Naked Gun director Akiva Schaffer discusses the unexpected inspiration he found in a James Bond 007 film.

      When Akiva Schaffer, a veteran of Lonely Island, took on The Naked Gun and aimed to demonstrate that comedy can still flourish in theaters with his Liam Neeson-led reboot, he sought inspiration from numerous films. One significant influence turned out to be the 1997 James Bond movie Tomorrow Never Dies, starring Pierce Brosnan.

      As Schaffer shared during the recent Lonely Island With Seth Meyers podcast, he watched a plethora of action films during the pandemic with longtime friend and director Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, known for credits like Scream and Ready or Not. Some of these films served as visual guides for the new comedy, which debuts this week.

      “One film that I didn’t exactly find but realized fit perfectly was Tomorrow Never Dies,” Schaffer conveyed to fellow Lonely Island members Andy Samberg and Jorma Taccone.

      “Matt and I watched every James Bond movie sequentially, and with Tomorrow Never Dies, it felt like the old style had evolved into a modern film. Even the surround sound on my TV felt more vibrant. Although those movies were filmed on 35 millimeter, they couldn't be digitally color timed to enhance contrasts, preserving the atmospheric quality. They looked stunning by today's standards while still evoking a sense of nostalgia.”

      Tomorrow Never Dies combined the classic essence of the movies that were parodied in the original 1988 Naked Gun with the visual style of the more contemporary films being spoofed in the new movie.

      The original Naked Gun creators, Jim Abrahams and brothers David and Jerry Zucker, drew from the television shows of their childhood in the 1950s, along with the action films of the 1970s and ’80s. One comedic secret behind their projects—ranging from Kentucky Fried Movie to Airplane! and The Naked Gun—was delivering all the jokes seriously, regardless of their absurdity.

      In their 2023 book, Surely You Can’t Be Serious: The True Story of Airplane!, Jerry Zucker explained that they spent considerable time watching earnest television programs like The Untouchables, Sea Hunt, and Mission: Impossible—“shows where the characters took themselves very seriously, leading us to come up with ridiculous lines for them.”

      When it came to casting Airplane, Jerry Zucker added, “we actually enlisted those same tough-guy actors to say the lines we always wished they would.”

      This included Leslie Nielsen, who gained fame for serious dramatic roles in films like The Poseidon Adventure before satirizing disaster movies in Airplane, and later portrayed the deadpan Lt. Frank Drebin in The Naked Gun and the 1982 TV series Police Squad!

      Akiva Schaffer, the director of The Naked Gun, shared how Tomorrow Never Dies informed his reboot.

      Schaffer’s body of work—including the underrated 2016 Lonely Island film PopStar: Never Stop Never Stopping—follows a similar principle of sincere delivery. Yet, his new movie, which arrives 31 years after Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult, has a wealth of new material to draw upon, such as Neeson’s Taken films and the John Wick franchise.

      Schaffer noted in the podcast that while the Wick movies are visually stunning, they weren't ideal references due to their darkness. He aimed to avoid making his film resemble a typical brightly lit comedy without a distinctive viewpoint.

      “We don’t want it to appear as just some poor-quality, overly lit comedy lacking any perspective,” Schaffer clarified.

      He collaborated with cinematographer Brandon Trost, who also worked on PopStar, to achieve the right visual balance. He mentioned that the film’s teaser, released earlier this year, quickly showcases how this new movie differs from its predecessor. The trademark deadpan delivery and quick-fire humor are still present, but now presented in a more modern visual style, reflecting the action films that have emerged since the previous installment.

      Schaffer co-wrote the new film with Dan Gregor and Doug Mand, in which Neeson stars as the son of Nielsen’s Frank Drebin.

      The Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker approach has profoundly impacted The Lonely Island team, who recounted on the podcast how their films broadened their understanding of what comedy films could achieve. Taccone pointed out that the 1984 film Top Secret was particularly influential, making him realize that adults could enjoy themselves just as much as children.

      We concur: It makes our list of the 12 Funniest Comedies We’ve Ever Seen.

      Main image: Liam Neeson in The Naked Gun, directed by Akiva Schaffer. Paramount Pictures.