It turns out that Lima Neeson was one of the reasons for the remake of The Naked Gun. During a test scene, the actor said a bunch of nonsense to Paramount executives — and they asked for more.
The restart of the comedy might not have gotten off the ground if not for one scene. The lead actor simply walked onto the set, said a bunch of stupid things to the studio executives, and left. Director Akiva Shaffer recalled that Paramount used those few minutes to give the green light to the entire project.
The test scene lasted five minutes on the studio’s premises. The location was an old room with lighting equipment — the atmosphere was reminiscent of Beverly Hills Cop 2. In the scene, Neeson interrogated Kevin Durand, and the dialogues used jokes from the movie and the scene with Busta Rhymes’ interrogation. At the end, Neeson forces the suspect to confess and addresses the camera directly, and then says so:
“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 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”, — Neeson said.
After that, the scene was shown to Paramount executives, but the reaction was unexpected — they liked the actor’s impudence. Eventually, the entire project was approved. The new “Naked Gun” is not a reboot in the literal sense. Neeson plays Frank Drebin Jr, the son of Leslie Nielsen’s character from the classic trilogy. The cast also includes Pamela Anderson, Paul Walter Hauser, Basta Rhimes, and WWE wrestler Cody Rhodes.
The Ukrainian premiere took place on July 31, 2025. Judging by the first closed screenings for the press, the movie has not lost its absurd humor — here and scenes of shooting because of the queue for the restroom, і Liam Neeson in polka dot underpants. After the premiere, the film started with 91% on Rotten Tomatoes and 78/100 on Metacritic, becoming one of the best comedies of the decade.
Source: Filmmaker Magazine
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