Legendary comedy spoof writer/director David Zucker

David Zucker has written and directed some of the biggest comedies of all time, including Airplane! and The Naked Gun. Along with his brother Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams, the legendary ZAZ (Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker) trio essentially created the film spoof, making audiences laugh with glee through straight-faced delivery of their actors since the late 70s. On the heels of his 2023 bestseller, Surely, You Can't Be Serious: The True Story of Airplane!, (a behind-the-scenes look of the making of the cult classic), the Milwaukee-born Zucker has now embarked on his own unique spoof comedy masterclass called MasterCrash. The 9-hour course promises to teach aspiring comedy filmmakers the dos and don'ts of effective comedy filmmaking. Plus, he's not done making films! Zucker is developing a new project to direct, The Star of Malta, which he's written with his longtime writing collaborator Pat Proft and is hoping to get to lens soon, while he's also executive producing Octoberfest from German production company Traumfabrik Babelsberg. Matt Ardill had the opportunity to chat over Zoom with David Zucker last week, and their sprawling half-hour conversation covered everything from 1977's The Kentucky Fried Movie through Airplane!, Top Secret!, Ruthless People, The Naked Gun, Scary Movie 3, his new projects, and his thoughts on comedy in Hollywood over the last few years. To join up for MasterCrash and learn ZAZ's 15 essential rules for making spoof comedy (along with collaborating with other students, taking part in Q&A's with Zucker, etc.), visit www.mastercrash.com.