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Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker (abbreviated to ZAZ) were an American comedy filmmaking trio consisting of Jim Abrahams and brothers David and Jerry Zucker who specialised in writing slapstick comedy films during the 1980s. Members of the team have often collaborated with writer Pat Proft.
- Jeremy Urquhart
- Senior Author
- 'The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!' (1988) After a memorable supporting role in Airplane! , Leslie Nielsen was made the star of a ZAZ feature film with The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!
- 'Airplane!' (1980) Standing as one of the greatest movies of 1980, Airplane! is a classic parody movie in every conceivable way, and established ZAZ as a force to be reckoned with.
- 'Top Secret!' (1984) A star-making role for Val Kilmer (it was his feature film debut), Top Secret! sometimes gets overlooked, but deserves to be recognized as a classic 1980s comedy.
- 'Ruthless People' (1986) Ruthless People is also an odd movie to talk about within the catalog of ZAZ titles, given the three directed it, though its screenplay was written by someone else entirely.
Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker (abbreviated to ZAZ) were an American comedy filmmaking trio consisting of Jim Abrahams and brothers David Zucker and Jerry Zucker, who specialized in writing slapstick comedy films during the 1980s.
- Kentucky Fried Origins. The Zucker brothers and Abrahams got their start making fun of pop-culture in comedy sketch shows, and never really stopped. While at The University of Wisconsin in the late ’60s and early ’70s they founded The Kentucky Fried Theater, where they would routinely spoof B-movies, TV shows, and the nightly news.
- Airplane! takes off. With one moderately successful film (thanks to a shoestring budget) under their belts, ZAZ decided to take the unusual step of writing and directing their next project on their own.
- Police Squad! and The Naked Gun. Having conquered the cinema, ZAZ turned their attention to the small screen. Their next project was the short lived but much loved series Police Squad!
- Top Secret! Among the spoofs ZAZ produced, Top Secret! didn’t enjoy the lasting success of Airplane! or the Naked Gun films, but it’s worth revisiting for Val Kilmer’s performance alone as Nick Rivers, an American rock star who gets caught up in an East German plot while performing overseas.
The ZAZ: Directed by Dorian Cowland. With Gordon Jackson, Remi Baker, Adam Sunderland, Michael Penton.
- (8)
- 1985
- Dorian Cowland
- 46
78 Metascore. After the crew becomes sick with food poisoning, a neurotic ex-fighter pilot must safely land a commercial airplane full of passengers. Directors: Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, Jerry Zucker | Stars: Robert Hays, Julie Hagerty, Leslie Nielsen, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Votes: 259,368 | Gross: $83.40M. 3.
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