Койот против «Акме» (Coyote vs. Acme)

[Jdalker]

Создатели Бэтгерл сейчас немножечко в шоке.

Засрав, ты что сдаешь назад, не вздумай.

[GlitchMob]

[EMoushen]

Создатели Бэтгерл сейчас немножечко в шоке.

ну это немножко другое

Брэнд DC все таки, который Ганн пытается раскочегарить для WB

[Стальной Детройт]

По информации журналиста Мэтта Беллони, после негативной реакции на их решение, WB собирается предоставить создателям фильма продать его другой студии или стриминговому сервису

 

А ничего что права на этих персонажей принадлежат Ворнерам?

[Boroda4]

Создатели Бэтгерл сейчас немножечко в шоке.

Засрав, ты что сдаешь назад, не вздумай.

 

Я думаю, Койот уже готовый кин. Со спецами, музыкой и прочими атрибутами, в отличии от Беттгерл

Плюс бренд диси

[Dark_Hierophant]

По информации журналиста Мэтта Беллони, после негативной реакции на их решение, WB собирается предоставить создателям фильма возможность продать его другой студии или стриминговому сервису

Какой же чепушило)))

[Citizen X]

А ничего что права на этих персонажей принадлежат Ворнерам?

 

И чё? Они не персонажей продают

[DandyAndy]

Полный текст

I’m told Warner Bros. will now let the filmmakers of Coyote vs. Acme shop the movie to other potential distributors. That’s a big about-face from earlier this week, when Warners said that the long-finished $70 million Looney Tunes film, directed by Dave Green and starring John Cena, Will Forte and a C.G.I. Wile E. Coyote, would be shelved indefinitely without any ability to place it elsewhere, a la the infamous Batgirl and Scoob! sequel.

 

Warners declined to comment, but a good source tells me the decision was made this weekend by Warners film chiefs Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy, along with new animation head Bill Damaschke, after the online outcry by filmmakers and the animation community, as well as some heated back-and-forth between the studio and reps for the director and stars. Warners had agreed to pay the top talent their streaming bonuses despite the film being scrapped, but obviously, everyone involved in this project wants it to be released by someone.

 

Coyote vs. Acme is another sign of these weird times, one of those caught-in-the-middle-of-two-strategies movies that was greenlit by Toby Emmerich back in December 2020, when the mandate from WarnerMedia leadership was to make as much product as possible for streaming, cost be damned. When current C.E.O. David Zaslav took over, $70 million direct-to-Max movies went bye-bye, so Warners pivoted to theaters. But some internally questioned whether the film played theatrically enough. Contrary to Green’s claim on social media that the film “was embraced by test audiences who rewarded us with fantastic scores,” it actually didn’t test that well, I’m told. And Damaschke, who is formulating his own strategy for Looney Tunes, feared the brand damage of an underperforming film, especially on the heels of Space Jam: A New Legacy grossing only $163 million worldwide. So they scrapped it. Another source who’s seen the movie said it’s definitely good enough to take a swing in theaters, but Warners is understandably gun-shy these days, given its financial situation.

 

On that point, these whackings of finished films invariably get chalked up to “tax” savings, but there’s actually not that much benefit to the company. I’m no tax avoidance expert, but everyone I’ve talked to on this subject has said that it’s basically a question of when the losses on a film are taken. Maybe scrapping Coyote will accelerate a possible deduction, which is beneficial for a company like Warner Bros. Discovery that is drowning in debt now, but it’s not a big benefit, maybe in the single-digit millions. In other words, not something Warners would do if its executives believed in the film.

 

But maybe some other studio or streamer will take the risk, so Warners is gonna help the filmmakers test the market. I’m not sure how many buyers there are for a $70 million live-action/CGI hybrid Looney Tunes movie. And Warners, already fearful of brand damage, probably won’t take a $50 million loss in a deal just to make John Cena happy, though the studio is in business with him on The Peacemaker and other stuff. But at least now Warners is giving its creatives the chance. And if no buyers emerge, De Luca, Abdy, and Damaschke can at least say they let them try.

[Boroda4]

Можно только пожелать удачи и надеяться, что кино гдето взлетит

[DandyAndy]

Warner Bros Setting Up Screenings For Streamers Of Axed Looney Tunes Film; Amazon A Prime Candidate

Screenings are being set up this week for streamers Amazon Prime Video, Apple and Netflix to check out and potentially acquire Warner Bros‘ axed Looney Tunes movie Coyote vs. Acme after the studio’s phone ran off the hook the entire weekend from angry filmmakers and talent reps over their third feature film kill after Batgirl and Scoob Holiday Haunt!

