Warner Bros. Developed 'Coyote vs. Acme' With 2 Key Hires, Tapping Dave Green and Samy Burch
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Aug 26
Warner Bros. Developed 'Coyote vs. Acme' With 2 Key Hires, Tapping Dave Green and Samy Burch
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Aug 26
Summary
Warner Bros. built “Coyote vs. Acme” around director Dave Green and screenwriter Samy Burch for a live-action/animation take on Wile E. Coyote’s lawsuit against Acme.
1990 New Yorker source material gave the project its hook: Ian Frazier’s humor piece imagined the Looney Tunes character suing over the defective products that repeatedly sabotaged his pursuit of the Road Runner.
December 2019 marked Green’s formal attachment after he framed the concept as a courtroom drama in the mold of “A Few Good Men” and “The Insider.”
Several writers passed on the film, including James Gunn, who instead joined as a producer, before the team landed Burch, then an unproduced screenwriter whose “May December” later became an Oscar-nominated script.
The project was seen internally as a natural extension of Warner Bros.’ Looney Tunes library, aiming to revive a durable franchise that had previously delivered box-office success with 1996’s “Space Jam.”