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The National
28 minutes ago
- The National
The six rules that made The Naked Gun funny, according to Akiva Schaffer
Director Akiva Schaffer has always been funny. But being Naked Gun funny? That's a different skill entirely. "It wasn't easy," Schaffer tells The National."I had to go back as an adult and study these movies and dissect what makes them work." And, in an era in which pure comedies rarely make it to the big screen – let alone gain wide critical acclaim – Schaffer's reboot of the cult film series of the 1980s and 1990s is a hit, garnering more laughs per minute than any film in recent memory. It's especially surprising because audiences have largely forgotten that spoof movies can be funny. For at least a decade, the genre has been relegated to the guilty pleasure category at best – a far cry from the days when filmmakers such as Mel Brooks, Woody Allen and the team of David Zucker, Jim Abrahams and Jerry Zucker (known as ZAZ) produced films that were both hilarious and widely respected for their craft. Schaffer, best known as one third of the Lonely Island trio responsible from one of comedy's few bright spots in recent years, garnered several key lessons in order to bring the genre back to those heights. 1. Follow the old rules – but know when to break them One of the main things Schaffer studied was the ZAZ 15 rules of comedy – which guided films such as the original Naked Gun, Airplane! and Top Secret. Those rules, as outlined by David Zucker, were practical, including tips such as "two jokes at the same time cancel each other out" and "don't use a comedian in a straight man role". But that was only helpful to a point, Schaffer explains. "Those movies seem to be playing by certain rules and then they immediately beak them." But when do you break them? When it's in service of the story, Schaffer says. "They had the discipline to stay in the detective genre the whole time, but then they would drift into a cheesy 80s' love montage. It was always about allowing the movie to move forward and to do so at the right pace," says Schaffer. "Momentum is so key." 2. Identify tropes Another key ZAZ rule of parody is that the joke should be set up by something outside the movie. To do so, they studied the detective and police genres to the point where they recognised all the reflexive patterns, which were then ripe for satire. For Schaffer's film, he wanted to ensure that he was not making the same jokes again. To do so, he studied where the crime genre has evolved since and applied the ZAZ method to a new generation of storytelling. "I tried to find tropes that were in movies and TV shows of the last 30 years, as opposed to the 80s and 90s. They were doing that for the 50s, so we picked up from 1995 to 2025, which gave us 30 years to mess with. So we focused on how people disassemble guns, or rip off Mission: Impossible masks," Schaffer says. 3. Tell a story good enough that audiences can ignore it After watching the entire history of spoof movies, Schaffer came to another realisation: the best had far better stories than anyone realised. "You have to make such a good story that the audience can ignore it," Schafer explains. "With those old movies, audiences leave saying: 'The story didn't matter, it's just a bunch of jokes, it's great!' And I think that's the magic trick that they're pulling off." 'In reality, the story has to be so clear, easy to follow and engaging that you can, as an audience member, throw it away and not pay attention to it. If the story moves too slowly or isn't interesting enough, the jokes stop working." The initial Naked Gun film is one such example of a great yarn. "If you think about the first Naked Gun, it's actually a complex story. There's a Manchurian Candidate element of sleeper cells and assassins, and a real estate magnate and all this stuff. But they tell it in such a specific order and such a specific way that you're able to just lay back and enjoy the jokes," says Schaffer. " Austin Powers pulls that off, and Blazing Saddles off. So, that was actually the thing I studied almost more than anything else." 4. Stay visual to maintain joke density Another hallmark of the ZAZ movies is to keep jokes on the screen at all times – even if you don't notice them at first. Producer Erica Huggins, who is also the president of Seth Macfarlane's Fuzzy Door Productions (Family Guy, Ted), explains: "There had to be foreground and background jokes. That was a big part of the original movies and so is part of our movie as well. We had to keep that visual frame constantly funny." 5. Don't hire comedians While the ZAZ rules did say not to hire funny people for straight roles, Schaffer took that further – hiring actors who have rarely done comedy for nearly every role. "To honour the spirit, we cast dramatic people, not comedians," says Schaffer. That meant not only casting Liam Neeson and Pamela Anderson in the lead roles, but also instructing them to play the roles straight. Neeson says: "That was my note to myself every day: Just be serious." 6. Don't improvise Many films can stay funny by having its actors come up with funny lines on the spot – and in recent years, films such as Deadpool have found their humour almost entirely by relying on the wit of its lead stars. But not all humour is found in wit. Often, the best jokes are expertly crafted rather than found in the moment – a lesson Hollywood had seemingly forgotten. "I barely improvised at all," says co-star Paul Walter Hauser. "When the comedy is good, you don't need to break from that."
