Liam Neesonmay have a certain set of skills, but he also has a certain type of actor he doesn’t want to work with.The Naked Gunstar is enjoying a new lease of life with his reboot of the Leslie Nielsen comedy franchise, which sees him take on the role of Frank Drebin Jr., obviously, the son of the original Frank Drebin. While speaking toRolling Stoneabout his new movie, Neeson was asked about what the most valuable skills he believes every actor needs to have. Neeson said in response:
“[Being on time.] That’s very important. I hear disturbing stories about actors and actresses who are very gifted, but show up on the set two, three, four hours late. I would never work with those people. I think it’s so insulting. You have a crew of like 60, 70, 80 people waiting for you. The very least you can do is give them the respect by turning up on time.”
Neeson has definitely shown up whenmaking his return to comedy with The Naked Gun, as not only has the film gained a higher Rotten Tomatoes score than any other movie in the franchise, but it also gave him his biggest box office opening weekend sinceTaken 3over a decade ago. Could this mean a new focus on comedy coming Neeson’s way? Well, he certainly knows that his time as an all-out action star is drawing to a close. When asked about his upcoming action movies, he toldVariety:
“Im 73, for f*ck’s sake. I don’t want to insult audiences if they’re watching whole fight scenes and it’s not me. I just wouldn’t do it. Up until recently, I liked doing my own fight stuff. But I don’t want to be doing that stuff with a Zimmer frame or walking stick. Sure, there might be another one out there, but nothing definite on the horizon.”
Liam Neeson Scores Big With ‘The Naked Gun’
When it was first announced that Liam Neeson would be taking the lead in a reboot ofThe Naked Gun, many were skeptical about how the movie would cope in front of today’s audiences. As it turns out, very well indeed, as they, and critics, have embraced the silliness over 30 years afterThe Naked Gun 33 1/3was released in 1994.
The Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer holds a strong 90% score, one percent higher than that of Nielsen’s original movie of 1988. On its opening weekend, the film was put up against blockbusters likeThe Fantastic Four, and new animated sequel,The Bad Guys2, but still managed to pull its weight with $16.5 million domestically. That made it one of the highest openings for a comedy movie this year, andone of Neeson’s best as lead.
Does this mean that we could be in line for moreNaked Gunin the future? We can certainly hope so, but in the meantime, keep the coffee flowing.
Source:Rolling Stone/Variety
The Naked Gun
