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Coyote vs. Acme: Will Forte Says The Shelving "Makes My Blood Boil"

Will Forte does not want people to forget what happened to Coyote vs. Acme, saying, "It deserves so much better than what it got."

There are plenty of reasons to hold a grudge against Warner Bros., but Will Forte is angry for a specific reason and wants you to know it. Over the course of about a year and a half, Warner Bros. shelved three nearly complete movies for "tax purposes." It did not go over well, but there is really only so much outrage can do with this sort of thing. Once the money has cleared, Warner Bros. can't make money on the film without returning the tax credits, so the nails are in the three respective coffins. Unless someone leaks it, that's a different bridge we can cross should someone decide to build it. Forte starred in Coyote vs. Acme, the third film that was shelved. It was completed and tested very well, but that didn't matter. Cast and crew have been speaking up about it since the film was shelved in November 2023, and Movieweb recently spoke to Forte about the film, and to say that he didn't mince his words would be an understatement [as he shouldn't].

"My thoughts were that it's fucking bullshit. It is such a delightful movie," said Forte. "It deserves so much better than what it got. I don't know, I can't tell you possibly why the decision was made not to release it, but it makes my blood boil."

Forte thanked the interviewer for bringing it up even over a year after the film was shelved because he believes it should not be forgotten. "And thank you for asking me about it, because I like talking about the movie, because I want them to — I don't want people to forget what they did to us," Forte continued. "That being said, I appreciate them letting us make it. But like, you know, don't let us make this thing that we fall in love with and then not show it. I mean, I would understand if the thing sucked, but it's really good. I mean, you never know what happens in life. You know, maybe sometime, somehow we get to see it at some point. I hope people do, because I was really proud of it. And Lana [Condor] is right. She's fantastic in it. It's just, it is a delightful film." There were rumors that the reason Batgirl was shelved was due to the film being bad, which were rumors that also followed Scoob! Holiday Haunt and Coyote vs. Acme as well, but Forte is standing by his movie, declaring that it was a quality production that deserved a shot.

Coyote vs. Acme And Warner Bros.'s Being The Worst

One could say things started all the way back in August 2022 when Scoob! Holiday Haunt and Batgirl, two films that were either very close to finishing production or in post-production, were canceled due to tax purposes. At the time, the backlash was pretty loud [mostly for Batgirl, which is a shame because Scoob! is just as tragic], and you would think executives would learn from their mistakes and wouldn't pull a stunt like that again.

Fast forward to November 2023, and it's apparent no one is learning lessons anymore, as Warner Bros. Discovery shelved Coyote vs. Acme for tax purposes. The reaction was just as loud, and while it sounded like there was a chance the film could end up at another studio or streamer, a massive report released in February 2024 by The Wrap revealed that Warner Bros. went into negotiations in what appeared to be bad faith. Executives who had never seen the final film put the nails in the coffin, and it honestly looked like the film would be lost. Since then, several actors and people who have worked on the film have expressed how upset they are that the film was shelved the way it was. Warner Bros. continues to make the worst possible business decisions in a real-world, real-time example of "fucking around and finding out."

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