the guru’s realization that he practices none of the principles he teaches.

Aniston is shooting a small role in New Line’s ensembler “She’s Just Not That Into You” and moves right into the Stephen Belber-directed “Management” with Steve Zahn. She is also booked to star in the David Frankel-directed Fox 2000 pic “Marley & Me” with Owen Wilson, but that picture has been postponed until at least spring.

Peter Berg-directed Universal drama “The Kingdom,” produced by Stuber and Parent, opens this weekend.

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A documentary of the late Bob Marley and his family will soon be upon us. This news came when Palm Pictures recently acquired “Africa Unite,” a documentary about the family of the late Bob Marley and their first trip to Ethiopia. The 2005 Africa Unite event, led by the singer’s widow, Rita Marley, included a 12-hour concert attended by 300,000 people.

The film will contain rare footage of Marley in performance, as well as corresponding footage of his family performing his songs at the Africa Unite concert.

Palm will distribute “Africa Unite” theatrically this winter, with a DVD release in the first quarter. Exec producer Danny Glover noted that the film is an effort to serve African people in Marley’s spirit — both his production company and the event itself are involved with Unicef.

Docu features Glover, the Marley family and Maryam Selassie, granddaughter of Haile Selassie. “Africa Unite” will take place in South Africa this year.

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