For Coyote vs. Acme, it’s been a whirlwind weekend with news happening so fast you’d think the Road Runner was typing it. A week ago, most people didn’t even remember it had gone into production. Loosely based on a satirical essay from the book Coyote v. Acme by Ian Frazier, the live-action/animation hybrid tells the story of what happens when Wile E. Coyote decides to sue the Acme Corporation for all the damage their products have done to him.
When first announced in 2018, the project was set for a script by John and Josh Silberman, with Chris McKay producing. In the years since, not much news happened, though I caught wind of a test screening in Burbank last fall. Supposedly there were many, though that’s news we all just heard last week. If you search on YouTube, there is a video purporting to be a trailer, but it’s a poorly edited compilation of scenes from classic cartoons and Looney Toons: Back in Action. (Probably Space Jam 2 as well, but I watched the movie and remember very little.)
But what made the industry start meep-meeping in protest was Warner Bros.’ announcement that they were shelving it for the same type of tax write-off they got for Batgirl and a holiday Scooby Doo film. (Batgirl, at least, was unfinished.)
It didn’t make much sense. Coyote vs. Acme tested well. It cost $70m, almost low-budget by Warner Bros. standards. Granted, that meant that somewhere in production Warner Bros. decided it was going to go straight to HBO Max to attract subscribers. Then that corporate plan went away, and it pivoted back to theatrical release. Directed by Dave Green (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows),the film now has a script by Samy Burch (May December), with a screen story by The Umbrella Academy Netflix series creator Jeremy Slater and… current co-head of DC Studios James Gunn.
And the stars! John Cena! Will Forte! Wile E. Coyote (actually, Eric Bauza)! Lana Condor! Kelsey Leos Montoya! Okay, that last one you may not know. I include it because his credit on imdb.com is “Man Who Screams at Gossamer,” and I must see that scene.
Today, it seems that maybe I will. Because some of the talent refused to stay quiet about their disappointment. For example, composer Steven Price released this video on X-Twitter:
Had a lot of fun scoring Coyote Vs Acme. As no-one will be able to hear it now, due to bizarre anti-art studio financial shenanigans I will never understand, here is a bit of behind the scenes footage of our “Meep Meep” Roadrunner choir, with apologies to Tchaikovsky… pic.twitter.com/HL7h00rXpp
— Steven Price (@SteveBPrice) November 10, 2023
Fan and talent uproar built over a few days, and several outlets confirmed that Warner Bros. has set up screenings for outside distributors to decide if any of them want to buy and release it. That makes sense, and maybe that was the plan all along. Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav definitely believes in Oscar Wilde’s quote that the only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about. For the past few days, people have been talking about Coyote vs. Acme. So it has some heat for the first time, just as Warner Bros. puts it up for sale.
They’ve done this with a few Max projects. Dead Boy Detectives, originally set for Max release, has now moved to Netflix where it will fit nicely alongside The Sandman. Prime Video will have Merry Little Batman for the holidays, followed by a darker animated series from the original creators of Batman: The Animated Series. Hey, Netflix even has a new showplace movie theater in Hollywood that might be able to spare a few days for a Super Genius.
Just like Wile E. Coyote in his endless quest to catch the Road Runner, we can only hope.
And by the way, that wascally James Gunn just posted this today:
View this post on Instagram
He’s had to walk a fine line between studio executive and super genius himself during the WGA and SAG/AFTRA strikes, but that post shows where his heart is.
