In the recent Bond movies, and others, companies actually pay to get their car product placement within the film.
However, in most cases, Hollywood production companies rent prop cars from companies that have releases with specific prohibitions attached (not to be used in explicit sex scenes, etc).
How much do you think Ford paid to make the new Knight Rider car a Mustang?
Here is something even more bizarre. Knight Rider had already finished taping, using Will Arnett's voice as the voice of Kitt (the car), and GMC had a hissy fit, forcing the producers of the show to hire Val Kilmer to do the voice instead:
Quote:
A carmaker conflict led NBC to hire Val Kilmer to replace Will Arnett as the TV movie's intelligent supercar, Variety reports.
Arnett -- who played the magician brother on "Arrested Development," the figure-skating brother in "Blades of Glory" and the brother you skipped in "The Brothers Solomon" -- had completed work for "Knight Rider," which airs Saturday at 8. But K.I.T.T.'s new make and model, it turns out, was a no-no.
For years, Arnett has been under contract as the voice of GMC Trucks. But NBC's new supercar is a Ford Mustang, and Ford heavily backs the movie. GM cried foul, so Arnett "had to respectfully withdraw," he told Variety.
And that's how Kilmer became "Knight Rider's" huckleberry.
Six degrees of 'Knight Rider'
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