The Shocking True Story of the Making of Airplane! & The Naked Gun | David Zucker

The Rubin Report

Dave Rubin of “The Rubin Report” talks to the creator of Airplane! and The Naked Gun, David Zucker about how he and his brother went from being class clowns in Milwaukee to launching a hit comedy troupe in a bookstore theater; how his first movie The Kentucky Fried Movie became a huge success that made its money back on opening weekend; the struggle to sell Airplane! and why they insisted on casting serious actors like Robert Stack and Peter Graves; how Kareem Abdul-Jabbar landed his role because he wanted a $30K rug; how directing required precise comedic timing; how veteran actors were skeptical of the film until the end; the real origin of The Naked Gun; why Zucker and his team decided to direct their films, how the failed Police Squad! series evolved into The Naked Gun movie; how he was able to remake serious actor Leslie Nielsen into a perfect comedian; why Ricardo Montalbán forced him to rewrite certain jokes; what it was like to work with O.J. Simpson; the original idea to reboot Naked Gun as a Mission: Impossible spoof featuring Leslie Nielsen’s son; how Paramount execs initially loved the script but then gave the project to Seth MacFarlane; why Zucker wouldn’t cast Liam Neeson and disagrees with the reboot's tone and CGI; why Hollywood no longer understands comedy; and much more. Check out the NEW RUBIN REPORT MERCH here: https://daverubin.store/

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices