Debapriya Bhattacharya
Directed by Akiva Schaffer, ‘The Naked Gun’ is the fourth film in the eponymous franchise, and a legacy sequel to the 1994 film ‘Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult.’ It continues the saga of the comically inept Police Squad, which began with the 1982 television series of the same name created by Jim Abrahams and brothers David and Jerry Zucker, and stars Leslie Nielsen as the bumbling protagonist, Detective Sergeant Frank Drebin. Following the show and three subsequent movies, Liam Neeson takes up the reins in the action crime comedy film, starring as Frank’s son, Lieutenant Frank Drebin Jr. As Frank fights crimes following in his father’s footsteps, the LAPD Police Squad becomes prey to a sinister plot that seeks to shut it down. Frank is forced to race against time to set things right.
The Naked Gun Filming Locations
‘The Naked Gun’ was primarily shot in Atlanta, Georgia, despite the narrative being set in California. A minor portion was also filmed in Los Angeles, California. Principal photography took place between May and June 2024 under the working title ‘Law of Toughness.’ In an interview with Filmmaker Magazine, director Akiva Schaffer opened up about the filming details, stating that it was wrapped up within 40 days. “Our first shoot, the Atlanta one, was almost all interiors, except for a few things we hope we get away with, because it’s an (Los Angeles) movie, but we had to go there for money reasons,” he said. “Then I edited for a while, and months later, we shot again in LA for four days.”
Atlanta, Georgia
A significant chunk of ‘The Naked Gun’ was shot in and around the city of Atlanta in Fulton County, Georgia. For the majority of the production of ‘The Naked Gun,’ the capital city of the Peach State and its suburbs stood in for Los Angeles, California. Filming took place in multiple locations, with most of the indoor scenes being captured at Electric Owl Studios. It is located at 3963 Redan Road in Decatur, the eastern suburb of the main city. With its urban landscape that combines classical architecture with modern designs, Atlanta provided great locales for the shoots as well. The Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Building, situated at 77 Forsyth Street Southwest, doubled as the exterior of the Police Squad headquarters.
The hostage scene at the bank in ‘The Naked Gun’ was lensed at Georgia State University’s Jesse Mack Robinson College of Business, situated at 35 Broad Street Northwest. The movie also features a number of chase sequences that were choreographed on the streets of downtown Atlanta. The city presents itself as an attractive filming destination, with tax incentives and other amenities for productions. Other projects recorded in Atlanta include ‘Chad Powers,’ ‘The Nice Guys,’ ‘Back in Action,’ ‘Red Notice,’ and ‘Bad Boys: Ride or Die.’
Los Angeles, California
Since the Police Squad in ‘The Naked Gun’ is a part of the Los Angeles Police Department and the story takes place in the city of Los Angeles, the production team chose to shoot some additional outdoor scenes on location to make the film appear more authentic to the setting. Incidentally, the first three ‘Naked Gun’ films starring Leslie Nielsen were all filmed on location. Therefore, you might spot several iconic landmarks in the backdrop of the Liam Neeson starrer. The City of Angels is not a stranger to the production of varying scales and budgets. Over the decades, it has hosted the production of hundreds of movies and shows of wide-ranging genres.
Apart from being home to Hollywood, the city also boasts state-of-the-art production studios, a favorable climate, easy availability of skilled technicians and talented actors, and diverse settings — ranging from bustling cityscape to arid desert to scenic beaches — which can stand in for multiple locations. All of these factors make the sprawling Southern Californian city a prominent filmmaking destination that attracts filmmakers from across the globe. Some of the movies that utilized the locales of the metropolis include ‘Bullet Train,’ ‘Tropic Thunder,’ ‘Rush Hour,’ ‘Beverly Hills Cop,’ ‘Central Intelligence,’ and ‘Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me.’
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