180
submitted 7 months ago by jeffw@lemmy.world to c/news@lemmy.world
top 22 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[-] Dagwood222@lemm.ee 77 points 7 months ago

I don't know if it will be a good movie or not. My issue is how can you get a better tax break by not releasing a movie than by releasing it and having it bomb?

[-] ummthatguy@lemmy.world 41 points 7 months ago
[-] Dagwood222@lemm.ee 11 points 7 months ago

Not that there's anything wrong with this, but you do know that the movie version featured Uma Thurman in this role...

https://youtu.be/gItQFtMRDPU

[-] ummthatguy@lemmy.world 11 points 7 months ago

The original certainly made better use of physics. Still prefer the '05 remake.

[-] Dagwood222@lemm.ee 9 points 7 months ago

We've done God's work today!

[-] jeffw@lemmy.world 24 points 7 months ago

It’s complicated. It’s not just a straight tax write off, but also you cut costs by shelving it. Marketing and other post-production budgets can be high. Also, if a film is really bad, there’s reputation damage to the brand, which is hard to quantify.

[-] Dagwood222@lemm.ee 36 points 7 months ago

I'm a bit of a movie buff, and if I've heard it once...

"There isn't a writer or director in Hollywood who is half as creative as the worst studio accountant!"

[-] xkforce@lemmy.world 4 points 7 months ago

I find it hard to believe that this movie is so bad that WB decided that it wouldnt even recoup the marketing costs for it. This whole thing sounds like people that dont understand math and taxes making decisions.

[-] cobysev@lemmy.world 11 points 7 months ago

It's not bad; as a matter of fact, it got rave reviews from the few test audiences that went to see it. Someone claimed it was the best animated & live action film since Who Framed Roger Rabbit?.

But the studio had to decide between gambling that it will do well with the general public... or a guaranteed $30M in tax write-offs. They took the sure thing instead of the risky thing.

The reason we have so many remakes nowadays is because feeding off nostalgia is a guaranteed win. Original films are a gamble, and studios would rather put their money on a sure thing than take the risk on a new original film. Warner Bros. is just a little too nervous about doing more original ideas, so they're more willing to shelve films for the tax money than risk audience opinion.

[-] randon31415@lemmy.world 0 points 7 months ago

More like hate animation and want nothing to do with it. The Discovery merger killed Cartoon Network, as well as a lot of projects like Infinity Train.

[-] Primarily0617@kbin.social 50 points 7 months ago

"Internet does full week of free advertising for soon-to-release Warner Bros. movie"

[-] jeffw@lemmy.world 22 points 7 months ago

They aren’t actually releasing it. They’re selling it to someone else to release it

[-] Mouselemming@sh.itjust.works 4 points 7 months ago

True, but maybe they'll get more now that there's buzz

[-] AllonzeeLV@lemmy.world 27 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Late stage rigged market capitalism is eating itself in every sector now that it struggles to find room left to grow/metastasize, including in economic sectors with much higher stakes.

It's just well exemplified in entertainment. Hollywood used to be in the business of telling stories, now it's in the business of regurgitating established IPs and literally using profit maximizing narrative formulas rather than bothering with risky originality, when it isn't shelving completed stories for tax advantages, robbing the commons, you and I, of what they owe the society that facilitates their insatiable greed.

Gaming is now just the business of building microtransaction traps disgused as video games.

Entire industries have been perverted to betray the very goods/services they were created to and exist to provide in favor of market capitalism grifts and scams that provide more short term profit, usually cannibalizing their ability to provide said products/services at their former quality in the process.

And yet we wonder why our supposedly developed nation mortality rates are skyrocketing for newborns and mothers, in our FOR PROFIT healthcare and health insurance industry. Gee, it's a mystery!

[-] NigelFrobisher@aussie.zone 8 points 7 months ago

Was wondering if someone had leaked this news to stir up support, but I’m glad they did because this sounds pretty cool.

[-] BruceTwarzen@kbin.social 8 points 7 months ago

I too like marketing stunts

[-] SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world 3 points 7 months ago
[-] lemmy___user@lemmy.world 9 points 7 months ago

‘Coyote vs. Acme’ No Longer Dead After Big Backlash to Warner Bros.

The studio will now allow an outside distributor to purchase the film after significant public protest, including its creatives speaking out to Rolling Stone November 13, 2023

In a significant backpedal, Warner Bros. has reversed its decision to shelve the completed Coyote vs. Acme film, and is now allowing an outside distributor to purchase the film after significant public protest, a source confirmed to Rolling Stone.

It’s been a quick turnaround from Thursday when it was first reported that Warner Bros. was using the live-action/animation hybrid starring John Cena and Lana Condor as an estimated $30 million tax write-off instead of moving ahead with a theatrical and/or streaming release.

