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Coyote vs. Acme is an American unscheduled live-action/animated legal comedy film directed by Dave Green and written by Samy Burch from a story by Burch, James Gunn (who also served as a producer), and Jeremy Slater.[1] The film is based on the character Wile E. Coyote and the Acme Corporation from the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons, and the 1990 magazine article of the same name published in The New Yorker by Ian Frazier. Produced by Warner Bros. Pictures Animation, the film's cast includes John Cena, Will Forte, Lana Condor, P. J. Byrne, and the voice of Eric Bauza.

Warner Bros. Discovery's CEO and president David Zaslav. shelved the film in November 2023 so it could obtain a $30 million tax write-down, making it the third film to be shelved by WBD after Batgirl and Scoob! Holiday Haunt. However, public backlash led the company to reverse the decision the same month, allowing the filmmakers to shop the film to other distributors. In February 2024, following unsuccessful negotiations with several potential buyers, Warner Bros. Discovery once again considered shelving the film and claiming it as a tax loss.

Plot[]

After all of the ACME Corporation's malfunctioned products consistently backfired on him, in his dogged pursuit of the Road Runner, Wile E. Coyote hires a down-on-his-luck human attorney to sue ACME. When Wile E.'s hired lawyer notices that his intimidating boss at his former law firm is representing ACME, they form a friendship and team up to win the court case against him.

Cast[]

Live-action[]

Voice Cast[]

Production[]

Development[]

In August 2018, Warner Bros. Pictures announced the development of a project featuring Wile E. Coyote, titled Coyote vs. Acme. The film will be a live-action/animated hybrid, with Dave Green directing and Chris McKay producing. The original screenwriters, Jon and Josh Silberman, have been replaced but will remain as producers. In December 2020, McKay departed from the project. Jon and Josh Silberman also left their producing roles and returned to screenwriting duties, joining Samy Burch, Jeremy Slater, and James Gunn. The film draws inspiration from the fictional 1990 New Yorker article of the same name by Ian Frazier. Burch received screenplay credit, based on a story from herself, Slater, and Gunn. According to editor Carsten Kurpanek, the film portrays a story of perseverance, where Wile E. Coyote faces challenges against the ACME Corporation's approach to capitalism and corporate greed.

Casting[]

In February 2022, John Cena was cast as the main antagonist of the film. He plays the lawyer who defends Acme and used to be the boss of Wile E.'s lawyer. Cena had previously worked with Gunn on the DC Extended Universe projects The Suicide Squad (2021) and Peacemaker (2022). In the following month, Will Forte and Lana Condor were announced to have joined the cast. Forte is set to portray the character of Wile E.'s lawyer.

Filming[]

Principal photography took place from March 2022 to May 2022 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with Brandon Trost serving as cinematographer.

Visual effects and animation[]

DNEG provided visual effects and computer animation services. The first image of the film was shared on social media by voice actor Eric Bauza, who revealed that the film drew inspiration from the original cartoons' world and animation, as well as films like Who Framed Roger Rabbit. This blend of classic animation and live-action is a defining feature of the film. The 3D animators at DNEG worked closely with 2D sketch viz artists to ensure that the classic 2D appearance of supporting Looney Tunes characters, including Wile E. Coyote, was maintained. Additionally, Duncan Studio provided traditional animation for Looney Tunes characters in cameo roles.

Release[]

Coyote vs. Acme was previously planned for a theatrical release in the United States on July 21, 2023, by Warner Bros. Pictures. However, on April 26, 2022, the studio decided to remove the film from its release schedule indefinitely and replace it with Barbie.

Initial cancellation[]

On November 9, 2023, Warner Bros. officials announced that the film had been completed. However, it was decided not to release it, as Warner Bros. Discovery sought to claim a tax loss of approximately $30 million. The crew was not informed of the decision until after the film's completion. The move drew criticism from filmmakers, animation outlets, and talent representatives, After Warner Bros. made the decision to cancel the film, some filmmakers expressed their frustration by leaving messages and canceling meetings with the studio. Despite drawing praise at test screenings and interest from potential buyers, the film was ultimately cancelled. Test screening audiences included Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, Michael Chaves, and Daniel Scheinert. Director Dave Green, who is reportedly an avid Looney Tunes fan, voiced his disappointment over the cancellation.

On November 13, 2023, it was reported that Warner Bros. Discovery leaders had reversed their decision and allowed the filmmakers to shop the film to other distributors. According to Deadline Hollywood, Amazon MGM Studios, Apple Studios, and Netflix have expressed interest in buying the distribution rights to the film. However, as reported by TheWrap, there are currently no hard offers, and it appears that Green is taking a proactive approach to promoting the film.

On December 8, Deadline Hollywood reported that the film had been screened for additional studios, including Paramount Pictures and Sony Pictures. Bids were made by Netflix and Paramount, with the latter including a theatrical component. Amazon remained interested despite making no formal bids, while Sony and Apple had no plans to bid.

Possible final cancellation[]

On 9th February 2024, TheWrap reported that Warner Bros. Discovery had declined offers from Netflix, Amazon, and Paramount. The company had set a price range of $75-$80 million for the sale of the film, but unfortunately, no distributors were able to meet their expectations. Despite receiving counter bids, Warner Bros. Discovery decided to reject them. At the time, the company was considering various options, including shelving and deleting the film, which was still in limbo, and claiming it as a tax loss. Following their fourth earnings call on 23rd February 2024, Warner Bros. Discovery took a $115 million write-down. However, they did not explicitly confirm the cancellation of the film.

People have been debating on multiple social media platforms such as Twitter on whether the film has been shelved or just completely deleted, as CEO David Zaslav promised on the day he intended to delete the film which was February 23rd of this year. It would come to a immediately conclusion, on 4chan threads, that the movie has been fully deleted from the servers within Warner Bros. Discovery so any chances of this movie being released is completely thrown out the window, this news brought many fans of this movie into absolute distraught. The plot synopsis, however, was leaked on March 3rd through a website called Pastebin. In addition to that, the person behind the plot leak may have had a grudge against the business practices that the company puts out. The full copy of the movie has yet to be leaked to the public, although it was removed from the server so it could be available from anyone who attended the screening.

Responses[]

As with the initial cancellation, this drew online criticism. The hashtags #ReleaseCoyoteVsAcme and #SaveCoyoteVsAcme, along with other related hashtags, started trending on February 9, 2024, and continued to trend for the following weeks.

Bauza addressed this during an improvised exchange between Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck in his speech at the 51st Annie Awards, with him shouting in his Daffy Duck voice - "I hate to be political, but RELEASE COYOTE VS. ACME!".

Phil Lord, who saw an early screening of the film, raised concerns about the potential anticompetitive nature of a large movie studio avoiding the marketplace by utilizing a tax loophole to write off an entire movie, which could facilitate their merger with an even bigger movie studio. He stated "Is it anticompetitive if one of the biggest movie studios in the worlds shuns the marketplace in order to use a tax loophole to write off an entire movie so they can more easily merge with one of the bigger movie studios in the world? Cause it SEEMS anticompetitive."

In February 2024, Will Forte released a statement after viewing the final cut of the film saying, "To the Cast and Crew of Coyote Vs Acme — 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."

In March 2024, Patton Oswalt made a statement regarding the movie at the 71st Golden Reel Awards.

Plot leak[]

On March 3, 2024, the plot of the film was leaked and posted to Pastebin by an anonymous user.[2]

Trivia[]

References[]

External links[]


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