 

The more egregious Hollywood sin with Coyote vs. Acme is that it’s a finished film was intended for a theatrical release, while the other two movies were still in the works.

 

Of those kicking the tires, even though no deals have been drafted, I hear Amazon is a leading contender given the fact that Courtenay Valenti, the Head of Film, Streaming and Theatrical for Amazon Studios and MGM, was a big champion and linchpin for the movie while she was President of Production and Development at Warner Bros. All of this boils down to Head of Amazon Studios Jen Salke’s signoff, I understand. During the pandemic, Prime Video acquired Sony’s family titles Hotel Transylvania 4 and Cinderella, among other movies. Amazon has been known to take finished films off the table for $100M and turn them into events for Prime Video.

 

With the actors strike just ending and everyone — streamers and the theatrical schedule — in need of product, it seems foolish to have a studio like Warners leave a branded asset like Coyote vs. Acme lying around and taking a $30M take write-off on the $70M production. With Amazon now in the theatrical game, it will be interesting to see if Warner Bros actually allows the streamer to theatrically release Coyote vs. Acme since the Burbank lot is too cheap to do so, given its dire financial straits.

 

Amazon also is a great landing pad for Coyote vs. Acme as the studio has three upcoming movies with its star John Cena: Heads of State, Ricky Stanicky and Grand Death Lotto.

 

Also, during a very noisy weekend for the movie on social media with Coyote vs. Acme and Gravity Oscar winning composer calling Warner Bros. “bizarre anti-art studio financial shenanigans I will never understand,” some have told me that the killing of Coyote vs. Acme didn’t come from WBD CEO David Zaslav himself. Rather, the blame should be set at the feet of Warner Bros. Motion Picture bosses Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy and Warner Bros. new Animation Head Bill Damaschke, who are being made the scapegoats. The motives here were to protect the Looney Tunes IP and also scrub the studio of product developed by the previous administration.

 

The only thing wrong with that narrative is that De Luca and Abdy never have had any previous offends of killing a previous administration’s films or finished movies. Not until landing at Warner Bros. As my mother use to say, “There’s no such thing as a coincidence.”

 

Also, we understand that De Luca and Abdy haven’t seen the finished Coyote vs. Acme.

 

Furthermore, it’s not a motion picture executive’s job to care about tax write-offs for the company. That directive comes from finance and accounting. Even when he was at New Line, De Luca didn’t close down the besieged $90M Warren Beatty trainwreck Town & Country, and if there ever was a movie that went off the rails, it was that one. Why would these movie executives, who have longstanding relationships with talent reps, want to get a reputation that they could kill a movie at any given notice?

 

Also, studios take tax write-downs on completed movies all the time. Remember, Paramount’s $115M write-down of animated pic Monster Trucks in advance of its 2016 theatrical release ($64M worldwide gross)?

 

The new Warner Bros Discovery administration needs to have a come-to-Jesus with itself: Realize that if there’s anything worse than taking a feature theatrical slate day-and-date on Max and keeping talent and filmmakers in the dark on that, it’s axing finished theatrical films (and even ones that have a ton of footage in the can). Yeah, we hear ya that the previous regime’s $70M greenlight movies are too high a cost for a Max direct-to-streaming release, but why wasn’t it decided early on by Warners last week that a finished movie would be sold anyway to a streamer and the money gained on that versus burying it in a vault forever? Coyote vs. Acme has reported high test scores indicate it’s a worthy asset somewhere.

 

While Warner Bros Discovery CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels said that the media’s coverage of Batgirl‘s cancellation was “blown out of proportion” back in September 2022, I guess he wasn’t seeing or hearing the harsh criticism from the Hollywood creative community and the film’s creatives and talent, both on social and by phone.

 

Also, what does the Coyote vs. Acme move by Warner Bros Discovery say to DC bosses Peter Safran and James Gunn? Can their movies or projects be killed at a last-minute’s notice? Gunn is a producer and a co-scribe on Coyote vs. Acme.

 

The Looney Tunes brand isn’t Harry Potter, and it’s certainly not The Marvels. The brand has been turned upside down, reinvented and reset several times during the course of its 90-year-plus history at Warner Bros. Certainly a family movie that grosses between $160M-$200M worldwide wouldn’t do damage to the studio, but rather play directly to the audience it’s suppose to play to.

THR

The Coyote cancelation roiled the creative community perhaps even harder than Batgirl and Scoob!, because those had been positioned as a one-off change in strategy, never to happen again. According to sources, after the Coyote vs. Acme news broke last week, several filmmakers instructed reps to cancel meetings they had on the books with Warners. But now that Coyote may ultimately find a new home, these filmmakers are taking a wait-and-see approach.

