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Will Forte has expressed his disappointment regarding the fate of the movie Coyote vs. Acme, which was shelved by Warner Bros. despite completion. The decision came after the studio chose a $30 million tax write-off instead of releasing the film. Despite initial plans to shop the movie to other distributors, it remains unsold.
In a statement posted on Thursday to X (formerly Twitter), Forte addressed the cast and crew, “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.”
Forte, who portrayed Wile E. Coyote’s lawyer in the film, praised its quality, describing it as “super funny throughout, visually stunning, sweet, sincere, and emotionally resonant in a very earned way.” Despite his frustration with the decision, Forte acknowledged the studio’s prerogative while expressing his disagreement.
Directed by Dave Green, the film reportedly earned early praise from test audiences. In Forte’s tweets, he added, “Look, when it comes to Hollywood business stuff, I don’t know shit about shit. Even when a movie tests very well (like ours), there’s no guarantee that it’s gonna be a hit… And at the end of the day, the people who paid for this movie can obviously do whatever they want with it. It doesn’t mean I have to like it (I f***ing hate it). Or agree with it. And it doesn’t mean that this movie is anything less than magnificent.”
Coyote vs. Acme’s screenplay was written by Samy Burch, and the film featured a cast including John Cena, P.J. Byrne, Tone Bell, Martha Kelly, and the voice of Eric Bauza.
The movie, originally slated for release on July 21, 2023, was replaced on Warner Bros.’ release schedule by Barbie. The decision to shelve Coyote vs. Acme follows a discomfiting pattern of the studio abruptly canceling completed films for tax purposes, including Batgirl and Scoob! Holiday Haunt.
In November 2023, a congressman Joaquin Castro criticized Warner Bros. Discovery on X for its decision to withhold the completed film’s release in pursuit of a tax break, characterizing it as “predatory.”
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