Episode Details

This week, Sophie and Rudi discuss a movie that almost didn’t exist: “Coyote vs. Acme,” a hybrid live action and cartoon Looney Tunes reboot that’s based on Ian Frazier’s 1990 New Yorker piece of the same name.

The movie centers on Wile E. Coyote suing the ACME corporation for faulty products that hindered his work hunting the Roadrunner. Will Forte ("Saturday Night Live") and Lana Condor ("To All the Boys I've Loved Before") star as Wile’s lawyers, who face off against ACME’s head lawyer, played by John Cena ("Peacemaker").

Before getting into the film, Rudi and Sophie share two recent watches they’d recommend: the new Gen Z British rom-com “Finding Emily” and Hulu’s new crime thriller series “Furious,” starring Emmy Rossum (02:04).

Then, Sophie gives some background on Frazier’s article (07:00), they both share their history with cartoons and the Looney Tunes, and they discuss their interview with "Coyote vs. Acme" screenwriter Samy Burch from a few episodes ago (10:00). Rudi explains why the film had such a long road to release (14:20) — from Warner Bros. deleting the movie for a tax write-off to Ketchup Entertainment ultimately rescuing it — before they chat about the plot and why they found it to be a charming, joke-packed, and oddly moving story (20:03). Rudi highlights the creative use of cameos from iconic Looney Tunes characters (32:00), they recount some of their favorite bits from the film and Sophie makes her choice for which she enjoyed more: reading the New Yorker article or watching the film (40:50).

Before wrapping up, the podcast briefly becomes It Was An Article First as Sophie and Rudi discuss some of their favorite (and most surprising) article-to-screen adaptations (42:29).

Next week, we’re discussing “Practical Magic 2,” the sequel to the 1998 cult classic film starring Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman as the witchy Owens sisters. Based on Alice Hoffman’s “The Book of Magic,” this lega-sequel reunites Bullock and Kidman nearly 30 years after the original film.

It Was A Book First is the podcast about new book-to-screen adaptations. Subscribe now to get new episodes delivered weekly on Wednesdays.

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Hosts and producers: Sophie Vershbow and Rudi Greenberg

Editing: Rudi Greenberg

Social media: Sophie Vershbow

Music: Cl