Original ‘Naked Gun’ Director Celebrates New Film, Refuses To See It

It’s pretty easy to have sour grapes in a world of reboots and remakes. Original creators are often cast aside to let a new filmmaker come in and remix their work. They are given an honorary credit or an invitation to the premiere, and maybe half a point on the back end. Or, they are given no credit at all, and the IP becomes the thing the studio leads with. Some creators handle it well, taking their money and moving on. Others, just as understandably, complain to as many podcasts and media outlets that will listen to them. Others fall somewhere in the middle.

That seems to be the case with the original The Naked Gun director, David Zucker. I had already written about David Zucker’s reaction to Liam Neeson and Akiva Schaffer’s new take on his film. It seemed like it may be the last we would hear from him in this cycle, as he didn’t seem thrilled that the film was being made. He seemed none too pleased that he had pitched a reboot to Paramount that was turned down, and then, they went ahead and made this one instead. Now that it’s come out and is a hit with critics and audiences (and a modest box office success), Zucker’s tune has changed … a little.

The director recently chatted with The Hollywood Reporter about the new film, making it clear that he’s happy for its success. “I’m excited about it because it just shows that there’s a strong market for comedy in movie theaters, and spoof in particular,” Zucker explained. “People are liking it, which is great. I really like the director, and I just couldn’t wish him more well. I texted him already, saying, ‘I hear the reviews are great, and it’s tracking well.’ He was very happy to hear from me, and we’ll probably get together later in the month when the smoke clears.” Ay, that’s nice! Zucker must have been at the premiere, too, right? Laughing with the audience, as I plan to be doing this evening? Not so fast!

“I’m not gonna see it, but I don’t see any of the sequels that were of my material done by other people, and that’s fine. I’ve told Akiva that I have no intention to see it,” the comedy filmmaker said with a laugh. “He actually invited me to come see an early cut of it, but I told him there’s nothing I could do to help because it really isn’t what I would have done. That’s not to say that he didn’t actually end up doing a good movie. But I don’t think I could help with that.” This is a little different than Zucker saying he was asked to put his name on the movie sans input, chiding them for assuming he wouldn’t be helpful due to his age.

He’s still (mostly) saying the same thing, but does seem to have softened. “I won’t take credit on anything that I didn’t work on from the beginning. I don’t need the money,” he mused. “After the agents and managers, it would have paid three electric bills, probably. If it’s a big hit, Akiva should get the credit, and he deserves it.” That’s very nice! Again, feels different than his last interview, but maybe the movie’s success warmed his heart a little. He also had nice things to say about the producer, Seth MacFarlane. People can change, especially when the tomatoes are fresh.