🔗 Share this article David Zucker Renews Attack on Liam Neeson-Led Naked Gun Revival The filmmaker behind the classic of The Naked Gun, David Zucker, has reignited his criticism concerning the newly released revival featuring Liam Neeson, following a short period where he seemed to soften his stance following the premiere of the film's theatrical release. Director's Disapproval of the New Film's Style During a fresh discussion, Zucker expressed that Seth MacFarlane, the creative force behind the new Naked Gun and formerly the filmmaker and script collaborator of the Ted movies, "completely failed to grasp" the parody genre approach that Zucker, along 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, started doing spoof comedies 50 years ago, and we developed a unique approach – and we did that so well that it looks easy, clearly. Others began imitating it, like the new film's producer for the recent reboot. He completely misunderstood it." Zucker continued: "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." The Irreplaceable Star Zucker added that it was futile to produce the film without Leslie Nielsen, who played Frank Drebin and passed away in 2010, saying: "They attempted to substitute 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 different individuals". Adding: "I have not been approached to make a cameo 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 series of favorable critiques and impressive financial performance after its release in August, Zucker adopted a more agreeable stance, commenting: "I'm excited about it because it just shows that there's a strong market for comedy in cinemas, and spoof in particular." Renewed Disapproval Over Financial Aspects However, Zucker returned to the attack in the new interview, questioning the financial investment. "Big budgets and comedy are opposites, and in the recent reboot, you could see that they invested heavily on scenes with impressive technical effects while attempting to replicate our style." He added: "Everybody's in it for the money now, and that feels like the only reason why they wanted to do a new Naked Gun."