The name David Zucker should immediately strike a laugh. He's one of the people behind Airplane, Naked Gun, and many other comedy movies that have defined the genre. When Zucker gives advice on how to write comedy, we listen. Today, I wanted to share a cool video I found where Zucker explains the first rule of comedy. Let's dive in. David Zucker's First Rule of Comedy Right at the top of this video, we get the first rule of comedy: actors in his films should not try to be funny. Zucker calls this the "joke on a joke" rule. The idea is that all of the humor should come from the script, and the actors' job is to deliver the lines with complete seriousness. This is why he famously has a "no comedians" rule, which he jokingly calls the "Jerry Lewis rule" when he's making movies. He wants people playing roles who understand that if they hit the lines and the marks, the comedy will follow. Zucker says that on Naked Gun, he told Priscilla Presley to "just let the lines do the work."More Rules in Zucker's Comedic FormulaPacingPacing is another critical element in Zucker's comedic formula. He aims for a rapid-fire pace of about three jokes per minute to keep the audience constantly engaged and laughing.Visual GagsThis, combined with the liberal use of visual gags, creates a relentless stream of humor. He points to the famous "Nice beaver" scene in Naked Gun as a perfect example of a line followed...
Published By: NoFilmSchool - Yesterday