After nearly three years in Hollywood distro purgatory, the stars of Coyote vs. Acme always had faith the movie would see the light of day.
While discussing the Dave Green-helmed Looney Tunes movie, which premieres Aug. 28 in theaters via Ketchup Entertainment, Will Forte and Lana Condor recalled that the first screening was “so good,” they knew it would find a home after Warner Bros-Discovery shelved the release in 2023.
“We still got to go in a week after that to go see the movie. Personally, I thought, ‘Oh, it probably sucks. Why would they be doing that?'” Forte recounted to DiscussingFilm. “And then, we go see this movie, and it’s magic. It’s freakin’ awesome.”
Condor agreed that “because it was so good, it made the feeling worse” after the newly merged studio took a $30M tax write-off to not release the movie.
“But weirdly, Will, I gotta say; I was so devastated for the whole thing, but I held onto the funeral screening, where we watched it for the first time,” she added. “Because I saw that movie, and I was like, ‘I just refuse to believe that a movie like this will never be seen. I fucking refuse it.’ … I had hope. Because it’s so good, I was like, ‘There will be a light.'”
Will Forte & Lana Condor tell us they never lost hope about ‘COYOTE VS. ACME’ being released.“I held onto the funeral screening where we watched it for the first time because I was like, ‘I just refuse to believe that a movie like this will never be seen. I fucking refuse it.’” pic.twitter.com/iHrOLGuU43
Forte recalled “a little piece of me” held onto the same hope. “This is so good. This just can’t be the end of the conversation with this,” he remembered thinking to himself.
In Coyote vs. Acme, Wile E. Coyote sees an ad for attorney Kevin Avery’s (Forte) legal action against the Acme Corporation’s faulty products, deciding to fight back after decades of failed attempts to apprehend his nemesis, Road Runner.
The movie also stars Condor, John Cena, Tone Bell, Martha Kelly, Luis Guzmán and countless beloved Looney Tunes characters. Written by Samy Burch from a story by her, James Gunn and Jeremy Slater, producers include Chris DeFaria and Gunn.
In November 2023, Warners shelved the movie, which was based on the 1990 New Yorker article by Ian Frazier, receiving a $30 million tax write-off. The company also shelved Batgirl and Scoob! Holiday Haunt amid the company’s merger.
Coyote vs. Acme eventually sold to Ketchup last year in a deal said to be in the $50 million range.
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