🔗 Share this article

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 soften his stance following the premiere of the film's theatrical release.

Director's Disapproval of the Reboot's Comedy Approach

In a recent interview, Zucker expressed that Seth MacFarlane, the producer behind the new Naked Gun and formerly the director and co-writer of the Ted movies, "totally missed" the parody genre approach that Zucker, along 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 five decades in the past, and we originated our own style – and we executed it so effectively that it looks easy, clearly. People started copying it, like the new film's producer for the new Naked Gun. He totally missed it."

He added: "It can look like we're just throwing stuff up against the wall to see what sticks, but we're not. Consideration is involved."

The Irreplaceable Star

The director further stated 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 recent revival, and you can't replace him. No one else can do 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 excited about having the franchise given to other people". Adding: "They have not contacted me to appear briefly or be involved in the writing. Whether or not they're going to succeed with it, this kind of spoof, I mean it's not rocket science, 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, saying: "I am pleased by it because it just shows that there's a healthy audience for comedy in movie theatres, and spoof in particular."

Return to Criticism Over Financial Aspects

However, Zucker resumed his criticism in the recent discussion, criticising the amount of money involved. "Large financial outlays and humor are incompatible, and in the recent reboot, you could see that they spent a lot of money on scenes with impressive technical effects while trying to copy our style."

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