David Zucker on Making Fun of Liberals

made his mark in Hollywood as the madcap brain behind the spoof-comedy classics "Airplane!" and "The Naked Gun." But now for something completely different: post 9/11, Zucker experienced a conservative political conversion, and his new film, "An American Carol," is a satire of the Charles Dickens tale featuring a liberal documentary filmmaker named Michael Malone who learns the true spirit of America. Zucker spoke with NEWSWEEK's Sarah Ball. Excerpts: NEWSWEEK: Your movie is filled with jokes about Hollywood liberals. Was this a hard sell in town? David Zucker: Hollywood studios did not want to make this. We finally found a French company, of all things, to distribute it. This ends all my snide remarks about the French. You know, my boyfriend's name is Michael Moore. Well, I hope for your sake he's slimmer. The real Michael... [read full story]