Joey Magidson
What a couple of months it has been for writer Samy Burch. Not only did she have May December come out to acclaim, it scored her and her partner/co-writer Alex Mechanik their first Academy Award nominations in Best Original Screenplay. At the same time, the newfound Oscar nominee has also seen her other produced feature script, Coyote vs. Acme, shelved and poised to be deleted for a tax write-off by Warner Bros. So, I certainly caught her at an interesting time. In fact, she and Mechanik hopped on Zoom with me to discuss May December on the day of the most recent news story about the fate of Coyote vs. Acme. As you can imagine, that came up, too…
Back at the New York Film Festival, I had this to say about May December:
Todd Haynes directs a screenplay here from Samy Burch and Alex Mechanik. He’s relishing in the camp and soapy nature, especially when it could have just been melodrama. The score from Marcelo Zarvos really hammers that home, while the visuals from cinematographer Christopher Blauvelt are luscious. The script sets the pins up for Haynes to knock down, along with his main talented trio. They all lean into the camp of it all, but they also never forget how disturbing some of this actually is. The results speak for themself. I wouldn’t call this Haynes at his most mainstream, since that would be Dark Waters, but this will actually play amazingly well at home on Netflix, which is a nice little bonus.
Below, you can hear my chat with Burch and Mechanik. We start and end with Coyote vs. Acme, but the bulk of the conversation is obviously about May December. The former is obviously a painful subject for Burch, since her hard work is potentially just being deleted. As for the latter, she and Mechanik have been rewarded with an Academy Award nomination. The Oscar of it all definitely feels surreal, but as they tell it, it’s a testament to everyone involved that it even got made. It’s a lovely conversation with some very deserving storytellers. If you haven’t seen May December yet, it’s right there on Netflix for you. As for Coyote vs. Acme, we can just hope for the best…
Here now is my interview with May December screenwriters Samy Burch and Alex Mechanik. Enjoy:
May December is currently streaming on Netflix!
Delete Coyote vs. Acme for a tax-write-off? They can’t do that! They have no right to delete that unreleased movie! There has to be more distributors to be interested in buying Coyote vs. Acme from Warner Bros. Such as Apple Studios, Netflix, Amazon, MGM, Disney, 20th Century Studios, Paramount, Universal, Sony Pictures, Lionsgate, Entertainment One and YouTube. Don’t they have to pay $75-$80 million to buy Coyote vs. Acme, Scoob! Holiday Haunt and Batgirl from Warner Bros? Don’t they have that kind of money?
Here’s a petition to save Coyote vs. Acme.
https://www.change.org/p/release-the-completed-and-highly-anticipated-movie-coyote-vs-acme
You can get all your friends and all your families to sign on it if you want.
Can’t the fans, the cast, the filmmakers and the distributors raise money for Coyote vs. Acme’s release?
I think the fans who wanted to see Coyote vs. Acme should raise $75-$80 million or more for Warner Bros to sell that movie to another distributor. And also sell Batgirl and Scoob! Holiday Haunt to other distributors. Because I would’ve liked to see all three of them.
Wiping unreleased movies should be illegal.
Deleting unreleased movies like Coyote vs. Acme should be illegal.
Eric Bauza cries out to its fans: “RELEASE COYOTE VS. ACME!”
And I will, too:
#ReleaseCoyoteVsACME
#SaveCoyoteVsACME
#FireDavidZaslav
That’s not fair to delete Coyote vs. Acme! That should be illegal to delete the completed movies, the finished movies and unreleased movies. Everybody has to see Coyote vs. Acme and enjoy it.
Why aren’t the fans out there protesting to get Warner Bros to release Batgirl, Coyote vs. Acme, Salem’s Lot and Scoob! Holiday Haunt or sell all four of them to other distributors? Like Netflix, Paramount, Amazon (Amazon Prime Video and Amazon Freevee), Amazon MGM Studios (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Orion Pictures and American International Pictures), Sony (Columbia Pictures, TriStar Pictures, Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Animation), Apple, Disney, 20th Century Studios, Searchlight Pictures, Lionsgate, Entertainment One, Universal, DreamWorks and YouTube Premium. David Zaslav is pathetic!
The fans should be protesting against David Zaslav for releasing or selling Coyote vs. Acme. He should be fired from Warner Bros!
Can’t they just keep Coyote vs. Acme on the shelf or inside the vault without deleting it until they’re ready to release it? Warner Bros bosses should fire Zaslav. And the law should be changed to make it illegal to wipe the unreleased finished movies.
Come on, Netflix, Amazon, Paramount, Universal, Sony, Apple, Disney, Lionsgate and YouTube! Raise more money to buy Coyote vs. Acme from Warner Bros. And do the same thing with Batgirl, Salem’s Lot and Scoob! Holiday Haunt.
That wasn’t fair for Warner Bros refusing to sell Coyote vs. Acme to other distributors. Everybody wants to see it and other unreleased movies. Keeping these unreleased movies on the shelves and inside the vaults forever should be illegal.
Wait! There’s another petition.
https://sign.moveon.org/petitions/release-coyote-vs-acme-batgirl-and-other-titles-to-the-public-domain
Let’s do it already!
Warner Bros doesn’t have to delete Coyote vs. Acme.
Please give Batgirl, Coyote vs. Acme, Salem’s Lot and Scoob! Holiday Haunt a 2024 release.
I think Warner Bros should reconsider about not deleting Coyote vs. Acme and keep it on the shelf or in the vault until they’re ready to release it or sell it to another distributor.
The fans should be out there protesting.
Don’t delete Coyote vs. Acme.
Zaslav should reconsider about watching Coyote vs. Acme first before he makes his choice.