After filmmakers and crew expressed their shock and disappointment about the decision, and argued that the film was fantastic, plus mounting criticism from veteran filmmakers over Warner Bros.’ pattern of axing projects for the sake of tax benefits, Warner Bros. said on Sunday that it was willing to allow the film to be shopped to other distributors, Puck first reported. (Rolling Stone understands there are several interested buyers, including Amazon Prime.)

The loud public outcry and desire for the film’s release were the key factors in the studio changing its mind, a well-placed source says. “This is total victory,” they say. “I don’t think management ever minds disappointing the people that work for them, but they do mind disappointing their audience.”

This is total victory. I don’t think management ever minds disappointing the people that work for them, but they do mind disappointing their audience.

The news had been a blow to the cast and crew who were effectively blindsided by the studio’s decision. Director Dave Green and top producers had allegedly only been informed after Warner Bros. already underwent the process of writing off the movie, Rolling Stone reported. The movie has been in production since 2020 and is based on Looney Tunes’ Wile E. Coyote and The New Yorker humor article “Coyote v. Acme” by Ian Frazier. It had tested positively with audiences, earning 14 points above the norm for a family film.

Green has not yet publicly commented on the reversal, but in a statement on Thursday had voiced his disappointment and said he was “beyond proud of the final product, and beyond devastated by WB’s decision.”

The film’s editor, Carsten Kurpanek, tells Rolling Stone that he is “elated” and has high hopes the movie “finds a new home quickly.”

“The outcry on social media following the initial announcement clearly shows there is interest and an audience,” he says. “I’m really thankful for all the support we received. Wile E. Coyote has his 75th anniversary next year and I can’t think of a better way to celebrate this than with a release of Coyote vs Acme.” Trending She Had a Week Between Tours, So She Ran an Ultramarathon 'Big as the What?': Drake Recruits J. Cole for 2024 It's All a Blur Tour Internet Sleuths Want to Track Down This Mystery Pop Song. They Only Have 17 Seconds of It Taylor Swift Asks Fans Not to Throw Objects on Stage: ‘It Really Freaks Me Out’

Warner Bros. had originally blamed the decision to not release the film due to “shifting its global strategy to focus on theatrical releases” in light of relaunching its animation department in June. The movie was originally greenlit for HBO Max before it was given a theatrical release date of July 21. However, Greta Gerwig’s Barbie ended up taking over the summer date and the plan for Coyote vs. Acme was unclear until Thursday’s report. If Warner Bros. stuck to its decision, the project would have become the latest casualty in Warner Bros. Discovery and CEO David Zaslav’s cost-cutting campaign across the company. In an effort to recoup some $3 billion in savings, the studio axed the films Batgirl and Scoob! Holiday Haunt last year in exchange for tax write-offs.

[-] Bonehead@kbin.social 1 points 7 months ago
[-] GrapesOfAss@lemmy.world 4 points 7 months ago

100% just marketing

[-] BroBot9000@lemmy.world -2 points 7 months ago

Do I sense Morbo-vu?

[-] girlfreddy@lemmy.ca -2 points 7 months ago

Cool.

Now can we please do NatGeo's season 2 of Barkskins?

this post was submitted on 13 Nov 2023
180 points (95.5% liked)

News

21718 readers
3570 users here now

Welcome to the News community!

Rules:

1. Be civil


Attack the argument, not the person. No racism/sexism/bigotry. Good faith argumentation only. Trolling is uncivil and is grounds for removal and/or a community ban.


2. All posts should contain a source (url) that is as reliable and unbiased as possible and must only contain one link.


Obvious right or left wing sources will be removed at the mods discretion. We have an actively updated blocklist, which you can see here: https://lemmy.world/post/2246130 if you feel like any website is missing, contact the mods. Supporting links can be added in comments or posted seperately but not to the post body.


3. No bots, spam or self-promotion.


Only approved bots, which follow the guidelines for bots set by the instance, are allowed.


4. Post titles should be the same as the article used as source.


Posts which titles don’t match the source won’t be removed, but the autoMod will notify you, and if your title misrepresents the original article, the post will be deleted. If the site changed their headline, the bot might still contact you, just ignore it, we won’t delete your post.


5. Only recent news is allowed.


Posts must be news from the most recent 30 days.


6. All posts must be news articles.


No opinion pieces, Listicles, editorials or celebrity gossip is allowed. All posts will be judged on a case-by-case basis.


7. No duplicate posts.


If a source you used was already posted by someone else, the autoMod will leave a message. Please remove your post if the autoMod is correct. If the post that matches your post is very old, we refer you to rule 5.


8. Misinformation is prohibited.


Misinformation / propaganda is strictly prohibited. Any comment or post containing or linking to misinformation will be removed. If you feel that your post has been removed in error, credible sources must be provided.


9. No link shorteners.


The auto mod will contact you if a link shortener is detected, please delete your post if they are right.


10. Don't copy entire article in your post body


For copyright reasons, you are not allowed to copy an entire article into your post body. This is an instance wide rule, that is strictly enforced in this community.

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS