Who better to put into words the talent and long lasting legacy of Leslie Nielsen than writer/director/producer David Zucker? David, along with his brother Jerry and friend Jim Abrahams, cast Nielsen in several of his most memorable roles, such as Airplane and The Naked Gun. Those films helped reinvent the then serious actor as a huge comedy star and make a whole other generation aware of his deadpan brilliance. Zucker obviously knew Nielsen well and wrote a heartfelt tribute to the late actor, who passed away on Sunday. They have the full transcript, but you can also read it after the jump. Read More »
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For serious devotees of the movie Airplane!, the fact that Jerry Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and David Zucker (aka ZAZ) were heavily inspired by the 1957 movie Zero Hour is no secret. They talk about the film on the DVD commentary and have mentioned in interviews that Airplane! is based to some extent on Zero Hour.
But it’s one thing to know that the script for Airplane! was heavily based on this dead-serious air thriller, and quite another thing to watch all the related scenes back to back. And if you didn’t know that the two films were related, then this will be even more of a treat. Check out a side-by-side collection of clips from both films, after the break. Read More »
Fox News has the trailer for David Zucker‘s new political comedy An American Carol. This looks like a higher budget version of Uwe Boll’s Postal, which is sad since Zucker was once the mastermind behind Airplane! Tell me what you think in the comments below!
An American Carol is a comic retelling of A Christmas Carol, but instead of Ebenezer Scrooge, we have a cynical, anti-American documentary filmmaker named Michael Malone (extremely subtle), who sets out on a crusade to abolish the July Fourth holiday with his film Die You American Pigs. On the fourth of July, he is visited by three ghosts who tey to show him the meaning of Independence, instead of Christmas. Chris Farley’s brother Kevin Farley stars as the filmmaker, alongside Kelsey Grammer as General Patton, Jon Voight as General Washington, Leslie Nielsen as himself, Bill O’ Reilly as himself, Dennis Hopper, and James Woods. Vivendi Entertainment is releasing the film on 2000 screens on October 3rd 2008.
Vivendi Entertainment picked up the U.S. rights to David Zucker‘s new comedy An American Carol. Imagine for a moment, a retelling of A Christmas Carol, but instead of Ebenezer Scrooge, we have a cynical, anti-American documentary filmmaker unsubtlely named Michael Malone, who sets out on a crusade to abolish the July Fourth holiday with his film Die You American Pigs. On the fourth of July, he is visited by three ghosts who tey to show him the meaning of Independence, instead of Christmas. If you were a Hollywood studio executive, and heard this pitch, would you greenlight the film?
Zucker is known as the mastermind behind Airplane! and the Naked Gun films, but also the last two Scary Movie films. Chris Farley’s brother Kevin Farley stars as the filmmaker, alongside Kelsey Grammer seen above as General Patton, next to Jon Voight as General Washington. Also, Leslie Nielsen as himself, Bill O’ Reilly as himself, Dennis Hopper, and James Woods. Call me a liberal, but this just sounds lame.
source: Variety
