🔗 Share this article

The original director of The Naked Gun, David Zucker, has reignited his criticism concerning the recent reboot featuring Liam Neeson, after briefly appearing to adopt a more conciliatory tone following the premiere of the film's cinema debut.

Director's Disapproval 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, "completely failed to grasp" the spoof-comedy style that Zucker, together with his collaborators Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams, popularized in Airplane! and the three original Naked Gun films.

"Jerry, my sibling, and Jim Abrahams, our associate, started doing spoof comedies 50 years ago, and we originated our own style – and we executed it so effectively that it looks easy, evidently. Others began imitating it, like Seth MacFarlane for the new Naked Gun. He totally missed it."

Zucker continued: "It might appear that we're just throwing stuff up against the wall to see what sticks, but we're not. Consideration is involved."

The Irreplaceable Star

Zucker added that it was pointless to produce the film without Leslie Nielsen, who portrayed the iconic character and who died 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 Changing Stance

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 franchise given to different individuals". Adding: "They have not contacted me to appear briefly or be involved in the writing. Regardless of if they're going to succeed with it, this kind of spoof, I mean it isn't overly complex, but it's not easy."

Nonetheless, after a series of favorable critiques and strong box office returns after its release in August, Zucker struck a more conciliatory tone, commenting: "I'm excited about it because it just demonstrates there's a healthy audience for comedy in cinemas, and spoof in particular."

Return to Criticism Over Financial Aspects

Yet, Zucker resumed his criticism in the new interview, questioning the financial investment. "Large financial outlays and humor are incompatible, and in the recent reboot, you could see that they invested heavily on scenes with impressive technical effects while attempting to replicate our style."

He added: "Financial motives drive everyone currently, and that feels like the sole motivation why they wanted to do a fresh installment."