Изменено 13.11.2023 20:00 пользователем DandyAndy

[Dark_Hierophant]

several filmmakers instructed reps to cancel meetings they had on the books with Warners

Told ya!

Народ побежал выстраиваться в очередь на работу к Засраву. Потрясающая рабочая этика.

[psid]

Ну с одной стороны понять можно, т.к. совсем недавно космический джем показывал отичные результаты и вряд ли хочется такой успех повторять. Но с другой стороны, если была норм критика, так почему же не дать шанс?

[LUCIFER]

Конгрессмен Хоакин Кастро призвал провести расследование по отношению к Warner Bros после отмены фильма «Койот против Акме».

 

«Тактика студии по отказу от полностью снятых фильмов ради налоговых льгот является хищнической и антиконкурентной... это все равно, что сжечь здание ради денег по страховке»

.

[DandyAndy]

Крис Миллер

I saw COYOTE VS ACME and it’s delightful. Funny, charming, good physical comedy timing, with a surprising amount of heart. I hope several studios go after it so the world can see all the good work people did.

[Стальной Детройт]

.

 

Недолго фраер танцевал....

 

Сейчас Заслава прижмут.

[Jekse]

После трейлера «Мадам Паутины» удивляешься ещё больше таким решениям WB. Гордиться своим киносодержащим продуктом нужно, а не позорно сливать его.

[DandyAndy]

Paramount Circling; Amazon Still Possible Contender

It’s not just Netflix that made a bid for Warner Bros.’ scrapped Coyote vs. Acme. Paramount, Apple, and Amazon have also seen the movie as well. Of those, Paramount has made a bid, and the plus there is a theatrical release. The Melrose lot could use it on the 2024 release calendar. Debt-laden exhibitors would want it, too.

 

Meanwhile, Amazon is mulling, I’m told, with no formal bids made. First, it takes longer over there to conduct business and get decisions through the proper channels. I also hear marketing is trying to get their heads around the picture (seriously — there’s a lot of action scenes in the movie and hysterical jokes that can easily be used in trailers. I’ve seen the movie. Look out for the Porky Pig pant-less joke).

 

Warners is playing hardball as they want to cover the $70M and then some. So, TBD who wins this.

 

Sony and Apple aren’t making bids, sources say.

[диснеевец]

а вот к этому, честно говоря я со скеписом отношусь Не подходит эта парочка под киноформат

[EMoushen]

[Boroda4]

Типичный Луни Тьюз в деле?

[Стальной Детройт]

Симпатично.

[DandyAndy]

The Final Days of ‘Coyote vs. Acme’: Offers, Rejections and a Roadrunner Race Against Time

Warner was seeking $75 – $80 million but rejected offers from Netflix, Amazon and Paramount, insiders tell TheWrap

 

 

In early January, “Coyote vs. Acme” producer Chris DeFaria got a startling phone call from a Warner Bros. executive. “They just want to get this behind them,” the executive told DeFaria. “They want to close the books.”

 

In the words of the Roadrunner: Meep.

 

The movie, a live-action/animated hybrid that stars Will Forte and the “Looney Tunes” gang, had been earmarked for demolition on Nov. 9. But following the announcement that the movie would be canceled, a firestorm of outrage and indignation erupted. It was heightened by a friends-and-family screening that had already been planned before the cancellation announcement was made. The screening brought more goodwill and an even louder public outcry.

 

“What was so exciting was that it felt like the film captured the voice of the Looney Tunes that we love in a way none of the other feature versions have ever done,” Paul Scheer, who was at that screening, told TheWrap. (The last movie to feature the characters, 2021’s “Space Jam: A New Legacy,” was pilloried by critics and lost money.)

 

Warner Bros., reacting to the hubbub, walked back its initial decision. Instead of canceling the movie outright, the studio would give the filmmakers the chance to shop it around. If another studio wanted to pick it up, they could.

 

Now, months later, Warner Bros. had had enough. The call to DeFaria made that crystal clear.

 

With Warner Bros. Discovery’s fourth quarter earnings call scheduled for Feb. 23, “Coyote vs. Acme” is running out of time. Many on the film’s team feel that the studio will use the ending of the quarter to get the movie off the books for good. “Coyote vs. Acme” is running up against something worse than a tunnel painted into the side of a mountain or a falling anvil. It will finally be silenced by a movie studio’s balance sheet.

 

In a truly inglorious end, a source close to the movie doesn’t believe Warner Bros. would even announce that they hadn’t found a home for the movie. They would unceremoniously delete it. Never to be seen again.

