ComingSoon Editor-in-Chief Tyler Treese spoke with Coyote vs. Acme star Will Forte about the film. The former SNL star discussed the film’s unique shooting, why he’s thankful for the fans, and much more. It is out in theaters on Friday, August 28.
“After decades of being blown to bits by bombs, demolished by dynamite, mangled by magnets, battered by boulders, trampled by trains, tricked by tunnels, sprung by springs, steamrolled by steamrollers, maligned by misfires, bedeviled by bungees, rattled by rockets, backstabbed by bat suits, rocked by rocket skates, upended by unicycles, quaked by quake pills, rubberized by rogue bands, and hurled headlong off every cliff in the Southwest, Wile E. Coyote (Genius) finally fights back. Teaming up with billboard accident lawyer Kevin Avery (Will Forte), he takes on slick corporate counsel Buddy Crane (John Cena) and ACME, Inc., the profit-obsessed conglomerate behind every one of the Coyote’s chaotic catastrophes,” says the official synopsis.
Tyler Treese: You’re playing an attorney, Kevin Avery, who’s a bit of a mess and a little lazy at first. He’s kind of doing the bare minimum and getting easy settlements. But Lana’s character and the Coyote, in his own way, really inspire your character to go all out, do the right thing, and fight the big corporation. What about that character’s growth, and especially how the people around him really inspire him to do better, did you like about the film?
Will Forte: I love the journey that my character takes. I think that’s what life is all about. Learning from the people around you, getting motivated by the people around you. If you pick the right friends and surround yourself with the right support system and listen to what they have to say, you’re going to grow as a person. That’s very much what happens in this movie.
I was curious about actually filming it because I heard they had a puppet kind of stand-in for Wile E. Coyote a bit. So much of this film is you reacting to stuff that’s not actually happening, and you have to use your imagination. How much did having that puppet there and the occasional stand-in really help you?
Look, it is hard to act with an animated character where, a lot of times when they film it, it’s a tennis ball on the end of a stick. That’s where the animated character’s eyes are.
That’s hard as is when it’s a character that talks. Wile E. doesn’t even talk, so that was an extra level of complication. But what they did, you’re right, they brought in this guy, Dave Barclay, who’s an iconic puppeteer. He’s done Yoda and Jabba the Hutt and the Venus flytrap from Little Shop of Horrors. He had a Wile E. Coyote puppet, and we would rehearse with the puppet.
You would get a sense of where Wile E. would be moving around and how he would react. We would even sometimes film the first couple of takes with the Wile E. puppet in. Then they would bring it out and we’d do the traditional thing of a stick with a tennis ball on it. It really brought the scenes to life and made what could have been a very difficult situation a lot easier.
Also, the script was just great. Sammy Burch wrote the screenplay and did an amazing job. It just laid out this template. You always knew where you were supposed to be in each scene.
I read that Bugs Bunny wasn’t originally in it. When you filmed that scene, it was a different character. What was your reaction when you found out that you did have a scene with the most iconic cartoon character ever made in this film?
Look, every aspect of this film was a pinch-myself moment. I grew up with Looney Tunes, and I can’t remember Looney Tunes not being a part of my life. It was come home, watch it after school, watch it on Saturdays. My parents let me watch too much TV. So it was just such a part of my life.
As we just talked about, you’re not seeing the characters a lot of times as you’re making this movie. You’re so focused on getting your lines right that the level of emotion didn’t truly sink in.
It was a very emotional thing watching the movie for the first time when I got to see myself up there with Wile E. and with Bugs Bunny. I couldn’t remember who was supposed to be in there originally. Lana says it’s Elmer Fudd, which would have been fun too.
But Bugs Bunny, he’s the king. The king of bunnies. Definitely the king of bunnies. It was such an honor to be chosen to be a part of this world. These are legends, and I got to be up there on screen with them. It was a very emotional thing. I’m really proud of it.
It’s kind of bizarre watching this film now because the plot mirrors the whole release situation. It couldn’t be more similar. I would think it was fake if I didn’t know better. It’s absurd that this whole film is about taking on a corporation that’s putting profits over people, and then this happened to the film. Do you think ultimately it was for the best? It really became a rallying point for people, and it underlines the themes of the film so perfectly. It kind of felt like this was meant to be, in a way.
Will Forte: It almost seems like it could be a marketing ploy.
My mom always says everything happens for a reason, and the older I get, the more I realize she’s right. I certainly was not a fan of this emotional roller coaster in the early going. But maybe it is because of that emotional roller coaster that more people hear about the movie. So I’m choosing to go through and have that be my attitude.
I’m just so proud of this movie. For a long time, it seemed like it was never going to see the light of day. So the fact that it’s coming out now, I could not be more excited.
The other thing I’ll say is that one of the reasons it’s coming out is all these people who never saw the movie. They supported this movie and made a huge stink without ever having seen it. Just complete blind faith.
I’m so excited for these people who kind of forced Warner Bros.’ hand to see this movie because I think they’ll see that the fight was worth it. It’s been a story that I’ve been so proud to be a part of, both on screen, which I love so much, and off screen, which really showed me how many wonderful, supportive friends I have that helped get me through it.
My family and the family that this movie created, these thousands of people who worked on it, really stuck together and never gave up hope.
You mentioned your family. You’ve got two children. How special is it that now this is coming out and you get to share this Looney Tunes movie that you’re the star of with your children? That has to be incredible.
That was the most heartbreaking thing when I got to see the movie for the first time, which was right after Warner Brothers had made the decision to shelve it.
All I could think about while I was watching the movie was how wonderful it would be to get to share that with my kids. Thinking for a time that that would never get to happen was tough. It was just sad. So I can’t wait to share it with them. They haven’t seen it yet.
John Cena is just hilarious in this. He’s trying to sedate you. I’m sure that was one of your hardest acting challenges, pretending to be intimidated by a ripped guy like John Cena.
I mean, he knows I can take him easily.
What stood out about him as a scene partner for you?
The consummate professional. He had so many long pieces of dialogue that he would come in so prepared, and he was so good.
I don’t think I ever heard him stumble. He had a lot of long chunks of dialogue, which he would deliver at a very rapid pace sometimes. Then, at times when he was asked to, he would improvise some lines in the middle of this long chunk, which is very hard to do seamlessly, and then just jump right back into scripted dialogue.
I can’t do that. My brain is too slow. He just is so good at it. It was fun to watch. He’s so good in this movie, so funny, and a real gentleman.
I wonder if that comes from WWE promos, having that ability to recite and be on top of everything. That’s very interesting.
It’s just impressive. Yeah.
Earlier this year, you were in The Boys playing yourself in a fun cameo. How was that experience, and getting to see yourself get killed in such a magnificent way?
I love The Boys so much. It was such a wonderful experience getting to come up here. I was here in Toronto, where I am sitting right now.
I’ll tell you, they were so fast. I thought it was supposed to be three or four days, and I think they got it done in one day. That was my only problem with it. They got me out so fast that I didn’t get to hang out for that long with everybody.
But man, what a delightful group of people. To come into a situation with this group that’s been together for that many seasons, it’s so fun to come in and see this well-oiled machine. Everybody on that set was friends with each other and couldn’t have been more welcoming. It was a delightful time.
Thanks to Will Forte for taking the time to talk about Coyote vs. Acme.
