Tuesday, August 25, 2026

Warner Bros. Ousts “Coyote vs. Acme” Executive Producer on Eve of Movie’s Release by Different Company — And Rave Reviews

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The coyote isn’t the only one getting an anvil smashed on his head.

Sam Register is the head of animation for Warner Bros. He was the Executive producer on “Coyote vs. Acme,” the legit great movie that the studio shelved rather than release.

Now Warner’s is getting pilloried because “Coyote vs. Acme” is opening Thursday night a projected possible $22 million weekend. It has a 96% on Rotten Tomatoes. Turns out, “Coyote vs. Acme” is one of the most entertaining films ever.

That turns out to be bad news for Sam Register, who’s just been dumped from his job at Warner Bros. He’s out the door after 18 years.

Channing Dungey, Chairman and CEO of Warner Bros. Television Group and U.S. Networks, the person to whom Register reported, actually said in an internal memo to staff:

“It’s with mixed emotions that I announce the studio and our head of animation, Sam Register, have mutually agreed not to renew his contract.”

Welcome to Hollywood. It will certainly register with Register on Friday morning his movie’s a hit and he’s out of his job.

Ouch!

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Roger Friedman
Roger Friedman
Roger Friedman is the founder and editor-in-chief of Showbiz411. He wrote the FOX411 column on FoxNews.com from 1999 to 2009, where he covered Michael Jackson, and previously wrote the "Intelligencer" column at New York magazine in the mid-1990s, where he covered the O.J. Simpson trial. He also edited Fame magazine. His bylines have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the New York Daily News, the New York Post, Vogue, Details, and the Miami Herald. He is a voting member of the Critics Choice Awards (Film and Television branches), and his movie reviews are tracked by Rotten Tomatoes. With D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, he co-produced the 2002 documentary "Only the Strong Survive," which screened at Directors' Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival.

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