276 | The Naked Gun Writers Doug Mand & Dan Gregor on Fearless Comedy and Trusting the Process

The Screenwriting Life with Meg LeFauve and Lorien McKenna

Meg LeFauve & Lorien McKenna

Tv & Film

4.9 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 18 December 2025

⏱️ 55 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode, THE NAKED GUN writers Doug Mand and Dan Gregor take us inside the making of one of the boldest studio comedies in years. They break down how they approached structure in a spoof film, why emotional arcs matter just as much as jokes, and how committing fully to the stupidest ideas can sometimes be the smartest choice. Doug and Dan talk candidly about fearlessness, rejection, impostor syndrome, and why every movie is a miracle. It’s ultimately a funny, honest, and deeply encouraging conversation about sustaining a creative life in comedy. --- Looking for more support on your writing journey? Join Meg and Lorien inside ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TSL Workshops⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠- use code HOLIDAY25 for 50% off your first month. Episode Links: The Naked Gun (on Paramount+) Check out the ⁠⁠⁠⁠TSL merch shop⁠⁠⁠⁠ TSL on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠⁠⁠ The Screenwriting Life is produced by ⁠⁠⁠⁠Jonathan Hurwitz⁠⁠⁠⁠ and edited by ⁠⁠⁠⁠Kate Mishkin⁠⁠⁠⁠. Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠thescreenwritinglife@gmail.com⁠⁠⁠⁠. --- Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Think about cheese.
0:02.1	Make your thoughts cheesier.
0:04.2	Now add 100% chicken breast fillet,
0:06.3	Chipotle sauce and Amadea cheese melt.
0:08.3	And it's giving the new cheesy chicken stack at McDonald's.
0:12.3	Did we mention it's cheesy?
0:13.9	Cheese.
0:15.8	Availments at the 4th of Jan, 226 from 11am.
0:18.1	Price and participation may vary.
0:19.2	Subjects availability.
0:28.9	Hey, everyone. Welcome back to the screenwriting life. I'm Lorraine McKenna. And today I'm joined by longtime collaborators Doug Manned and Dan Greger, who wrote and produced the Naked Gun reboot
0:34.0	starring Liam Neeson that came out earlier this year. Dan and Doug wrote and produced the Emmy Award-winning Chippendale Rescue Rangers for Disney,
0:42.3	How I Met Your Mother on CBS, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, The CW, The Comedians on FX, and Pretty Smart, which is on Netflix.
0:49.3	They also co-wrote, Most Likely to Murder, with Dan directing and Doug co-starring, which premiered at South By and was later acquired by Lionsgate and Hulu.
0:58.6	He also began his career as a founding member of the award-winning sketch troop Hammercats based at UCB.
1:05.3	So I'm really excited to talk to you all about the naked gun and writing and how optimistic we all are about our futures
1:11.5	and the careers. And I'm being sincere about that. But first, we're going to talk about our
1:16.4	weeks, what we like to call adventures in screenwriting. So I'll go first. So I adopted a puppy.
1:23.4	Congratulations. Thank you. So, well, it wasn't, yes. So Joey Tuchio, who runs Roadmap Writers and as a huge advocate for animals, texted me, hi,
1:34.9	and then sent a picture of this puppy to foster for a week.
1:38.7	And I was like, sure, I can do that.
1:41.8	No, I can't.
	...

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