The National
4 days ago
- The National
What Justin Timberlake got wrong about touring in 2025
Justin Timberlake 's Forget Tomorrow World Tour ends today in Istanbul but, judging by the backlash, it couldn't have come to a close soon enough. What was billed as an anticipated comeback instead exposed how six years away from the road seems to have left the Cry Me a River singer out of touch with what's expected from a modern touring artist. The old assumptions – that sheer star power, a dependable setlist of hits and audiences primed to lap up whatever's presented on stage would suffice- are gone. For Timberlake, the fall was more than cancelled shows or the occasional bum note. It was about violating what has become an unspoken yet cardinal rule of live music: concerts are no longer solo performances but communal experiences, and it's the crowd that determines if a show succeeds. The Istanbul outing comes on the back of a growing catalogue of widely shared social media clips, from Dublin, Bucharest and London, showing disgruntled fans accusing Timberlake of delivering half-hearted performances. In one viral video that has received more than 460,000 likes, a Romanian fan lamented that she paid 'a lot of money' to see him, only to feel 'disrespected' by a show where he appeared to skulk around the stage in a low-brimmed hat, barely engaging with the crowd. While Timberlake isn't the first artist accused of phoning it in, the emotional, almost visceral response reveals a new faultline in the touring industry. In a concert economy where fans are spending hundreds, sometimes thousands of dollars for tickets, merchandise and premium meet-and-greet packages, the expectation is no longer just a solid setlist. It's that the artist will show up emotionally and meet the crowd in that shared space. Timberlake didn't just deliver a lacklustre show. He did something worse: he disengaged. A glance at today's most successful tours reveals artists who understand that concerts are no longer just musical events, but shared platforms. Taylor Swift's record-breaking Eras Tour, now officially the biggest and most commercially successful concert tour of all time with over $2 billion in revenue, is a case in point. More than a three-and-a-half-hour showcase of Swift's catalogue, each show was a colourful world-building exercise. Fans arrived in co-ordinated outfits, exchanged official friendship bracelets and chanted lyrics at predesignated cues. The ecstatic crowd left not as audience members, but as active participants. That same mastery of crowd choreography was on full display during Coldplay's four sold-out shows at Abu Dhabi's Zayed Sports City Stadium. As The National 's review noted of a detail as simple but powerful as the LED wristbands: 'The Xylobands, shifting from cherry red to soft tea green, created a cascading effect as the crowd waved their arms, making it seem as though singer Chris Martin was strolling through a dark, enchanted forest.' The change in expectations also requires, at times, a counterintuitive approach from artists. Where before the ultimate aim was to deliver the best vocal performance, now making the occasional slip-up is not meant to be hidden, but to be part of the show. Singer Olivia Rodrigo, whose songs are defined by their adolescent vulnerability, leans into that communal intimacy. Her vocal stumbles, also relentlessly documented by fans online during her well-received tour, become shared moments of recognition by fans who praise her in these videos for being real. 'You feel like she's your friend, not a pop star,' one fan posted recently under a social media video of Rodrigo's Glastonbury festival performance in June. And when Oasis reunited this July after 16 years, the press and the crowd didn't care about how polished they sounded or even so much the fact that Noel and Liam Gallagher were back on stage again, but about how their presence and songs made the stadium feel. This shift in audience expectation is partly driven by economics. The fact is, we are paying more than ever for concert tickets. In North America, ticket prices soared by more than 41 per cent since 2019, according to trade publication Pollstar. While there is no regional data, The National 's coverage of UAE concerts dating back to 2013 showed a general admission to see Black Sabbath at Etihad Park starting from Dh295, while tickets to see British singer David Gray at Dubai's Coca-Cola Arena in October and Rod Stewart at Abu Dhabi's Etihad Arena are both Dh395. And yet, people are still buying while jettisoning the now outdated idea of 'fear of missing out' for 'you had to be there'. It is about the event being larger than the music itself, a catalyst for community, making friends, expressing yourself with handmade memorabilia, and sharing a memory that is resonant because it felt real and made for the occasion. That is the emotional return on investment fans are seeking. And that is what Timberlake, by all visible accounts, failed to deliver. His tour featured none of the crowd participation cues that audiences have come to view as signs of care. There was also reportedly no off-the-cuff banter, rather the shows were viewed as lacking authentic moments and spontaneity. Perhaps this would have been OK if the music critic's pen still carried weight in shaping public perception, but that mantle has now moved to social media platforms. Fan reactions, often posted while the show is running, are now the ultimate definer of whether a performance is a hit or a dud. If Rodrigo's voice cracks mid-set, it's viewed as a loving reminder of her authenticity. If Timberlake delivers a smooth yet emotionally detached version of Suit & Tie, it becomes an unflattering meme. The new, unwritten contract understandably demands much from the artist – each show needs to feel like it was made for the moment while being cognisant that it could be recorded for posterity. It's a new form of the purity test, where an artist must now be many things on stage: performer, therapist, community builder and content generator. They must be professional yet not too polished, emotionally present but always ready to strike the right pose for crowds looking for social media content. It is no wonder Timberlake has reportedly been unhappy on the road. The game has changed, but he has yet to.
