Coyote vs. Acme

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Coyote vs. Acme
Directed byDave Green
Screenplay bySamy Burch
Story by
Based on"Coyote v. Acme"
by Ian Frazier[1][2]
Produced by
  • James Gunn
  • Chris DeFaria
CinematographyBrandon Trost
Edited byCarsten Kurpanek[3]
Music bySteven Price[3]
Production
companies
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$70 million[5]

Coyote vs. Acme is an American

P.J. Byrne, 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 production crew the following year. Cena was cast in February 2022, with Forte and Condor joining the cast the following month. Live-action filming took place in New Mexico from March to May 2022.

Warner Bros. Discovery 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, though discussions to release it were reportedly still ongoing.[6]

Premise

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.[7][8]

Cast

Additionally, longtime Looney Tunes voice actor Eric Bauza voices several other Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies characters throughout the film.[9] 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.[10]

Production

Development and writing

In August 2018,

Warner Animation Group hired Dave Green to direct the live-action/animated hybrid film,[12] while Jon and Josh Silberman were replaced as screenwriters, but remained producers.[13] 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.[4] 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.[4] Ultimately, Burch received screenplay credit, based on a story from herself, Slater, and Gunn.[1]

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."[14]

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 projects The Suicide Squad (2021) and Peacemaker (2022).[15] The following month, Will Forte and Lana Condor were added to the cast, with Forte starring as Wile E.'s lawyer.[16]

Filming and production design

Principal photography took place from March to May 2022 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with Brandon Trost serving as cinematographer.[17][18][19] The creative team also acknowledged Who Framed Roger Rabbit as a reference for the film's seamless live-action interaction with the animated characters,[20] alongside the set pieces from the original Looney Tunes cartoons, such as the film's setting in Albuquerque, which was famously referenced by Bugs Bunny, and Road Runner's habitat in the desert being brought to life.[21]

Visual effects and animation

Visual effects and computer animation services were provided by DNEG.[22] Voice actor Eric Bauza posted the first image of the film on social media, showing the film took inspiration from the original cartoons' world and animation, and films like Who Framed Roger Rabbit, for the film's blend of classic animation and live-action.[23] Wile E. Coyote and other Looney Tunes characters who appeared in supporting roles were animated by the 3D animators at DNEG, who worked closely with 2D sketch viz artists, to stay as true to their classic 2D look and feel as possible. Additionally, Duncan Studio provided traditional animation for the Looney Tunes characters who appeared in cameo roles.[24][25]

Music

During the announcement of the film's initial cancellation, Steven Price announced that he composed the film's score. One piece from the score he shared was a choir rendition of the Road Runner's vocal effects titled the "Meep Meep Choir".[26]

Release

Coyote vs. Acme was planned to be theatrically released in the United States on July 21, 2023, by Warner Bros. Pictures.[4] On April 26, 2022, the studio indefinitely removed the film from its release schedule, replacing it with Barbie.[27]

Initial cancellation and reversal

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.[5] The crew was not informed of the decision until after the film was completed.[3] 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.[28] Others also canceled meetings with the studio.[29] Many noted that the film had drawn praise at test screenings and interest from potential buyers.[30][31] Test screening audiences who saw the film included Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, Michael Chaves, and Daniel Scheinert.[32] Director Dave Green, reportedly an avid Looney Tunes fan, voiced his disappointment over the film's cancellation.[33]

On November 13, 2023,

PR campaign'".[37]

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.[38]

Possible final cancellation

On February 9, 2024, TheWrap reported that Warner Bros. Discovery had rejected the bids from Netflix, Amazon, and Paramount.[39] 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.[40][41][32][42][43] Following their fourth quarter earnings call on February 23, 2024, Warner Bros. Discovery took a $115 million write-down while not directly confirming the cancellation of the film.[44]

Responses

As with the initial cancellation, TheWrap'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.[45]

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 his Daffy voice.[46][47]

Phil Lord, who saw an early screening of the film said, "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."[48]

In February 2024, Will Forte released a statement after seeing 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."[49]

