The Naked Gun has had a enthusiastic reception from viewers and critics alike this summer, but initially Paramount required some convincing to greenlight this reboot of the beloved 1988 comedy.
“[Liam Neeson’s casting] was not quite enough for the studio for whatever reason, and they asked us to do a proof of concept,” director Akiva Schaffer revealed during an interview with Filmmaker Magazine.
“We were in a warehouse on the Paramount lot where they keep all the gaffer equipment. It’s an old warehouse. Shining big lights through the windows with tons of atmosphere, all of a sudden, you’re in Beverly Hills Cop II. We used various scenes from the movie to create a new interrogation scene,” he recalled.
Schaffer explained how they created a “mini five-minute scene,” taking the hospital scene where Neeson is interrogating Kevin Durand, as well as some of the jokes from the interrogation with Busta Rhymes. At the end of the sequence, Neeson gets the criminal to break and speaks directly into the camera.
“There’s that noir lighting on his face, and he says, ‘That goes for you, too. Yes, you, the Paramount greenlight committee. I see you there. What the fuck are you waiting for? Why don’t you get your pencil pushers to sign [on] the line? I’ll tell you what. Make sure they have a line item for adult diapers and cocaine in case one of you ever wants to visit set,’ or something like that. He basically talks shit to them and leaves. And it worked!” he explained.
As far as we can tell, that test sequence was an accurate representation of what the movie was going to be – a goofy and hilarious detective parody that pushes comedy boundaries while being completely faithful to its predecessor.
Leslie Nielsen’s Frank Drebin originally debuted in the TV show Police Squad before starring in his own film in 1988, which was then followed by two sequels, 1991’s Naked Gun 2 ½: The Smell of Fear, and 1994’s Naked Gun 33 ⅓: The Final Insult.
The new film sees Neeson playing his son, alongside a cast which includes Pamela Anderson, Paul Walter Hauser, rapper Busta Rhymes, and WWE superstar Cody Rhodes.
The Naked Gun is now out in theaters. For more, check out the best upcoming movies coming your way in 2025 and beyond.