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Irish Independent
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
‘I soaked him in like a sponge' – Pamela Anderson says Naked Gun co-star Liam Neeson is a ‘legend'
The Irishman plays the role of Lt. Frank Drebin Jr in the sequel, alongside Anderson who plays a woman named Beth in the film. The Naked Gun franchise began with the Police Squad! series in 1982 before it became a film franchise, famous for sending up cop drama tropes and ridiculous visual jokes led by the late Leslie Nielsen. Originally billed as a reboot, the sequel coming this summer and starring the Taken actor will instead serve as a continuation of the series as Neeson plays the son of Nielsen's famous character. Speaking about Neeson and working with him in a comedy movie, as opposed to one of his more familiar action roles, the former Baywatch actress said she had a hard time keeping a straight face at times. She also spoke about their relationship on set, saying Neeson was "mysterious', 'inspiring' and the 'true gentleman', a sentiment the 72-year-old Ballymena man previously shared last year when he admitted he was 'madly in love' with his co-star. Anderson also said Neeson was "electric in a way'. "Our chemistry was clear from the start,' Anderson told Entertainment Weekly. "We have the utmost respect for one another. "He is a legend and deserving of the title. "I also baked my sourdough bread for therapy and regularly shared with him, along with cookies and muffins. "We had many dinners out with the cast. "I invited him and his assistant over for romantic dinners with me and my assistant so our relationship stayed 'professionally romantic' during filming. "I am in awe of him, his experience, and work ethic. ADVERTISEMENT "I soaked him in like a sponge.' The original Naked Gun movie raked in $152.4 million on a budget of $12 million. Rumours of another film had circulated since 2009, with reports stating that The Naked Gun: What 4? The Rhythm of Evil was in development, before being put on the back burner following the death of Nielsen in 2010. The return was confirmed by Paramount Pictures in 2013, but the project seemed to have been forgotten until October 2022 when the film was officially greenlit with The Lonely Island's Akiva Schaffer directing. Speaking about the movie, Anderson added: "It is the same depth of process for a high comedy as it is for a drama. "I worked hard on the role, another cathartic experience. Every film, it seems, tackles a deep-seated issue that needs to be expressed and surfaced in ways other than anything else. "I'm hoping people love it. We had so much fun making it. I think it's timely for a beloved comedy like this. I'm a fan of the originals. As Liam says: 'We could all use a good giggle.' I pray we do more.'
Daily Mail
03-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
JEFF PRESTRIDGE: Inspired by Police Squad!, how a company director turned the tables on a hapless fraudster
Financial scams are a fact of life. Sadly, despite efforts by the banks and regulators to make them more difficult to perpetrate, the criminals always seem one step ahead. A few days ago I was contacted by a director of a firm of chartered financial planners in London whose name and company had been used by fraudsters to tempt one of his clients to invest in an 'investment portfolio'. The client, thank God, didn't fall for it, but the attempted fraud shows what lengths criminals will go to persuade us to part with our hard-earned money. It all started with an email last month allegedly from Jim Harrison, who in real life is a director of Master Adviser, a firm which specialises in building income-friendly portfolios for those in retirement. It is based on Chancery Lane in London. The email was sent to one of Jim's clients. It invited him to set up a Banking Circle cash management portfolio with the promise of 8.52 per cent income, fixed for 12 months. This was on an investment of £200,000. On the surface, mightily attractive. For the record, Banking Circle is a Luxembourg-registered company with its UK operations regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) – and offers a range of banking services, including deposit services. As they had with Jim's details, the fraudsters had cloned its name. 'We have a long-term relationship with Banking Circle,' Jim's clone said in the email. 'I recommend we set up a Banking Circle cash management portfolio for you. 