You conceive the story (based on a 1990 New Yorker article), work with a writer (Samy Burch) to pen the script, the film gets made and you have a release date. Awesome, good job!
Then, the studio that picked it up looks at its financials for the year and says, ‘Nah, we’ll shelve it and take a tax deduction.’ Director Dave Green found himself in this Coyotean predicament after completing the film – Coyote v. Acme – in 2023. Warner Bros. simply made a corporate financial decision about the film and, as they say in the Looney Tunes (paraphrased), ‘That was all, folks.’
The cast and crew even conducted a ‘funeral’ screening for each other. How sad…
Fast forward and, after a groundswell of emotion from the film’s participants and others who saw screenings of Coyote v. Acme, the movie will be released later this month by Ketchup Entertainment.
Any fan of Looney Tunes knows about the Coyote’s long-standing consumer relationship with the Acme Corporation. As a kid, I kind of wanted to work for the Acme Corporation. They made such neat cartoon stuff. The fact that the goods never worked to catch the Roadrunner didn’t matter, because you were rooting for the Roadrunner anyway. A caught Roadrunner meant a dead Roadrunner and a dead Roadrunner meant no more Roadrunner cartoons.
In this movie, the Coyote has had it with the Acme Corporation and decides to sue the company for the years of selling defective products.
Product liability is always good for a yuck or two…funny is funny.
What’s not funny is the angst Dave Green endured to get this film released. I’m sure more gut-wrenching Hollywood Shuffle stories are floating out there, but as someone developing a roster of scripts, all in varying states of being, it is a tough story to read. Getting all the way to a finished product – the dream – and then having it sent to Limbo for who knows how long – rough.
And maybe that’s the takeaway. In this business, getting the script written is hard. Getting someone to say yes is harder. Getting the thing financed, cast, shot, edited and actually finished borders on miraculous. But apparently even then – you’re not across the finish line.
Coyote v. Acme is a reminder that the Hollywood Shuffle can continue right up until the moment the lights go down and an audience is sitting there with popcorn in hand. Dave Green’s movie somehow survived all of it.
So, later this month, I’ll be rooting for the Coyote. Not to catch the Roadrunner, of course. Just, finally, to have his day in court.
