‘The Naked Gun’ Creator Slams Reboot Starring Liam Neeson

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David Zucker, one of the creators of the classic Naked Gun movies, has shared his thoughts on the new Naked Gun film directed by Akiva Schaffer and starring Liam Neeson. Zucker, along with Jim Abrahams and his brother Jerry, originally created the series as part of the ZAZ comedy team. After Abrahams’ passing in 2024, the Zucker brothers chose not to participate in the remake. Though the new film is a fresh take on the franchise, Zucker believes it was a costly comedy that didn’t quite capture what made the original so funny.

Director David Zucker recently discussed his long career making parody films with Woman’s World. He’s known for comedies like Top Secret!, Scary Movie 3, and Scary Movie 4. Zucker is currently promoting his online course, MasterCrash: A Crash Course in Spoof Comedy, where he shares the 15 comedic principles he and ZAZ (his comedy team) used to create their films. He explains, “There’s a method to the madness,” and hopes the course will help others make successful parody movies. As the director of Airplane!, he’s sharing his expertise to help future filmmakers “do it right.”

I believe people will enjoy any well-told story. It all starts with a compelling narrative and memorable characters. You need to create people that the audience will genuinely connect with and root for. My favorite kind of humor comes from situations where no one is trying to be funny – it’s just natural behavior that creates the laughs.

Jerry Zucker doesn’t hold back his criticism of the new Naked Gun movie. He believes no one can fill Leslie Nielsen’s shoes, stating, “They tried to replace Leslie Nielsen in the new Naked Gun, and you can’t replace him. No one else can do that.” The film features Liam Neeson as the son of Nielsen’s iconic character, Lt. Frank Drebin. Zucker continued by saying:

Fifty years ago, my brother Jerry and I, along with Jim Abrahams, began making parody comedies and developed a unique style. We were successful enough that it looked simple, which led others to try and imitate it. For example, Seth MacFarlane, the producer of the new Naked Gun movie, attempted to copy our approach, but didn’t quite capture what made it work.

Was 2025’s ‘The Naked Gun’ an Expensive Cash Grab?


Paramount Pictures

The recent Naked Gun reboot earned over $102 million despite costing $42 million to make, which is a decent result for a comedy. However, $42 million is a high budget for a comedy, even with a big star like Liam Neeson. Here’s what director Jerry Zucker had to say about the film’s cost:

Don’t overspend on comedies – flashy special effects and humor don’t usually mix well. The latest Naked Gun movie is a good example; it clearly had a large budget focused on impressive visuals, but it felt like they were trying to imitate our approach.

It seems like financial gain is the main motivation behind the new Naked Gun movie, and that’s a bit disappointing. Comedy evolves, and I wouldn’t recreate the same style today.

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2025-11-16 23:55