RICHIE LEVINE

Birthdate: April 1977 Hometown: Brooklyn, NY (Sheepsheads Bay area)

Mr. Levine skipped the 11th grade and graduated  a year early. He has an associated degree in business admin in Hotel Management. Richie is currently the general manager of an Econo Lodge in Newburgh NY, and a huge Knight Rider fan. Knight Rider Legacy is currently available in Paperback at Amazon.com for a $22.95. Richie Levine and Joe Huth took fan participation to a new level in writing their first book. 

KNIGHT RIDER LEGACY *440 pages,  *Printed in July 2002 *Price: $22.95 *ISBN: 0595239102  *Dimensions (in inches): 1.09 x 9.03 x 6.00 *Author: Richie Levine & John Huth *Publisher: Iuniverse.com

On With The Interview ...

TB: What made you decide to do a new book about Knight Rider?

RL: Well, in late 2000 Joe Huth and I were talking on the phone and decided that we would try to write a book on Knight Rider. All we had was determination at that point (laughs). So over the span of a year we attempted to get every uncut airing of Knight Rider we could and compose synopsis and commentary as well as trivia on the show. The love of the show itself was the main reason why we did it.

TB: How long did the book take you to complete from Start to Finish?

RL: The book took two solid years. It took awhile to actually interview Mcpherson (9 months of waiting), but Glen Larson took a half a year to agree to do the foreword and interview. When you are dealing with celebrities schedules, you have to adjust to their schedules not yours. Rebecca Holden was our last interview and she was the hardest to reach until mid summer last year.

TB: What did you have to go through for research?

RL: Well we used the internet where we could, interviewed over 30 different people associated with the show and acquired as many articles about the series we could. When you do this type of book its a time piece and requires a lot of patience, editing and money in long distance bills. The ratings were acquired through my contact at Nielsen Media Research.

TB:  Where did you get the great behind the scenes photos for the book? 

RL:  We have Jack Gill to thank for that as well as others. Jack took a lot of shots of some of the better turbo boosts and stunts and he gave it to us to use free of charge. Of all the people the Jack Gill interview remains my personal favorite, the guy did the driverless stunt in Austin Powers III as a tribute to Knight Rider.

TB: How did you get the book published?

RL: We researched the internet for what is called a vanity publisher. Iuniverse who distributes the book is a self-publisher. We went that way because after several rejection letters publishers were not hot on the idea of a show that never really cracked the top 25 when it aired. Not to mention a 20 year old show does not command the same audience as Buffy The Vampire Slayer does now and well you can find 10 different books about that series because its in the public eye. 

TB: Did you have to go through the studio for copyright permission to do the book? How did you go about it? 

RL: We attempted to go through Universal and was told that the wait would be several years if ever for the official title. If you do not use any material that Universal has copyright to and do not use an official title then you do not need to go through a studio to accomplish getting the book published. Iuniverse has to have all the releases to all the photos and we used nothing from Universal studios in the book, just nice people who donated their pics to make the book happen. Just to clarify something for everyone, many people including Glen Larsen wanted the book to be unofficial. Once a book is official you are basically silenced from telling the juicy stuff. 

TB: Were you ever overwhelmed with putting Knight Rider Legacy together?

RL: If I said yes I would not be lying. Writing the book is one thing, laying it out yourself is quite another. We did it ourselves with the help of Paul Sher Jr, and it took time to get the pictures scanned at 300 dpi resolution as well as getting releases from the stars to use their shots. Overwhelmed is putting it in the proper perspective, but it was all worth it. 

TB: How long have you been a Knight Rider fan?

RL: I have been a fan since the first airing. I have the Jan 7, 1983 airing with commercials, which my brother taped back then. He taped some of the 3rd and 4th seasons, but it did not do that well in surviving the test of time. I watched the show on WWOR, USA, WGN and now Sci-fi and can say it took 2 1/2 years to get a complete uncut set together so I could get to see what syndicators have cut out. I do owe it all to www.knightrideronline.com and its webmaster Neil who has been a devoted fan who allows us to all post about the show we love since 1996, especially now that Sci-Fi is airing the show. Kudos to you too Laura.

TB: Did you do Knight Rider Legacy yourself?

RL: I have Joe Huth to thank for splitting half the duties of writing and organizing the book. I pretty much took care of the big celebrities (Larson, McPherson, Holden, Daniels, Gill) and Joe split writing the chapters and transcribing the interviews with me on a week to week basis.

TB: Are you planning any other books? Another Knight Rider maybe?

RL: More Knight Rider, You bet!  Volume 2 ain't going to happen unless its for the movie though. But Joe is taking a break and I am working on Saga of a Star World, the Unofficial Battlestar Galactica companion. I know your site will be one of the first to interview when the book breaks in April/May 2003 in time for the 25th yahren celebration.

TB: Can you let fans know a bit more about the Battlestar Galactica companion. 

RL: I'm pretty sure that we will have enough photos of the ships, cast and crew to make it quite an interesting companion. I am working with a few people like Chris Pappas who have ensured that they want us to have a great picture selection. Every cast member will be represented with a press photo at minimum. And it has been confirmed that Glenn Larson is doing the forward and Richard Hatch will pen the introduction. 

TB: What about length of the book and pricing?

RL: The publisher will be Iuniverse,  The book this time will probably be about 15 to 18 dollars at most, since it wont be more then 300 pages.

TB: You must be excited about the new Knight Rider feature in development at Revolution Studios? Are the fans you're in contact with excited? David Hasselhoff isn't going to star and that must upset some fans?

RL: There are a whole bunch of conflicting rumors on imdb.com and sites like newknightrider.com and knightridermovie.com that just feed into misleading people into false images (such as posting xxx logos) and inaccurate information about the movie that they think is correct.  The people who run those type of sites have no credibility, they tend to try to cybersquat a potential name (such as knightrider3000 or superknightrider 3000, which is 100% not the name of the movie). I can tell you that Glen has assured me that the movie will feel more like the pilot he wrote, with the main focus being on the driver/car combination and less on everyone around those characters. Glen likes to call it "back to basics" The fans I know are very excited, but insist that the car should be an 82 trans am or something that resembles it, which is not very realistic. From what I hear David is directly involved. 

TB: After all the research and being a fan of the series is there anything you would have changed with the series?

RL: Yeah I would. There would be no Super Pursuit Mode for season 4. Right after Knight of the Juggernaut the series becomes fantasy. Up until that point the series is believable and the writing still holds up to any good sci-fi standard. Its when you no longer can believe its possible does it cross the line from good sci-fi to just your typical fantasy adventure show.

TB: Thanks for the interview Richie. Good Luck with your new Galactica Companion release this year.

RL: Thanks Tim. Talk to ya soon.

     Knight Rider Legacy is something every Knight Rider fan should have. Unique photos, rare interviews and information about the series, cast and crew. Get yours today at Amazon.com

Tim

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