The National
25-07-2025
- The National
From screen to plate: Creative Dubai cinema experience allows you to eat what you see across five-course menu
How many times have you watched a film and wondered what the food in a particular scene might taste like? At Teatro restaurant in Rotana Towers Dubai, Movie Eats transforms that passing thought into a cinematic dining experience. This is not just dinner and a movie; it is a curated event where each course is inspired by what appears on screen, timed to match key moments in the film. The set up When I visited, the feature was Eat Pray Love, starring Julia Roberts as Elizabeth Gilbert, a woman on a journey of self (and culinary) discovery across Italy, India and Bali. Much like the film's story, the menu moved through Italian and Indian flavours, bringing the narrative to life through taste. Setting the scene for the five-course dinner-and-show experience, a menu, cutlery and napkins are laid out before guests arrive. In keeping with a traditional cinema experience, we are initially served popcorn. On a roll My experience began with a mixed berry mojito, a light and refreshing drink reminiscent of the relaxed aperitivo scenes from the film's Italian chapter. The first course was cheese ravioli, a rich and creamy dish notable for its full flavour. The second course arrived as a larger platter combining artichoke and melon, with clam tagliatelle and Napoli pizza. Although they connected well with what we were seeing on screen, I felt the mix of dishes did not complement each other particularly well. The tagliatelle was nicely prepared, but I am not a huge fan of clams; and the pizza would have definitely benefitted from more sauce and toppings. Moving away from Italian food, we were served turkey breast slices with vegetables and gravy, presented during the film's Thanksgiving montage. The meat was tender and juicy, and felt as warm and comforting as the scene we watched. As the film moves to India and Elizabeth's journey of self-discovery begins, we were presented with an Indian dipping platter featuring sambar, daal and chutney, served with saffron basmati rice and puri. The dishes were bold and fragrant, but the spices were strong to the point of overwhelming for my palate. To finish, we were served chocolate cupcakes, which linked perfectly with the final leg of Eat Pray Love, as the characters are eating a similar dessert towards the end of the film. Behind the scenes Movie Eats launched in Dubai in November 2023. Since then, it has hosted a series of events and built a growing community of film and food lovers. Founder and chief executive Sarah Fay says the idea is rooted in her love for storytelling and sensory immersion. 'We choose films where food plays a central or memorable role in the storyline,' she tells The National. 'Our team then designs a menu that brings those dishes to life, blending storytelling with flavour to create a fully immersive dining experience.' So far, the team has featured titles such as Ratatouille, The Menu and Shrek, each matched with multicourse menus that correspond to specific scenes. Hot ticket The next screening is scheduled for October 2025, with tickets expected to be released in September. Tickets start at Dh389 for adults and Dh199 for children under 12. Screenings typically accommodate between 30 and 50 guests, which keeps the atmosphere intimate while still feeling communal. Guests are encouraged to book early as screenings tend to sell out. The Movie Eats team are currently considering expanding around the UAE. 'We're exploring opportunities to take Movie Eats to the other emirates and even internationally,' Fay says. 'We're also working on new theme nights, collaborations and possibly children's editions in the near future.' A cut above Movie Eats is a fun concept where food becomes part of the film unfolding on screen. While some dishes are more memorable than others, the attention to detail in the set up and service adds to the experience. Courses are timed and served smoothly, allowing you to stay immersed without distraction. It makes for a creative and memorable night out.
