A couple years back, Newsmax columnist James Hirsen tried to portray comedy writer David Zucker as a victim of alleged Hollywood cancel culture because of his right-wing beliefs, even though the actual reason he fell out of favor there is that he stopped being funny. He tried to do so again in his April 26 column, which started with the declaration that Zucker is “hysterically funny guy” and a recitation of his resume, which included actual good films like “Airplane!” and “The Naked Gun” series. Hirsen then whined on Zucker’s behalf that he’s not involved in an upcoming “Naked Gun” remake:
Following the trend in Hollywood of resurrecting successes of the past, execs at Paramount have decided to put together a remake of the original “Naked Gun.”
The casting of the remake is puzzling to say the least.
The lead is played by dramatic film actor Liam Neeson, who has the unenviable job of trying to fill Nielsen’s huge comedic shoes. The role is quite a switch for Neeson. After a long career as a character actor, he has become increasingly known as an action star.
Pamela Anderson, famous for her TV roles on “Home Improvement” and “Baywatch,” will play the character originally portrayed by Presley.
Oddly, the filmmakers involved in the reboot didn’t include Zucker in the creation or production of the upcoming movie.
Zucker and his partners had submitted a script to Paramount in 2018, and there were indications at the time that the studio liked it. However, Paramount somehow chose to go in a different direction.
The filmmaker was stunned when he heard that the reins for a “Naked Gun” reboot had been handed over to others.
[…]At first glance it seems inexplicable that those involved in the reboot of the spoof film wouldn’t have wanted to consult with the master of the genre.
But then again Zucker hasn’t shied away from publicly expressing his political opinions, which don’t exactly align with Hollywood’s current penchant for wokeness.
Could this have something to do with the decision to bypass Zucker?
Hollywood is also a town that is enamored with atheism, and Zucker happens to be a believer.
Or, you know, it could be that Zucker is putting right-wing politics ahead of actually being funny. As we noted, Zucker made a 2009 film called “An American Carol” — basically an tantrum against Michael Moore for making “Fahrenheit 9/11” — that pretty much nobody thought was funny. Still, Hirsen tried to put a curse on the filmmakers for not including Zucker in the remake:
He appears to be taking the rebuff in a lighthearted manner, and even displayed some of his comedic prowess in a remark about Simpson’s onscreen performance in the original “Naked Gun.”
“I found that O.J.’s acting was a lot like his murdering. He got away with it, but nobody believed him,” he quipped.
Funny how Zucker makes comedy look so easy. Any pro knows it’s not.
Failing to consult with him may turn out to be a really bad business decision.
And that’s no joke.
Nothing says cutting-edge comedy like O.J. Simpson jokes — and it’s telling of Hirsen’s retrograde taste in humor that he found Zucker’s retrograde quip so funny.