The internet is outraged (Again) over Warner Bros. trying to Shelve Coyote v ACME.
David Zaslav and those in charge of Warner Bros. don’t seem to understand: they shouldn’t be trying to do this.
Warner Bros. Messed Up, Pt. 1
In November, news leaked to the public that Warner Bros was going to scrap the upcoming Coyote v ACME film in an effort to save money via tax write-offs. The movie centered around Wil E. Coyote finally deciding to sue the ACME Corporation for all the pain their bad products had given him over the years, with Will Forte starring as his lawyer and John Cena as the one representing ACME. Despite already being finished and testing well with audiences and promising not to do so anymore, Warner Bros. announced they’d be shelving it. It would end up being yet another tax write-off.
And the Internet went ballistic. Fans of the Looney Tunes, people working in the entertainment industry, and even lawyers all took to the Internet and expressed their outrage. People had invested months of their lives into making this film, and it looked set to be a success. To have something they worked so hard on be written off as nothing was nothing short of disrespectful.
Incredibly, the outrage worked. Warner Bros. reversed its stance and said it would look at other parties to stream the movie for them. It looked like justice was going to come out on top.
However, it appears that Warner Bros. was stalling for time.
Coyote v ACME in Danger again
A recent report on TheWrap revealed that in January, Chris DeFaria, the producer for Coyote v ACME, got a call from a Warner Bros. exec. According to TheWrap, that call revealed that Warner Bros might be planning on letting the clock run down until their fourth-quarter earnings call on February 23rd. If they haven’t found a buyer by then, they can write it off and be done with the film.
Here’s the thing: they did have buyers; plenty of buyers. Netflix, Paramount, and Amazon made big offers, according to TheWrap. Paramount even offered to release it in theaters. However, TheWrap also says that Warner Bros. wanted close to $80 million from buyers and refused to hear any counteroffers.
What makes this most appalling, though? According to TheWrap, an insider source revealed that the executives responsible for this decision, including CEO David Zaslav, have yet to see the finished version of the movie. Zaslav never watched it. Two others saw a director’s cut; the last only saw the audience preview. They decided to axe a film they had never seen to save the money they needed.
Does Zaslav Need to Go?
There aren’t even words to describe how sleazy and disgusting this is. While it makes sense that Warner Bros wants to find ways to save money when losing it, this decision must be revised on several levels. Public opinion of Warner Bros under Zaslav has continued to plummet due to decisions like this. They’ve incurred the ire of those in the entertainment industry for acts like this. And now, to add insult to injury, they got everyone’s hopes up only to dash them once again. This might be the last straw for many who work in the industry or are fans of Warner Bros. They may only hurt Warner Bros as it is again, which will only hurt them in the long term.
With the deadline fast approaching, the chances of Coyote v ACME seeing the light of day are becoming slimmer. TheWrap’s report will likely put the Internet up in arms once more. Given what happened in November, that might be enough to force Warner Bros. to admit defeat. If that doesn’t happen, the only option will be for someone to leak the film online in defiance of Warner Bros. attempts. One thing is for certain, though: David Zaslav and the leaders of Warner Bros. are not fit to run the company.