'It will serve as a good savings vehicle to retain the value of your funds while also benefiting from interest rate growth.' Jim's impersonator assured the client that his money would be protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (up to £85,000) in the event of Banking Circle going bust. The email ended: 'Let me know what you think. Kind regards, Jim.' It gave Jim's business address and confirmed that Master Adviser was also regulated by the FCA. Convincing though the email seemed to be, the client contacted the real Jim who confirmed that his details had been cloned and that the email was a scam. 'It was a clever email,' Jim told me last week. 'The only giveaways were the opening line which read, 'I hope you are doing great and having a wonderful week.' I would never use such effusive language when sending an email to clients.' The other giveaway, he said, is that the email had been sent from Jim Harrison at – as opposed to the real Riled by the attempted fraud using his name, Jim thought that he would strike back. Mischievously, he set up a dummy email address in the name of Dutch Gundersen, a nod to a money-launderer in the 1980s American comedy series Police Squad! featuring the wonderful late Leslie Nielsen as Sergeant Frank Drebin, Detective Lieutenant. In the series, Dutch Gunderson (not Gundersen) was played by Al Ruscio, while Nielsen went on to play Drebin in the hugely successful Naked Gun films. 'I've watched the Police Squad! series hundreds of times,' said Jim. 'I can't get enough of it.' Jim, now Dutch, emailed his clone asking for details about the portfolio service. It wasn't Jim who responded but Luke Morley who sent the same product details fake Jim had given the client of the real Jim (stay with me). Luke said Jim was away on holiday. Dutch responded by saying he didn't have £200,000 but would be happy to invest about half that amount. Luke said that would be fine, saying: 'Let me know what you think and if I should go ahead and set up an account for you.' Dutch requested the necessary forms and said he would be able to call in at Master Adviser's address on Chancery Lane if he needed to sign anything. Luke replied by saying that he would set up the investment portfolio and send through the confirmation documents. Luke then rang Dutch (using a withheld number) asking whether he had received the documents – and to give him the passcode necessary (gundersen__dutch) to open up the confirmation notice confirming his intended investment (£100,000), the one-year 8.52 fixed rate of interest, and where he should send the money to. Not directly to Banking Circle, but an account with Banking Circle in the name of Alpha Trading. The ensuing 15-minute conversation between them is wonderfully entertaining as Dutch starts asking awkward questions that the fraudster avoids answering. 'You work for Master Adviser. Where are you based?' asked Dutch. 'We can be anywhere in the country. We work remotely. Jim is on holiday.' Luke goes on to say how exclusive Banking Circle is. 'It's amazing, I'm really excited,' said Dutch. He then asked Luke again where Master Adviser is based. 'Just in London,' is the response. 'I assume you're on a road in London,' said Dutch. Luke avoids answering. Dutch wasn't giving up. 'Just tell me your address. You have an office in London. London is quite big. I don't want to have to knock on every door in London asking for you. I'm about to put a lot of money with you. There is a relationship here.' He continued: 'If I Google Jim Harrison at Master Adviser, would I get an email or a physical address?' Luke doesn't give an answer, but two minutes later he mentions that the office is actually on Chancery Lane. Dutch is excited. 'I can pop in and see you,' he said. 'Are you in there today? I could do now. Where are you based on Chancery Lane. I'm also on Chancery Lane.' 'OK, what time?' asks Luke. 'Next five minutes,' responded Dutch. 'Unfortunately, I'm not that easily available,' is Luke's limp response. Dutch then asked for his and Jim's number so that he can ring one of them back. 'Just give me a number,' he pleaded. 'I can't just give out a number,' said Luke. 'It's not how we work.' Dutch had had enough. 'So you're in Chancery Lane but you can't see me. And you can't give me your number.' Luke promised to ring Dutch back. He didn't but he sent an email on Thursday asking whether Dutch had made the payment. Reassuringly, Jim Harrison has yet to hear from any other clients who have received the same fraudulent email. This suggests it was his client's email account that was hacked by the fraudster, not his. Harrison said it is despicable that fraudsters such as Luke Morley are preying on investors, often elderly people. 'More needs to be done to track down these criminals and lock them up,' he added. 'Luke was not phoning me from overseas – he was UK based and as British as they come.' On Friday, after I contacted Banking Circle and provided it with details about the fraud, it closed Alpha Trading's bank account. Result!
