Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Aug 14
Coyote vs. Acme Reaches Screens 36 Years After Ian Frazier’s 1990 Satire
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Aug 14

Coyote vs. Acme Reaches Screens 36 Years After Ian Frazier’s 1990 Satire

3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Aug 14

Summary

  • A film version of “Coyote vs. Acme” is moving ahead, turning Ian Frazier’s 1990 New Yorker humor piece into a movie after decades of development limbo.
  • The story imagines Wile E. Coyote suing Acme over the injuries and failures caused by its gadgets while he chases the Road Runner.
  • Frazier said he had largely forgotten the project until a friend emailed in 2022 to say filming was happening on her Albuquerque street.
  • The adaptation traces back to The New Yorker’s Feb. 19, 1990, 65th anniversary issue, where the piece first appeared before being optioned for film.

Insights

Will a film about suing a massive corporation ironically profit from defeating a real-life studio's ruthless cancellation scheme?
How does a 30-year-old satirical magazine joke transform into a blockbuster saved by unprecedented public outcry?