 

Offers and rejections

 

Following the death and potential resurrection of “Coyote vs. Acme,” there were screenings for interested parties. According to several people familiar with the situation, Netflix, Amazon and Paramount screened the movie (which was received well) and submitted handsome offers. Paramount even proposed a theatrical release component to their acquisition of “Coyote vs. Acme” that would allow for Warner Bros. to save face and, more importantly, let audiences see the movie the way it was meant to be experienced.

 

Warner Bros. did not respond to requests for comment from TheWrap.

 

But Warner Bros., which stood to make $35 – $40 million on the tax write-down, wanted something in the ballpark of $75 – $80 million from a buyer. And what’s more, they wouldn’t allow the interested studios to counter Warner Bros.’ offer. It was a “take it or leave it” situation, one that the other studios didn’t even know they were entering into, insiders told TheWrap.

 

Information about the potential sale of the project got to Eric Bauza, an actor who provided the voice for several characters in the film. In late December he felt so optimistic that he shared a photo from the movie (of Forte and the Coyote, see below) on social media and said: “See ya in 2024!”

 

Behind the scenes, though, the noose around the movie’s neck was tightening.

 

Executives skipped the screening

 

What made the situation even more appalling is that, according to a source close to the project, the four Warner Bros. executives responsible for making this decision – CEOs and co-chairpersons of Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy, along with Warner Bros. Pictures Animation president Bill Damaschke and embattled CEO and president of Warner Bros. Discovery David Zaslav – hadn’t even seen the finished version of the movie.

 

Zaslav never saw the movie at all. De Luca and Abdy saw a “director’s cut,” and Damaschke saw the first audience preview. Significantly, “Coyote vs. Acme” was developed and greenlit by a previous regime; the only executive that worked on the movie that is still at the company is Jesse Ehrman. These executives, who trumpet a filmmaker-first approach and have recently signed big deals with directors like Ryan Coogler and Paul Thomas Anderson (who conspicuously made their deals after the filmmaker-led backlash to Warner Bros. had subsided), were apparently prepared to trash a movie that they’d never even watched.

 

Even so, the reason for “Coyote vs. Acme’s” cancellation remains damnably unknowable – even to those who made the movie. Publicly, Warner Bros. blamed the decision on a shifting “global strategy to focus on theatrical releases” and initially indicated it would take a tax write-off on the film, which is based on a New Yorker article by Ian Frazier from 1990. The problem, it seemed, was the movie was not strong enough for a theatrical release, and didn’t fit anyone’s streaming strategy in the WBD universe.

 

But there was a precedent. When Warner Bros. announced that “Batgirl,” a $90 million superhero movie based on a beloved DC Comics property, would be deleted from existence, a new avenue opened up for the studio. According to a source close to “Coyote vs. Acme,” getting rid of a wholly finished movie became “an acceptable means of dealing with a problem.”

 

When they weren’t sure what to do with “Coyote vs. Acme” — which originally had a release date later claimed by “Barbie” — the option to simply disappear it was taken, at least for a few days.

 

What makes the situation with “Coyote vs. Acme” more baffling is that unlike “Batgirl,” the film consistently received great scores from test audiences. Several Warner Bros. executives have gone out of their way to claim that “Batgirl” was un-releasable; that simply wasn’t the case with “Coyote vs. Acme.”

 

But Warner Bros.’ proclamation that the filmmakers could take it elsewhere was dubious at best. Back when the announcement was made that the movie wasn’t totally dead, a source close to the production remembered thinking, Maybe they’ll try to run out the clock.

 

Throughout the process, Warner Bros. refused to share specific details with the filmmakers about the proposed deals (and Warner Bros.’ rejection of those deals). Everything was captured through a hazy fog of secondhand phone calls and conversations. There were champions of the project, for sure, but they couldn’t force Warner Bros. to properly communicate with the filmmakers.

 

Intent to not only offload “Coyote vs. Acme” but to make a profit while doing so, the studio insisted on a price tag that would cover “negative cost plus” — what the movie cost the studio and additional fees that Warner Bros. had incurred.

 

“They made a short-sighted choice based on dismal third quarter projects,” said a source close to the movie. And reversing the decision to cancel “Coyote vs. Acme” was simply not possible.

 

Now, 90 days later, with the #SaveCoyoteVsAcme hashtag still present on social media, it feels like the end of the line for Coyote and all of his “Looney Tunes” friends. And barring a similar outpouring of support or without a big offer in the next few days, that-that-that’ll be all folks.

 

[GlitchMob]

RIP. грустно, обязательно бы посмотрел.

[Citizen X]

А что об этом думает Илон Маск?

[DandyAndy]