THE NAKED GUN 44 1/4: NORDBERG DID IT
(aka NAKED IMPOSSIBLE!)
Written by DAVID ZUCKER, PAT PROFT, & MICHAEL MCMANUS
Keep reading below for the full Naked Gun exclusive!
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Did you see those trailers for The Naked Gun starring Liam Neeson? Maybe you actually saw the film? If you did, you might be wondering why something felt “off.” That’s because David Zucker, one of the original ZAZ (Zucker, Abrahams, Zucker) writers and directors of the original Naked Gun films, was excluded from participating in the 2025 Paramount reboot, even though he had already written his own Naked Gun script with his team. While Zucker wishes the new filmmakers well, he will not be seeing this 2025 reboot of the franchise he helped create.
Back in 2018, he teamed up with his frequent collaborators, Pat Proft and Michael McManus, and they wrote a full-length script for a fourth Naked Gun film. Their drafts had two different titles: The Naked Gun 44 1/4: Nordberg Did It, and then it was called Naked Impossible! This script features a thirty-something Frank Drebin Jr. and spoofs spy films such as James Bond and Mission Impossible.
Zucker and his team have since repurposed their Naked Gun script as Counter Intelijence (intentional misspelling) so there’s still a chance you could see it on the big screen! Let Hollywood know you want to see their version! Or… Paramount could still make their script as an additional Naked Gun sequel. Who cares about continuity in a spoof comedy? Look what was done with the Halloween and Terminator franchises. Paramount could easily do the same thing with a simple explanation: the multiverse. No different than what Marvel does, and side note, the multiverse needs a spoof movie of its own.
Let Paramount know you want to see Zucker’s Naked Gun!
#SaveTheNakedGun
And it’s a very busy year for David Zucker:
Check out his book called Surely You Can’t Be Serious: The True Story of Airplane co-written with his longtime ZAZ team of his brother, Jerry Zucker, and Jim Abrahams (who sadly passed away in 2024). Zucker will also be hosting screenings of an Airplane! Director’s Cut alongside actor Robert Hays.
Zucker is also launching MasterCrash: A Crash Course in Spoof Comedy, MasterCrash will give filmmakers, writers, creators, and comedy fans the chance to learn ZAZ’s (Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker) 15 essential rules of spoof writing while collaborating with other MasterCrash students. Enrolling in MasterCrash offers the chance to take monthly calls with Zucker and receive access to exclusive content, like surprise guest lecturers, all while learning hands-on with Zucker himself. These are just a few benefits that MasterCrash offers students, with many more exciting opportunities to come.
MasterCrash is a nine-hour course that will be delivered through 18 separate videos to help build the foundational skills for directing spoof comedy films and writing jokes that land. To sign up for the course, get on the mailing list, and stay up to date on the latest details, visit MasterCrash.com. Zucker is excited to share his extensive knowledge of spoof writing with the next generation of filmmakers and directors.
More info can be found here:
YouTube: @MasterCrashComedy Facebook: @TheDavidZucker
Instagram: @TheDavidZucker X: @TheDavidZucker
David Zucker is also available to discuss any of the above in interviews or podcasts. Please contact publicist Laura Orrico at lauraorrico@gmail.com
After you meet the writers and READ THE 25 EXCLUSIVE SCRIPT EXCERPT PAGES BELOW, scroll down for a review of their full Naked Gun script from Stunt List co-founder Eric Moyer.
MEET THE WRITERS
DAVID ZUCKER
Part of the writing group know as ZAZ (Zucker, Abrahams, Zucker) and either wrote, directed, or co-wrote Airplane!, Top Secret!, Police Squad, The Naked Gun Original Trilogy, BASEketball, High School High, Scary Movie 3, 4, & 5, and more!
PAT PROFT
An Emmy-nominated writer who wrote or co-wrote Police Academy, Real Genius, Bachelor Party, Hot Shots!, The Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear, Scary Movie 3 & 4, and more, including Wrongfully Accused, which he also directed.
MICHAEL MACMANUS
Co-wrote Mafia! with Jim Abrahams and is also an actor who has appeared in shows such as Married With Children, Night Court, Coach, Perfect Strangers and much more!
Zucker, Proft, and McManus also have a script in development called Star of Malta, a spoof of noir films. They are currently casting and already have partial financing. Attention Hollywood Producers! Here’s your chance to bring back spoof comedy! The scripts are written! They’re ready to shoot! Star of Malta! Counter Intelijence! Take your pick! Or take both!
And here it is, the script pages you seek! Cue The Naked Gun theme music! Read the excerpts, then check out the review of the full script below!
A REVIEW OF THE FULL SCRIPT FOR THE NAKED GUN 44 1/4: NORDBERG DID IT
(aka NAKED IMPOSSIBLE!)
Writing is hard. Writing comedy is even harder. But there’s some writers, like David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker (collectively known as ZAZ) who make it look incredibly easy. I remember seeing Airplane as a kid. I had no idea what I was watching, because my only exposure to comedy was sitcoms, but I knew I was watching something special and I loved it. It reminded me of when I read Mad Magazine for the very first time.
