Original Director Alleges Naked Gun Reboot Is Copying His Classic Gags

The Naked Gun reboot has not hit screens yet, and the guy who built the original playbook is already unimpressed. David Zucker, who directed the classic films, just laid out why he thinks the new version with Liam Neeson and producer Seth MacFarlane is borrowing the look of his style without actually nailing it.

Zucker vs. the reboot: what he is calling out

• He says he, his brother Jerry, and their partner Jim Abrahams pioneered this brand of spoof about 50 years ago, and because it looks effortless, people keep trying to replicate it. In his view, the Neeson/MacFarlane take is one of those attempts that copies the surface and misses the mechanics.
• He argues the reboot is spending big where spoof works best when it is lean. Zucker points to flashy, technically slick sequences as proof the new movie is pouring money into the wrong areas while trying to mimic the original tone.
• He also frames the revival as a financial play more than a creative one, saying the motivation feels like money first, everything else second.
• Zucker says he and his partners built their comedies around a set of 15 rules, and he now teaches those principles so that, if others tackle this style, they actually understand how to do it right.

"Big budgets and comedy are opposites."

All of this came from a recent Woman's World interview, where Zucker was unusually candid about the Neeson-led reboot that MacFarlane is producing. If you are reading that and thinking, wait, is he accusing them of both copying and missing it at the same time? Yeah. His point is that they are imitating the vibe without the discipline he believes makes the jokes land.

Who is involved and why this lands with extra sting

Zucker is not a random bystander here. He directed the original Naked Gun movies and, along with Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams, basically defined modern spoof. On the new project, Liam Neeson is the face of the reboot and Seth MacFarlane is producing. Zucker is not mincing words about their approach, and he clearly thinks the formula he helped invent is being treated like a costume instead of a structure.

The read

There is a real behind-the-scenes vibe to his comments: a veteran saying the tone is not something you can buy with bigger set pieces or more toys. Whether the finished film proves him right or wrong, the original architect just staked out his position, loudly.