Original Naked Gun Director Renews Attack on New Star-Led Naked Gun Revival
The original director 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 soften his stance following the premiere of the film's theatrical release.
Director's Disapproval of the New Film's Style
In a recent interview, Zucker stated that Seth MacFarlane, the producer behind the new Naked Gun and previously the director and co-writer of the Ted movies, "completely failed to grasp" the parody genre approach that Zucker, along with his collaborators Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams, made famous in Airplane! and the initial trilogy of Naked Gun films.
"Jerry, my sibling, and Jim Abrahams, our associate, began creating spoof comedies five decades in the past, and we originated our own style – and we did that so well that it appears simple, evidently. Others began imitating it, like Seth MacFarlane for the recent reboot. He totally missed it."
Zucker continued: "It can look like 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, saying: "They attempted to substitute Leslie Nielsen in the recent revival, and you can't replace him. Nobody else is capable of that."
Earlier Objections and Shifting Tone
The filmmaker had earlier expressed opposition to the decision to proceed with a Naked Gun reboot, remarking last year that he was "not excited about having the franchise given to different individuals". Adding: "I have not been approached to appear briefly or participate in scripting. Regardless of if they're going to do a good job with it, this kind of spoof, I mean it's not rocket science, but it is challenging."
However, after a series of favorable critiques and impressive financial performance after its release in August, Zucker adopted a more agreeable stance, saying: "I'm excited about it because it just demonstrates there's a healthy audience for comedy in cinemas, and parody specifically."
Renewed Disapproval Over Financial Aspects
However, Zucker resumed his criticism in the recent discussion, criticising the amount of money involved. "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."
Zucker further noted: "Everybody's in it for the money now, and that seems to be the only reason why they decided to produce a new Naked Gun."