If you have a passing interest in film and animation, you've likely heard of Coyote Vs. Acme, a feature film in the Roger Rabbit tradition of blending 2D animation with live action focusing on characters from Warner Brothers' Roadrunner cartoons. The film would have focused on Wile E. Coyote suing the ubiquitous Acme corporation after decades of selling him faulty products, and by all accounts appeared to be a passion project from everyone involved. The movie was, in fact, complete and ready for release- only for Warner Brothers to kill it at the last possible second in the name of a multi-million dollar tax writeoff.
After extensive backlash from fans and creatives alike, Warner Bros. walked the decision back… kind of. Rather than outright delete it, they put the film on offer for around eighty million dollars, refusing counteroffers from the likes of Netflix and Amazon. With an earnings call coming up soon and no one having bitten yet, it seems more than likely that this is where the story ends: the result of hundreds of hours of work and tireless passion from countless creatives, never to see the light of day so some studio executive can buy a fourth yacht. Isn't that just the way of it?
Barring, of course, some brave Prometheus choosing to leak the movie. We can only hope.