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Liam Neeson's Naked Gun reboot latest: comedy cast includes Pamela Anderson
The teaser trailer for the new Naked Gun film has finally been revealed and, between unforgettable images of Liam Neeson's underwear and references to OJ Simpson, it's a wild ride. Liam Neeson famously has 'a very particular set of skills', and in the upcoming reboot of Naked Gun, it looks like these will include disguising himself as a schoolgirl and attacking people with a sharpened lollipop. The reboot will see Liam Neeson play Lt. Frank Drebin Jr., son of Lt. Frank Drebin, the lead character of the first three films played by Leslie Nielsen. The Naked Gun franchise began with the Police Squad! series in 1982 before it became a film franchise, famous for sending up cop drama tropes and ridiculous visual jokes. The reboot of the action-comedies was confirmed by Paramount Pictures in 2013, but the project seemed to have been forgotten until October 2022 when the film was officially greenlit with The Lonely Island's Akiva Schaffer directing. Paramount are keeping the details close to their chests, but here's what you need to know so far. Taken's Liam Neeson is confirmed in the main role of Lt. Frank Drebin Jr., and if the trailer is anything to go by, he's taken his first full length comedy in his stride. The 72-year-old actor has an impressively long CV, and is known for his roles as Oskar Schindler in Schindler's List and Jean Valjean in Les Misérables, as well as featuring in blockbusters such as Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. It's not his first go at comedy though – he played himself in BBC 2's Life's Too Short and more recently Chief Constable Byers in Derry Girls. When asked about how he felt about testing out his comedy skills, Liam Neeson told ComingSoon: 'It has to be proven. So I'm slightly nervous of it. A little Stephen Colbert sketch or Ricky Gervais, I'm okay with because it's short. But a whole film, we'll see.' Pamela Anderson has also been confirmed in a 'femme fatale' role, after her most recent role in indie-drama film The Last Showgirl saw her nominated for a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild Award. The ex-Baywatch star's autobiography Love, Pamela was published in 2023, coinciding with her recent Netflix documentary, Pamela, a Love Story. Her role is not revealed by the trailer, but Neeson told PEOPLE: 'She's funny and so easy to work with. She's going to be terrific in the film.' Paul Walter Hauser will play Captain Ed Hocken Jr., son of, naturally, Captain Ed Hocken, originally played by Alan North in the TV series and George Kennedy in the films. Hauser is best known for playing Stingray in the Netflix series Cobra Kai as well as voicing Embarrassment in last year's Pixar blockbuster Inside Out 2. He is an actor and wrestler and is set to play a role alongside Jeremy Allen White in the upcoming biopic about Bruce Springsteen, Deliver Me from Nowhere. Also confirmed for the new film are The Strain's Kevin Durand, Youtuber and actress Liza Koshy, Succession's Danny Huston and The X-Files' CCH Pounder. Very little has been revealed about the plot for the reboot, but it is thought it will follow similar lines to the originals, where Frank Drebin accidently discovers a sinister plot and must attempt to resolve it. In the trailer released on April 3, Neeson strolls into a hostage situation at a bank, dressed as a schoolgirl. After being confronted by one of the bank robbers, he removes a ridiculous latex mask and reveals himself as Frank Drebin Jr. The teaser also reveals the lead characters and other police officers paying tribute to their dads, showing pictures of the original Naked Gun actors. As many viewers will remember, OJ Simpson played a big role as Detective Nordberg in all three original films. In an on-the-nose move, when it comes to the son paying tribute to his dad, Nordberg's picture, he looks knowingly to the camera and shakes his head. The film is now confirmed to be released in the United States on August 1 later this year, but in the meantime, we've attached the trailer so that you too can be slightly disturbed by the sight of Liam Neeson in some strawberry pink bloomers.
