Original Naked Gun Director Renews Attack on Liam Neeson-Led Naked Gun Reboot

The filmmaker behind the classic of The Naked Gun, David Zucker, has renewed his verbal assault concerning the newly released revival featuring Liam Neeson, following a short period where he seemed to adopt a more conciliatory tone following the premiere of the film's cinema debut.

Zucker's Critique of the New Film's Style

During a fresh discussion, Zucker expressed that Seth MacFarlane, the producer behind the new Naked Gun and previously the filmmaker and script collaborator of the Ted movies, "totally missed" the spoof-comedy style that Zucker, along with his partners Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams, popularized in Airplane! and the initial trilogy of Naked Gun films.

"My brother, Jerry, and our partner, Jim Abrahams, started doing spoof comedies 50 years ago, and we originated our own style – and we executed it so effectively that it appears simple, evidently. Others began imitating it, like the new film's producer for the recent reboot. He totally missed it."

He added: "It might appear that we're just randomly trying ideas to see what sticks, but we're not. Consideration is involved."

Leslie Nielsen's Legacy

Zucker added that it was futile to produce the film without Leslie Nielsen, who portrayed the iconic character and passed away in 2010, remarking: "They tried to replace Leslie Nielsen in the new Naked Gun, and you can't replace him. Nobody else is capable of that."

Previous Reservations and Shifting Tone

The filmmaker had earlier expressed opposition to plans to go ahead with a Naked Gun reboot, remarking last year that he was "not enthusiastic regarding having the series handed over to different individuals". Adding: "I have not been approached to appear briefly or be involved in the writing. Whether or not they're going to succeed with it, this style of parody, I mean it isn't overly complex, but it is challenging."

However, after a string of positive reviews and strong box office returns following its launch in August, Zucker adopted a more agreeable stance, commenting: "I'm excited about it because it just demonstrates there's a healthy audience for comedy in cinemas, and spoof in particular."

Renewed Disapproval Over Financial Aspects

Yet, Zucker resumed his criticism in the recent discussion, questioning the financial investment. "Big budgets and comedy are opposites, and in the new Naked Gun, you could see that they spent a lot of money on scenes with impressive technical effects while attempting to replicate our style."

He added: "Everybody's in it for the money now, and that feels like the sole motivation why they wanted to do a new Naked Gun."

Kristen Harris
Kristen Harris

A tech journalist with over a decade of experience covering AI and emerging technologies, passionate about demystifying complex innovations.