On March 10, 2024, during the red carpet for the 96th Academy Awards, screenwriter Samy Burch states that the film may possibly be released with conversations still ongoing within the studio, saying, "We hope it will somehow find its home and not end up stuck in a vault for the rest of time. That would be a great resolution."[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Coyote vs. Acme". Writers Guild of America West. March 21, 2023. Archived from the original on April 9, 2023. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  2. ^ Frazier, Ian (February 19, 1990). "Coyote v. Acme By Ian Frazier". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on October 16, 2018. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c Roundtree, Cheyenne (November 10, 2023). "Coyote vs. Acme Crew Were Blindsided by Warner Bros. Killing Movie". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on November 11, 2023. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d Rubin, Rebecca (December 23, 2020). "Warner Bros. to Release Mad Max: Fury Road Prequel and The Color Purple Musical in Theaters in 2023". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on December 24, 2020. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  5. ^ a b D'Alessandro, Anthony (November 9, 2023). "Coyote Vs. Acme: Finished Live/Action Animated Pic Shelved Completely By Warner Bros As Studio Takes $30M Tax Write-off". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on November 9, 2023. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
  6. ^ a b Perella, Vincent; Bergeson, Samantha (March 10, 2024). "'Coyote vs. Acme' Writer Samy Burch Says Film May Still Be Released: Conversations Are 'Ongoing,' but We'd Be 'Heartbroken' If It's Shelved". IndieWire. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
  7. ^ Kit, Borys (March 9, 2022). "Will Forte Joins John Cena in Coyote vs. Acme for Warner Bros". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on March 16, 2022. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  8. ^ a b Alexa, Laurén (January 22, 2024). "First Look Revealed for Resurrected Coyote vs. Acme Feature". Animation World Network. Archived from the original on January 24, 2024. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
  9. ^ Thorne, Ned [@NedThorne] (January 3, 2024). "@DEADLINE has slightly bad intel (or just fact checkers), as Eric Bauza did NOT voice Wile E. Coyote; in the film, Wile is a silent character, and Eric plays several other roles. But that shouldn't stop you from supporting #releasecoyotevsacme ! #coyotevsacme" (Tweet). Archived from the original on January 3, 2024. Retrieved January 3, 2023 – via Twitter.
  10. ^ Green, Dave [@dgreenmachine] (February 15, 2024). "Tons and tons of characters. Both in significant supporting roles, and in bit cameos. Name a character, and they're likely in the movie" (Tweet). Retrieved February 14, 2024 – via Twitter.
  11. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (August 28, 2018). "Warner Bros' Wile E. Coyote Movie Finds Its Scribes In The Silberman Brothers". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on March 12, 2022. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
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  14. ^ Kurpanek, Carsten. "#CoyoteVsAcme is about a giant corporation choosing stock over empathy, doing nothing "illegal" but morally shady stuff for profit. It's a David vs Goliath story. It's about the cynical and casual cruelness of capitalism and corporate greed. No wonder Warner doesn't want to #releasecoyoteVsACME". Twitter. Kurpanek. Archived from the original on February 11, 2024. Retrieved February 9, 2024.
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  19. ^ @mikedfernandez (May 28, 2022). "We wrapped Coyote vs. Acme Sat morning! 📸". Archived from the original on November 19, 2023. Retrieved November 1, 2022 – via Instagram.
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  24. ^ Green, Dave [@dgreenmachine] (February 14, 2024). "Our sketchviz team designed poses and expressions in 2d and found the building blocks of performance. 3d and 2d artists worked in tandem, and would all keep a close eye on the originals. A handful of shots were finaled in 2d, and certain characters were handled entirely in 2d" (Tweet). Retrieved February 14, 2024 – via Twitter.
  25. ^ Kurpanek, Carsten. "Duncan Studios did an incredible job on one of Looney Tunes' most beloved characters. Handdrawn 2D perfection! It would be a shame if the fans didn't get to see it. #ReleaseCoyoteVsAcme". Twitter. Kurpanek. Archived from the original on February 22, 2024. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
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External links