David Zucker, the director of the original Naked Gun film, has weighed in on the positive reception of the reboot starring Liam Neeson and Pamela Anderson.
While he hasn't seen the movie himself, Zucker believes the film's success is a good omen for the comedy genre.
Zucker expressed his enthusiasm for the reboot's reception, stating, "I'm excited about it because it just shows that there's a strong market for comedy in movie theaters, and spoof in particular. People are liking it, which is great."
He also reached out to director Akiva Schaffer to offer his congratulations, saying, "I texted him already, saying, 'I hear the reviews are great, and it's tracking well.'"
Despite his positive sentiments, Zucker has no plans to watch the new film. He explained, "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."
Zucker worked on a script for a fourth Naked Gun film, which he shared with Paramount, but was not involved in the reboot.
He declined an executive producer credit on the film, stating, "I won't take credit on anything that I didn't work on from the beginning. I don't need the money." He jokingly added that the credit would only have covered a few electric bills after agents and managers took their share.
Zucker is focused on his own projects, including Counterintelijence, which was initially envisioned as the fourth Naked Gun film, and a noir spoof script called The Star of Malta. He hopes the buzz surrounding the reboot will help generate interest in his own work.
The director appreciated a call from producer Seth MacFarlane, who praised his previous work on Airplane!, The Naked Gun, and Top Secret.
Zucker said, "He spent the first 10 minutes telling me how much he loved [those films]. I can't get mad at anyone who will tell me what a genius I am."
