Joe Dante tells us how his "anti-Space Jam" became the flop Looney Tunes: Back In Action
The last time a Looney Tunes movie was screwed up by Warner Bros., it didn't get saved. It became Looney Tunes: Back In Action.
Joe Dante, the director of the Looney Tunes film Looney Tunes: Back In Action, shares his frustrations with the project that ultimately became a flop. Warner Bros. only released the movie because they spent a significant amount of money making it. Dante, a fan of the Looney Tunes series, was initially hired to direct the film, but his vision for the movie was never fully realized.
The movie was plagued by endless rewrites, with an estimated 29 writers contributing to the process but only one credited for their work. The studio's marketing and merchandising reps focused on selling Looney Tunes characters, while the heads of Warner Bros. had no interest in the project. Tensions ran high, with original screenwriter Larry Doyle leaving the production due to disagreements about characterizations and countless changes.
Dante describes the entire experience as a "real boondoggle" and calls the film "the longest year and a half of my life." Despite the film's convoluted story and costly reshoots, it still didn't receive the same level of support from the studio as other Looney Tunes projects.
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