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Entertainment & Media
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The Man Who Made 'Airplane!' Fly and 'Ghost' Cry: How a Parody King Directed a Classic Romance
Director Jerry Zucker (Airplane!) almost didn't direct Ghost. Writer Bruce Joel Rubin feared he'd make it a parody and refused. But after a dinner where Rubin found Zucker 'deeply philosophical,' he realized the master of deadpan was the perfect choice for his supernatural romance.
Imagine you've written a deeply spiritual, heart-wrenching romance about a murdered man trying to connect with his grieving partner from beyond the grave. Now, imagine the studio tells you the perfect director for your sensitive script is the guy who just made *The Naked Gun*. This was the exact scenario writer Bruce Joel Rubin faced when Jerry Zucker, one-third of the parody powerhouse behind *Airplane!* and *Top Secret!*, was chosen to direct 1990's *Ghost*.
From Parody to Passion
When Bruce Joel Rubin first heard the news, his reaction was one of pure dread. He had poured his heart into a story that blended romance, grief, and the afterlife. The thought of it being handled by a director known for slapstick and non-stop gags was, to him, a nightmare. He was so concerned that he initially refused to let Zucker direct.
I saw all my work going down the drain. I thought, 'Oh my God, they're going to make fun of my movie. This is going to be a travesty.' I said, 'You can't hire him.'
Rubin's fear was understandable. The Zucker, Abrahams, and Zucker (ZAZ) brand was synonymous with spoofs that deconstructed genre tropes, not embraced them. He envisioned his tender story being twisted into a farce, with sight gags replacing genuine emotion.
A Dinner of Philosophical Proportions
Sensing the project was about to collapse, the producers arranged a dinner between the skeptical writer and the seemingly mismatched director. Rubin went in expecting to meet a gag-a-minute comedian, but the man he met was someone else entirely. Instead of a jester, Rubin found a thoughtful, serious artist. He later described Zucker as being “deeply philosophical” and “spiritually connected.”
During their conversation, Zucker explained his directorial approach. The key to the comedy in films like *Airplane!* wasn't the jokes themselves, but the fact that he directed his actors to play every absurd moment with complete and utter sincerity. Leslie Nielsen wasn't in on the joke; he was an actor in a serious disaster movie who just happened to be saying ridiculous things. Zucker argued that this same commitment to emotional truth was exactly what *Ghost* needed to work. He saw the humor in the script—primarily through Whoopi Goldberg's character, Oda Mae Brown—as a vital counterpoint to the tragedy, not a mockery of it. He wasn't looking to make a comedy; he was looking for a film that would make people cry.
Vindication and a Cultural Phenomenon
Rubin was convinced. He entrusted his story to Zucker, and the result was cinematic history. *Ghost* became the highest-grossing film of 1990, a cultural touchstone that masterfully balanced romance, comedy, and suspense. The film’s success was a testament to Zucker's vision. The pottery wheel scene became iconic for its sincerity, and Whoopi Goldberg won an Academy Award for a performance that was both hilarious and deeply moving. Most tellingly, Bruce Joel Rubin also won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay—the very script he once feared would be destroyed.
The story behind *Ghost* is a powerful reminder that directorial skill isn't confined to a single genre. The same talent that made audiences laugh at absurd deadpan humor was perfectly suited to make them weep for a love that transcended death. It proves that sometimes, the most unexpected pairings can create the most enduring magic.