🔗 Share this article

The original director of The Naked Gun, David Zucker, has renewed his verbal assault concerning the newly released revival featuring Liam Neeson, after briefly appearing to adopt a more conciliatory tone in the aftermath of the film's cinema debut.

Zucker's Critique of the New Film's Style

In a recent interview, Zucker stated that Seth MacFarlane, the creative force behind the new Naked Gun and previously the director and co-writer of the Ted movies, "totally missed" the parody genre approach that Zucker, together with his partners 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 50 years ago, and we developed a unique approach – and we did that so well that it appears simple, evidently. Others began imitating it, like the new film's producer for the new Naked Gun. He completely misunderstood it."

Zucker continued: "It might appear that we're just throwing stuff up against the wall to see what sticks, but we're not. There's thought behind it."

The Irreplaceable Star

The director further stated that it was pointless to make the movie without Leslie Nielsen, who portrayed the iconic character and who died in 2010, saying: "They tried to replace Leslie Nielsen in the new Naked Gun, and he cannot be replaced. No one else can do that."

Previous Reservations and Changing Stance

Zucker had previously objected 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". He continued: "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's not rocket science, but it is challenging."

Nonetheless, after a series of favorable critiques and strong box office returns following its launch in August, Zucker struck a more conciliatory tone, saying: "I'm excited about it because it just shows that there's a strong market for comedy in movie theatres, and spoof in particular."

Return to Criticism Over Budget Concerns

However, Zucker resumed his criticism in the new interview, questioning the financial investment. "Big budgets and comedy are opposites, and in the new Naked Gun, you could see that they invested heavily on scenes with impressive technical effects while trying to copy our style."

Zucker further noted: "Everybody's in it for the money now, and that feels like the sole motivation why they decided to produce a new Naked Gun."