Original Naked Gun Director Renews Attack on New Star-Led Naked Gun Reboot

The original director of The Naked Gun, David Zucker, has renewed his verbal assault concerning the recent reboot featuring Liam Neeson, following a short period where he seemed to adopt a more conciliatory tone following the premiere of the film's cinema debut.

Zucker's Critique of the Reboot's Comedy Approach

In a recent interview, Zucker expressed that Seth MacFarlane, the producer behind the new Naked Gun and previously the filmmaker and script collaborator of the Ted movies, "totally missed" 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.

"My brother, Jerry, and our partner, Jim Abrahams, started doing spoof comedies 50 years ago, and we developed a unique approach – and we executed it so effectively that it looks easy, clearly. Others began imitating it, like Seth MacFarlane for the recent reboot. He completely misunderstood it."

He added: "It can look like we're just throwing stuff up against the wall to see what sticks, but we're not. There's thought behind it."

Leslie Nielsen's Legacy

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 attempted to substitute Leslie Nielsen in the new Naked Gun, and you can't replace him. Nobody else is capable of that."

Previous Reservations and Changing Stance

The filmmaker had earlier expressed opposition to the decision to proceed with a Naked Gun reboot, remarking last year that he was "not enthusiastic regarding having the franchise given to other people". Adding: "I have not been approached to make a cameo or participate in scripting. Regardless of if they're going to succeed with it, this style of parody, I mean it's not rocket science, but it is challenging."

Nonetheless, after a string of positive reviews 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 demonstrates there's a healthy audience for comedy in cinemas, and spoof in particular."

Return to Criticism Over Financial Aspects

However, Zucker returned to the attack in the new interview, criticising the amount of money involved. "Big budgets and comedy are opposites, 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 seems to be the sole motivation why they wanted to do a fresh installment."