My admiration for ZAZ continued with Top Secret, then the TV show Police Squad and its big screen counterpart, The Naked Gun. Recently, as a dad, it meant a lot to me to share these favorite films of mine with my daughter. Comedy has changed over the years. They just don’t make them like they used to. To my fellow parents out there, get your kid off YouTube and TikTok for a good old fashioned movie night and show them a ZAZ classic. Our kids need to discover these films, hopefully for many more generations to come.
David Zucker has been a true inspiration for me. I’ve talked about inspiration on this site before. As a writer, it’s part of what motivates you. Yes, it can lead to imitation, but it also helps develop your own voice. I even tried to write my own TV spec of Police Squad, but it didn’t feel right. It felt like I was trying to forcefully imitate Police Squad. Sound familiar, Paramount? There’s only one ZAZ, only one David Zucker. That doesn’t mean I’m not going to write spoof comedy. I just need to make it my own.
It was a great honor to work with David for this year’s showcase and brings me to my review of his Naked Gun script, co-written with his frequent collaborators Pat Proft and Michael McManus. It underwent two different titles. In 2018, it was called The Naked Gun 44 1/4: Nordberg Did It. In the 2019 version, it was called Naked Impossible! As you’ll see in the excerpts, there’s lots of references to James Bond, including an M-inspired character that could potentially be played by Judi Dench or Helen Mirren, and even a scene with a bad guy petting a penguin instead of a cat. And of course, there’s plenty of nods to Mission Impossible and more, including a subtle wink to the John Wick franchise.
The script opens with Frank Drebin Jr. as a security guard, as he bumbles his way into taking out some thugs and becomes a hero. After some plot set up with a kidnapping in Russia, the script wastes no time with nostalgia, giving us the much anticipated return of Jane Drebin, clearly with the intention of bringing back Priscilla Presley. If you’ve listened to interviews with David Zucker over the years, you may have heard his joke about the last time he saw O.J. Simpson. In the script, that joke is owned by Jane. For the role of Frank Drebin Jr., Zucker told The Stunt List that he had Andy Samberg in mind while writing. That would be perfect casting.
After Frank Jr. learns his father was in Counter Intelligence, we’re off and running as he fulfills his destiny and heads to Washington D.C. with intentions of avenging his father’s death. But not before we’re introduced to the latest Zucker sports-figure character: Jane’s new husband and Jr.’s stepfather, written to be played by Shaquille O’Neal.
The gags keep coming as you would expect as Jr. meets his father’s former co-workers at Counter Intelligence. “Your father was a great man. Not good with explosives, but a great man.” Cut to a reveal that he’s missing an arm. In fact, everyone at Counter Intelligence is missing a limb or has other injuries.
There’s lots of traditional ZAZ wordplay and even the return of the “Yes, I know” joke, as Zucker, Proft, and McManus brilliantly weave in familiar elements of the franchise, yet take it in a brand new original direction. Hardcore fans will spot some Easter eggs, including a pay off to a joke from the original 1988 Naked Gun where Drebin Sr. speaks about the horrors of being caught in the gears of a combine.
You can really see a different, but still Leslie Nielsen-inspired character in Drebin Jr. He clumsily hurts others (never himself), yet has his own way of speaking and behaving. Other than a brief mention, there’s no Police Squad here. No Ed Hocken and no Nordberg either (despite the funny movie title). Zucker and his writing team specifically did not want to do the same thing they did thirty years ago. They wanted it to be new and fresh, replacing Police Squad with international secret spy hijinks. And it works. If they had been given the chance, this would have successfully continued the franchise with a whole new series of Naked Gun films, and it would have been a hit.
The second act of the script enters full comedic Bond and Mission Impossible mode, including a hilarious scene spoofing Ethan Hunt’s infamous masks. There’s double crossings, comical negotiations, saving the world, and of course, lots of innuendo. Plus, Zucker and team aren’t just good at comedy writing, they know how to write an action scene too. At 107 pages, this script moves at breakneck speed.
At the end, Frank Drebin Jr. speaks about spending his life trying to be like his father, but realizes he just needs to be himself, which perfectly sums up what this script is trying to do. He also hopes that his father is looking down, proud of him. After reading this script, I’m confident Leslie Nielsen is looking down, proud of what Zucker, Proft, and McManus have accomplished. There’s so much to like in this script and it’s a shame that Paramount went in a completely different direction and excluded Zucker from their 2025 Naked Gun starring Liam Neeson.
Not all is lost though. They have repurposed this script and re-titled it Counter Intelijence (yes, intentionally a typo) and we can only hope that a studio brings back the GOAT to make another legendary spoof comedy. We could all use some more laughter in the movies right now. Good comedy is becoming harder and harder to find. In addition, Zucker, Proft, and McManus have written a spoof of film noir with their latest script called Star of Malta, which they are casting and developing while they still seek additional financing. There have been recent announcements of Spaceballs 2, Scary Movie 6, and a Young Frankenstein TV series, but Zucker does it different than them. They need to bring him and his trademark style of spoof comedy back into theaters!
“You take a risk getting out of bed in the morning, crossing the street, or sticking your face in a fan.” - Frank Drebin Sr. and Frank Drebin Jr.
We hope you enjoyed these script excerpts for The Naked Gun 44 1/4: Nordberg Did It (aka Naked Impossible!)!!! Let Paramount know you want to see it!
Your friend in writing,
Eric Moyer
Special thanks to David’s publicist, Laura Orrico!