Coyote VS Aliens

Arguably the worst part about having a studio’s CEO constantly deleting shows and movies for tax write-offs is that history becomes lost. We don’t think about it that way, but entertainment’s a form of artistic expression, and art’s a record of history. By removing a backlog, you’re destroying it without thought for the original creators. But I guess when your goal’s to make a quick profit, that’s irrelevant. Welcome to Capitalism!

I’ve made no secret of my disdain for how David Zaslav’s overseeing Warner Bros. That extends to animation, as it’s not something he cares for. We’ve seen that with the removal of all Looney Tunes content from Max, effectively acting like it doesn’t exist. We also saw that with his cancellation of Coyote vs. Acme before it was scheduled for release, which offended everyone on production. It’s not like the live-action pilot of The Powerpuff Girls for The CW, where everything that’s been uncovered looks creatively-bankrupt: Coyote vs. Acme, right down to its remix of The 1812 Overture, screamed brilliance, making it a shame that it’ll never see daylight. WB Discovery’s cancelled projects are often more fascinating than what they’ve green-lit, making this frustrating.

All the more perplexing, therefore, that their most-recent animated venture, The Day the Earth Blew Up, hasn’t only been released, but was also well-received. To be clear, this isn’t me panning the movie, which I haven’t seen. Rather, I’m curious what made Zaslav give this a go, especially when Coyote vs. Acme never had that opportunity. Why was this movie worth saving? I have two theories, though I’m unsure if either holds up to scrutiny.

The first is guilt. Zaslav hasn’t heard the end of Coyote vs. Acme, and he never will. Word was that it was even well-received by test audiences. For Zaslav to cancel it, shop it around for an unreasonable price, then cancel it a second time when no one was interested was cowardly, and many people have made that known. Letting The Day the Earth Blew Up go to theatres might be him apologizing.

This sounds lovely, but a few problems arise. For one, I don’t know Zaslav’s thoughts. Saying this is him apologizing feels like apologetics for someone I don’t have any connections to. Besides, Zaslav’s cancelled other films for tax write-offs without an apology too. Look at what happened to Batgirl.

Two, I doubt Zaslav cares. He’s a businessman first. He gets paid regardless of his decisions. Cancelling a hotly-anticipated film, then replacing it with another one was business like anything else. That’s indisputable.

And three, if Zaslav were doing this out of guilt, we’d know. His tenure at WB Discovery has seen shares drop significantly since becoming CEO, and it was tanking prior. Despite this, he’s remained the CEO. Zaslav isn’t going anywhere, so using a release to re-enter people’s good graces is a stretch. It’s nice to think it, but it’s still a stretch.

The second possibility is apathy. Zaslav’s made his feelings about animation known before, and his actions have backed that up. It’s possible he didn’t think highly of The Day the Earth Blew Up, only agreeing to release it because “why not?”. It’d explain the minimal marketing on WB Discovery’s part. It’d also, at least partly, explain its poor sales right now.

This seems more in-line with reality, but there’s a lingering question tagging along: “Why this movie?”. Studios release stuff all the time, and it frequently varies in quality. Having a movie escape the “clutches of Zaslav”, and one that’s good, sounds great…but many great movies have debuted under his watch. Some, like Barbie, were massive hits financially and critically. With Zaslav, I’m sure there’s a reason The Day the Earth Blew Up was released. Movies don’t normally see the light of day unless someone cares.

Okay, we don’t know why this movie made it to theatres and not another one. But that touches on whether or not corporate heads have too much influence these days. Executives serve a purpose, even if people don’t like them, but their meddling in unnecessary places, be it script changes or marketing, is a known problem. Blacklists aside, why should the higher-ups stifle creatives and prevent risk-taking? Wouldn’t it make more sense to gamble on mid-budget movies, especially those with the potential to be big?

This is why writing off Coyote vs. Acme’s frustrating. It wasn’t only a mid-budget movie, it was also an ambitious one that could’ve helped “rehabilitate” Zaslav’s reputation. By writing it off, we're not only never going to see it, we're also never going to “reevaluate” Zaslav (temporarily) in a positive light. Doesn’t he want that? Or is quick money more important? (It probably is.)

It'd be nice if Coyote vs. Acme could be made available online for free now. After all, Zaslav doesn’t want it! And WB Discovery aren’t using it anyway! Perhaps I’m being naïve, but wouldn’t it make sense to let the public see it? I’d say so!

I’m getting off-topic. Irrespective of the situation, I plan to see The Day the Earth Blew Up. It not only looks fun, but its premise appears to scratch an itch I didn’t know I had. I mean, a buddy movie starring Daffy Duck and Porky Pig? One set to an alien invasion? And with Looney Tunes-style humour? Sign me up!