The filmmaker behind the classic of The Naked Gun, David Zucker, has renewed his verbal assault concerning the recent reboot featuring Liam Neeson, after briefly appearing to adopt a more conciliatory tone following the premiere of the film's theatrical release.
During a fresh discussion, Zucker stated that Seth MacFarlane, the producer behind the new Naked Gun and formerly the filmmaker and script collaborator of the Ted movies, "totally missed" the spoof-comedy style that Zucker, along with his collaborators Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams, made famous 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 developed a unique approach – and we did that so well that it looks easy, clearly. Others began imitating it, like Seth MacFarlane for the recent reboot. 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."
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 new Naked Gun, and he cannot be replaced. Nobody else is capable of that."
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 different individuals". Adding: "They have not contacted me to appear briefly or be involved in the writing. Regardless of if they're going to do a good job with it, this style of parody, I mean it's not rocket science, but it's not easy."
However, after a string of positive reviews and strong box office returns following its launch in August, Zucker struck a more conciliatory tone, commenting: "I'm excited about it because it just shows that there's a healthy audience for comedy in cinemas, and spoof in particular."
However, Zucker resumed his criticism 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 invested heavily on scenes full of technical pizzazz while attempting to replicate our style."
He added: "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."
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