David Zucker has long since cemented his position as one of the most important and influential voices in Hollywood comedy, having had a direct hand in several movies that can arguably be deemed among the funniest ever made.
Airplane!, The Naked Gun franchise and Top Secret! set the stage for a slew of thinly-veiled imitations that would flood the marketplace throughout the 1980s and 1990s, which saw countless filmmakers try to replicate the Zucker/Abrahams/Zucker formula for absurd situations and rapid-fire quips played with completely straight faces.
Zucker hasn’t been credited on anything since 2013’s dire Scary Movie 5, but The Hollywood Reporter reveals that he’s set to return to his preferred genre of choice in Star of Malta, which will find him heading back into the world of spoofs for a noir-inspired spy story.
The plot unfolds in 1940s America, with prizefighter Joe Medina having been released from prison after killing his opponent in the ring. He sets off after the love of his life, where he ends up in the possession of a cursed gemstone, sending him on an accidental murder spree.
The script hails from a team with credits on Airplane!, The Naked Gun, Top Secret!, Police Academy, Hot Shots Part Deux and more to their names, so Star of Malta could be a winner as long as Zucker and company have moved with the times.
Published: Nov 12, 2021 04:40 am