Original Naked Gun Director Launches Fresh Criticism on Liam Neeson-Led Naked Gun Reboot

The original director of The Naked Gun, David Zucker, has reignited his criticism concerning the recent reboot featuring Liam Neeson, after briefly appearing to soften his stance in the aftermath of the film's cinema debut.

Director's Disapproval of the New Film's Style

In a recent interview, Zucker expressed that Seth MacFarlane, the producer behind the new Naked Gun and previously the director and co-writer of the Ted movies, "completely failed to grasp" the spoof-comedy style that Zucker, together with his partners Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams, popularized in Airplane! and the three original Naked Gun films.

"Jerry, my sibling, and Jim Abrahams, our associate, began creating 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."

He added: "It can look like we're just randomly trying ideas to see what sticks, but we're not. There's thought behind it."

Leslie Nielsen's Legacy

Zucker added that it was futile to make the movie without Leslie Nielsen, who played Frank Drebin and who died in 2010, remarking: "They tried to replace Leslie Nielsen in the new Naked Gun, and he cannot be replaced. No one else can do that."

Earlier Objections 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 series handed over to other people". Adding: "I have not been approached to appear briefly or be involved in the writing. Whether or not they're going to succeed with it, this style of parody, I mean it's not rocket science, but it is challenging."

However, after a string of positive reviews and strong box office returns following its launch in August, Zucker adopted a more agreeable stance, saying: "I'm excited about it because it just shows that there's a healthy audience for comedy in movie theatres, and parody specifically."

Renewed Disapproval Over Financial Aspects

However, Zucker returned to the attack in the recent discussion, criticising the amount of money involved. "Big budgets and comedy are opposites, and in the new Naked Gun, you could see that they spent a lot of money on scenes full of technical pizzazz while trying to copy our style."

He added: "Everybody's in it for the money now, and that feels like the only reason why they decided to produce a fresh installment."