PEOPLE IN THE NEWS
‘Naked Gun’ reboot set for 2025, with Neeson to star
Lt. Frank Drebin is back on the case. Paramount Pictures is moving ahead with a longgestating remake of “Naked Gun,” the studio announced Wednesday. Liam Neeson will star as the bumbling police detective Drebin in the role made famous by Leslie Nielsen.
Akiva Schaffer (“Hot Rod,” “Pop Star: Never Stop Stopping”) will direct the film, set for release in July 2025. The script is by Dan Gregor, Doug Man and Schaffer, who collaborated on 2022’s “Chip ’N Dale: Rescue Rangers.”
The “Naked Gun” films, derived from the TV series “Police Squad!”, were high-water marks for slapstick comedy. They ran over six years: “The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad” (1988), “The Naked Gun 21⁄2: The Smell of Fear” (1991) and “Naked Gun 331⁄3: The Final Insult” (1994).
Nielsen died in 2010 at the age of 84. Before playing Lt. Drebin, Nielsen had been largely a dramatic actor.
Lauper inks deal for new immersive performance project
Legendary pop icon Cyndi Lauper, who rose to fame in the 1980s with hits such as “Time After Time” and “Girls Just Want To Have Fun,” has entered a partnership with the Swedish masterminds behind the immersive virtual concert ABBA Voyage.
The partnership announced Thursday by the Pophouse Entertainment Group co-founded by ABBA singer Björn Ulvaeus, involves the acquisition of a majority share of the award-winning singer-songwriter’s music.
The aim is to develop new ways to bring Lauper’s music to fans and younger audiences through new performances and live experiences.