In case you had grown up with the unique “Bare Gun” trilogy (1988-1994) like author/director Akiva Schaffer, chances are high you, too, would’ve thought a 2025 franchise reboot was a horrible thought.
Schaffer, 47, watched the unique “Bare Gun” numerous instances in center and highschool, however his “trepidation and pessimism” when he received a name in regards to the remake went past the standard kneejerk nostalgia to guard a cherished childhood reminiscence. The “SNL” and Lonely Island alum is as critical a pupil of spoofs as anybody in comedy, and it was his appreciable skilled opinion {that a} reboot was a idiot’s errand.
“I undoubtedly thought it was a foul thought,” stated Schaffer when he was a visitor on this week’s episode of IndieWire’s Filmmaker Toolkit podcast to debate his new “The Bare Gun.” “The primary film, particularly, is an ideal film. It’s nearly a magic trick. Each time you assume you found out what they did to make it work by way of the foundations, the subsequent scene breaks that rule in a method — one way or the other, their instincts had been so good as to what the viewers cared about and didn’t care about.”
Schaffer stated he took the assembly with Paramount out of “morbid curiosity,” questioning what the studio’s plans had been for the revered property.
“The factor that modified my thoughts was them saying Liam Neeson was ,” stated Schaffer.
One of many keys to success for brothers David and Jerry Zucker, together with Jim Abrahams —the ZAZ producing-directing trio behind “Airplane,” “Prime Secret,” and the “Bare Gun” movies— was the casting of dramatic actors in Hollywood’s first spoof movies.
“It’s not that they’re taking part in it straight; it’s that they’re taking part in it actual,” stated Schaffer. “When folks consider taking part in it straight, they consider taking part in it critical, that means they may get very humorless and flat, and it’s not that. It’s that you simply’re taking part in it such as you’re an actor who’s so dumb, they don’t know that what they’re saying is loopy. That it’s so real.”
Schaffer isn’t alone in believing nobody was higher at this than the unique “Bare Gun” star Leslie Nielsen, however extra importantly, entering into his Detective Frank Drebin’s sneakers can be a mistake.
“Leslie Nielsen is irreplaceable, one in every of one, as they are saying,” stated Schaffer. “Any actor that might be attempting to do a Leslie Nielsen impression of any kind can be a failing thought.”
The explanation the potential for Neeson intrigued Schaffer, opening the door a crack to the potential of doing the reboot? A four-minute bit the “Taken” star did in Warwick Davis, Stephen Service provider, and Ricky Gervais’ 2011 comedy sequence “Life’s Too Brief.”
It’s a widely known clip in comedy circles that Schaffer had watched numerous instances. Within the scene, Neeson performs a extreme model of himself, the dramatic actor desirous to strive his hand at comedy, however seemingly unaware that AIDS, most cancers, famine, and his “Schindler’s Checklist” preparation aren’t appropriate comedic premises to riff off. You possibly can watch the scene beneath.
“It’s all in that clip. He’s taking part in Liam Neeson in it, nevertheless it’s clearly a caricature. That’s an amalgamation of each motion film he’s made for the final 10 years, and he’s taking part in it so critical and so humorless and saying loopy shit,” stated Schaffer. “That’s additionally why once they stated Liam Neeson, I went, ‘Oh,’ as a result of once you see that clip, you’re like, what a tremendous untapped useful resource. The leading-man, old-school gravitas — that doesn’t exist anymore, but additionally [he] hasn’t used his energy for comedy but, nearly ever, besides that clip and a cameo in ‘Ted 2.’”
Schaffer pointed to different good-looking main males, like Alec Baldwin and Jon Hamm, who had efficiently made the pivot to comedy, however afterwards saved one profession foot firmly planted within the comedy world.
“Liam by no means did that pivot. He’s simply actually uncommon in that method,” stated Schaffer. “It let me know that we wouldn’t be doing an impersonation.”
With Neeson, there can be no must attempt to replicate or impersonate Nielsen’s work within the Nineteen Eighties and ’90s movies. Neeson would as an alternative draw from his personal well-established, onscreen dramatic persona.
“What you see in that Gervais clip, what he confirmed me, he’s prepared to poke enjoyable at this iconic persona he’s been growing,” stated Schaffer. “I might be like, ‘Oh, that’s who he’s. That’s his model of it.’ It’s not Leslie’s model. That particularly is why Liam opened it up, as a result of I may see a brand new model taking place.”
Initially of Schaffer’s 2025 “Bare Gun,” it’s established that Neeson’s Detective Drebin is the son of the Nielsen character. His character honors his father’s legacy, from which he may draw classes, however he’s his personal man residing in his personal time. It’s a tidy analogy for a way Neeson’s presence allowed Schaffer to strategy the unique movies.
A Paramount Photos launch, “The Bare Gun” is now in theaters.
To listen to Akiva Schaffer‘s full interview, subscribe to the Filmmaker Toolkit podcast on Apple, Spotify, or your favourite podcast platform.
