Coyote vs. Acme

Coyote vs. Acme is an unreleased American live-action/animated legal comedy film directed by Dave Green and written by Samy Burch, based on a story by Burch, James Gunn and Jeremy Slater. The film is based on the 1990 magazine article "Coyote v. Acme" published in The New Yorker by Ian Frazier, which itself is based on the cartoon character Wile E. Coyote and the Acme Corporation from the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. The cast includes John Cena, Will Forte, Lana Condor, P.J. Byrne, Tone Bell, Martha Kelly, and the voice of Eric Bauza.

Development began in August 2018 with Chris McKay as producer and Jon and Josh Silberman writing the screenplay. Green was hired to direct in December 2019, and Burch, Slater, and Gunn joined the following year. Cena, Forte and Condor were cast in early 2022. Live-action filming took place in New Mexico from March to May 2022.

Warner Bros. Discovery shelved Coyote vs. Acme in November 2023 to obtain a $30 million tax write-off, making it the third film shelved by Warner Bros. after Batgirl and Scoob! Holiday Haunt. Following public backlash, Warner Bros. allowed the filmmakers to shop the film to other distributors. In February 2024, following unsuccessful negotiations with potential buyers, Warner Bros. Discovery again considered shelving the film and claiming a tax loss, although, as of March 2024, it was reported by Burch that conversations within Warner Bros. Discovery were still ongoing as to whether or not the film would be released.

Plot

After every product made by the Acme Corporation has backfired on Wile E. Coyote in his pursuit of the Road Runner, a down-and-out billboard human attorney represents Wile E. in his lawsuit to sue Acme. A growing friendship between Wile E. Coyote and his lawyer motivates their determination to win the court case, as it pits them against the intimidating boss of Wile E.'s lawyer's former law firm, who now represents Acme.

Cast

• Will Forte as Wile E. Coyote's lawyer
• John Cena as the Acme Corporation's lawyer
• Lana Condor
• P.J. Byrne
• Tone Bell
• Martha Kelly

Longtime Looney Tunes voice actor Eric Bauza voices several Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies characters in the film. Director Dave Green confirmed that many Looney Tunes characters, outside of Wile E. Coyote himself, appeared "in significant supporting roles and in bit cameos" throughout the film.

Production

Development and writing

In August 2018, Warner Bros. Pictures announced the development of a Wile E. Coyote project, titled Coyote vs. Acme, with The Lego Batman Movie (2017) director Chris McKay as producer and Jon and Josh Silberman writing the script. In mid-December 2019, Warner Animation Group hired Dave Green to direct the live-action/animated hybrid film, while Jon and Josh Silberman were replaced as screenwriters, but remained producers. In December 2020, McKay left the project, while Jon and Josh Silberman left their producing roles and returned to screenwriting duties alongside Samy Burch, Jeremy Slater, and James Gunn. Along with the departure of McKay, it was reported that the film draws inspiration from the fictional 1990 New Yorker article of the same name by Ian Frazier. Ultimately, Burch received screenplay credit, based on a story from herself, Slater, and Gunn. Gunn, alongside Tom & Jerry (2021) producer Chris DeFaria, also received final credit as producers on the film.

In November 2022, Foghorn Leghorn, Granny, Sylvester the Cat and Tweety were confirmed to be in the film. In December 2022, Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd and Yosemite Sam were also confirmed to be in the film. In January 2023, Porky Pig was also confirmed to be in the film. Editor Carsten Kurpanek described the film's story as a "David vs Goliath story" that tackles Wile E. Coyote's persistence in the face of the ACME Corporation's "cynical and casual cruelness of capitalism and corporate greed".

Casting

In February 2022, John Cena was cast as the film's main antagonist, described as the lawyer in defense of Acme and the former boss to Wile E.'s lawyer; he previously collaborated with Gunn on the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) projects The Suicide Squad (2021) and Peacemaker (2022). The following month, Will Forte and Lana Condor were added to the cast, with Forte starring as Wile E.'s lawyer.

Filming and production design

Principal photography took place from March to May 2022 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with Brandon Trost serving as cinematographer. The creative team acknowledged Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) as a reference for the film's live-action interaction with animated characters. New Mexico Film Office director Amber Dodson commented in a press release that the production would "showcase our beautiful city as an already iconic location and setting in the Looney [Tunes] cartoons."

Visual effects and animation

Visual effects and computer animation were provided by DNEG for Wile E. Coyote and other significant Looney Tunes characters. According to Green, the animators aimed to replicate the characters' classic 2D finesse by using the original Looney Tunes cartoons as reference material, and working closely with a team of 2D artists who "found the building blocks of performance" with drawn poses and expressions of the characters. Editor Carsten Kurpanek explained that "artists would do [black-and-white] line drawings of key poses over a rough edit first," which were later used as reference for visual effects and animation; this process was dubbed "sketchviz" by the crew, bearing similarities to one of Warner Animation Group’s previous films Tom & Jerry. Traditional animation services were also provided by Duncan Studio, for "a handful of shots" with the significant Looney Tunes characters in the film and for "certain [Looney Tunes] characters [who] were handled entirely in 2D".

