io9: hollow man

Kevin Bacon's Invisible Man Dos And Don't's

Charlie Jane Anders — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 17:30:00 PST

Memo to David Goyer: When you finally make your long-awaited Invisible Man movie, you have to top 2000's Hollow Man in the inventive use of spattered blood to make the guy visible. Come on!

Another awesome making-the-invisible-man-visible trick: displaced water in a swimming pool. Rock on.

However, you can feel free to avoid having your invisible guy tell invisible Wonder Woman rape jokes. Really, it's fine.

Knight Rider Series To Have More Special Effects, And Maybe A Dog Detective

Graeme McMillan — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 07:20:00 PDT

Proving that, despite what a lot of you thought, NBC's series pick up of the new Knight Rider series is more than just a cheap April Fool's hoax — Like we would be that cruel, come on — former Las Vegas showrunner Gary Scott Thompson has been named as the new series' executive producer and showrunner. While he may not have the pedigree of, say, Battlestar Galactica's Ron Moore, one look at Thompson's resume should tell you exactly why he's perfect for this particular job.

According to Knight Rider producer Universal Media Studio's Katherine Pope, there was no other choice when it came to who should run the new series:

The network and studio all came to this idea separately. There was a list of one [for the role].

Pope also told the Hollywood Reporter the ongoing season will have way "more action and special effects" than the recent TV movie, "which was done on a very tight schedule" that prohibited a lot of SFX set-pieces.

Wondering just what makes Thompson the go-to guy for Knight Rider? The answers are right there on his IMDB listing. When you think of Knight Rider, what do you think of? Hot car action? Dude, Thompson can't be beat; he wrote The Fast and The Furious (and also got credit on 2 Fast 2 Furious, for that matter. But note: No The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift, which can only be taken as a good sign).

Not convinced of the random, vaguely-SF chops he'll need for a show about a talking, nanotech car? Thompson can do shitty SF with the best of them - He not only wrote Hollow Man and Hollow Man II (Yeah, I didn't know there was a Hollow Man II, either), but he's the mind responsible for Timecop: The Berlin Decision, as well.

I know, I know. You're thinking "Wait, everyone knows that every episode of Knight Rider should also have some terribly unfunny comedy in it, preferably revolving around one man talking to something that most people wouldn't expect to see someone talking to. Can this wunderkind do that?" Yes he can, my friend. Gary Scott Thompson was the writer of K-9: P.I., the sequel to "hit" Jim Belushi vehicle K-9, about one man and his dog... fighting crime.

So, there you do — Thompson has shown himself able to create middle of the road dramas with science-fiction tendencies that include attempts at comedy and very, very pretty cars. If that doesn't make you realize that Knight Rider is in capable hands, then I don't know what will. Roll on the new season! [Variety]

Must See: Hollow Man

Annalee Newitz — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 18:22:27 PDT

Must-see movies are futuristic classics that shouldn't be missed. Of course, not every must-see is perfect. That's why we've rated them 1-5 on the patented "crunchy goodness" scale. Written by James Rocchi.

Title: Hollow Man
Date: 2000

Vitals: Paul Verhoeven (of Robocop, Starship Troopers and Basic Instinct) updates the classic Invisible Man story for the new millennium with computer-generated effects and a deeply unhinged Kevin Bacon as a scientist who discovers he's capable of almost anything when he's guaranteed no one's looking.

Famous Names: Paul Verhoeven (Director); Kevin Bacon, Elizabeth Shue, Josh Brolin.

Crunchy Goodness: 4

Sequel: Hollow Man II, starring Christian Slater.

Bang for Your Buck: Great 'invisible man' effects — including a scene where Bacon's killer is a void-space in a pool.

Most Painfully Dated Moment: Elizabeth Shue gets all McGyver and rigs an electro-magnet out of a defibrillator cart.

Full Transcript of composer Jerry Goldsmith's DVD Commentary