“Naked Gun” Original Director Blasts Liam Neeson Reboot: “You Shouldn’t Spend Too Much Money on Comedies”
David Zucker, the director behind the first two Naked Gun movies, has openly criticized the recent reboot starring Liam Neeson and Pamela Anderson. In an interview with Woman’s World, Zucker said the new film tried to copy the style of comedy he, his brother Jerry, and their partner Jim Abrahams created, but failed.
“My brother, Jerry, and our partner, Jim Abrahams, started doing spoof comedies 50 years ago, and we originated our own style — and we did that so well that it looks easy, evidently,” Zucker said. “People started copying it, like Seth MacFarlane for the new Naked Gun. He totally missed it.”
The reboot, directed by Akiva Schaffer with Seth MacFarlane as producer, focuses on Frank Drebin Jr., played by Neeson. Drebin Jr. is the son of the late Leslie Nielsen’s character, who takes over as a detective to solve a murder case and prevent his police department from shutting down.
Zucker also expressed disappointment over attempts to replace Nielsen, saying, “They tried to replace Leslie Nielsen in the new Naked Gun, and you can’t replace him. No one else can do that.”
The filmmaker didn’t hold back on his criticism of the film’s budget either. The reboot reportedly cost $42 million, while the original 1988 movie had a $15 million budget, roughly $41 million today when adjusted for inflation.
Zucker explained, “You shouldn’t spend too much money on comedies, and one of our rules is about technical pizzazz. Big budgets and comedy are opposites, and in the new Naked Gun, you could see that they spent a lot of money on scenes full of technical pizzazz while trying to copy our style.”
He added a sharp comment about Hollywood today: “Everybody’s in it for the money now, and that feels like the only reason why they wanted to do a new Naked Gun.”
Zucker, who directed the original films in 1988 and 1991, said he had no plans to watch the reboot, but noticed its positive reception. He told The Hollywood Reporter, “There’s a strong market for comedy in movie theaters, and spoof in particular.” Zucker also said he declined an early screening from Schaffer, explaining, “I told him there’s nothing I could do to help because it really isn’t what I would have done.”
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