Music

Following the announcement of the film's initial cancellation, Steven Price announced that he composed the film's score, and shared a choir rendition of the Road Runner's vocal effects titled the "Meep Meep Choir".

Release

Coyote vs. Acme was planned to be theatrically released in the United States on July 21, 2023, by Warner Bros. Pictures. On April 26, 2022, the studio indefinitely removed the film from its release schedule, replacing it with Barbie.

Initial cancellation, reversal and further discussions

On November 9, 2023, Warner Bros. officials announced that the film was completed, but that they would not release it, because Warner Bros. Discovery preferred to claim a tax loss of about $30 million. The crew was not informed of the decision until after the film was completed. The move drew criticism from filmmakers, animation outlets, and talent representatives. Several filmmakers left angry phone calls with Warner Bros. expressing their frustration at the move. Others also canceled meetings with the studio. Many noted that the film had drawn praise at test screenings and interest from potential buyers. Director Dave Green voiced his disappointment over the film's cancellation, further emphasizing his love for the Looney Tunes and writing that "We were all determined to honor the legacies of these historic characters and actually get them right."

On November 13, 2023, Puck reported Warner Bros. Discovery leaders had reversed their decision and allowed the filmmakers the option to shop the film to other distributors. Deadline Hollywood reported that Amazon MGM Studios, Apple Studios, and Netflix were interested in buying the distribution rights to the film. TheWrap reported that despite interest from distributors to buy the film, there are "currently no hard offers, and that Green is crafting his own 'PR campaign'". On December 8, Deadline Hollywood further reported that the film had been screened for more studios including Paramount Pictures and Sony Pictures. Of these, Netflix and Paramount had made bids, with the latter including a theatrical component; Amazon was still interested despite making no formal bids; and Sony and Apple were not planning to make bids.

In January 2024, actor Eric Bauza posted the first official image of the film on social media. On February 9, 2024, TheWrap reported that Warner Bros. Discovery had rejected the bids from Netflix, Amazon, and Paramount. The company wanted $75–$80 million to sell the film, but no distributors met their price, and Warner Bros. Discovery rejected counter bids. The company considered shelving and deleting the film (which remained in limbo at the time) and again claiming it as a tax loss. Following their Q4 2023 earnings call on February 23, 2024, Warner Bros. Discovery took a $115 million write-down while not directly confirming the cancellation of the film.

On March 10, 2024, during the red carpet for the 96th Academy Awards, Burch said conversations were still ongoing within Warner Bros. and that "we hope it will somehow find its home and not end up stuck in a vault for the rest of time". In April 2024, a Warner Bros. spokesperson told The New York Times that while the fate of the film is unclear, it "remains available for acquisition".

Responses

As with the initial cancellation, TheWrapTemplate:'s report on the film's possible final cancellation drew online criticism. The hashtags #ReleaseCoyoteVsAcme and #SaveCoyoteVsAcme, along with other hashtags relating to it, started trending on February 9, 2024 (the date of the article's release), and continued to trend for the following weeks. Bauza addressed this in an improvised exchange between Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck during his speech at the 51st Annie Awards, with him saying "Release Coyote vs. Acme!" in Daffy's voice.

Industry figures who saw Coyote vs. Acme included Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, Michael Chaves, and Daniel Scheinert. Lord called the film "wonderful" and "moving", and lamented that Warner Bros.' move was "anticompetitive", while Miller said he "[hoped] several studios go after it so the world can see all the good work people did.” Writer-director BenDavid Grabinski claimed it was "the best of its kind since [Who Framed] Roger Rabbit", while filmmaker Brian Duffield, who gave notes on the film, compared it to the studio's own Barbie film, feeling that both "[play] with iconography in a really fun, popcorn kind of way." In an interview with Screen Rant on May 31, 2024, Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, directors of the cancelled Batgirl film, revealed that they are both friends with Green and said, "I think that movies must be seen by the audience, and the audience must judge them."

In February 2024, Forte released a public statement addressed to the cast and crew after seeing the final cut of the film: "I know that a lot of you haven't gotten a chance to see our movie. And sadly, it's looking like you never will. When I first heard that our movie was getting 'deleted,' I hadn't seen it yet. So I was thinking what everyone else must have been thinking: this thing must be a hunk of junk. But then I saw it. And it's incredible […] Please know that all the years and years of hard work, dedication and love that you put into this movie shows in every frame. That's all folks."

External links

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