When the animated film “Coyote vs. Acme” recently hit the local theater, few viewers probably realized a Kewanee connection was hidden among its credits. Listed there is Paul Gerard, a former Kewanee resident who helped bring the long‑delayed project to life.
A 1985 Kewanee High School graduate, Gerard earned a business and finance degree from Miami University of Ohio and spent more than a decade in Chicago’s finance world before pursuing his longtime interest in entertainment. Having always yearned for a stage career but being told that it’s a hard way to make a living, Gerard stuck to more lucrative jobs in the world of business.
However, the show business bug never left him, and soon he found himself applying to various film schools. He ended up at the University of Southern California, where he fashioned his new life. He credits his older sister Gayle Gerard for encouragement and useful contacts for his success there. Gayle, a Kewanee resident, had already established herself in the Hollywood scene and knew many in the world of entertainment and filmmaking.
After obtaining his MFA from USC, he worked for 20th Century Fox Studios, reading and critiquing scripts. He told his sister that the speed-reading course he took at Black Hawk East was one of his best decisions. “It helped me immensely during that tenure.”
When a job at Sony Pictures opened five years later, he worked with the team that created the first two Shrek pictures. After that, his talents were used in the animated movie “Open Season,” followed by the smash hit, “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.” At first, “Cloudy” was considered a mistake, he said, but once released, it had a huge box office draw.
After nearly six years at Sony, he joined the Disney Movie dynasty as vice president of development for Disney Tunes. He was there for nearly a decade and helped develop the “Tinkerbell Series” that told the story of the tiny fairy before she met Peter Pan.
Warner Brothers hired him in 2019 as senior VP, where he was instrumental in the development of the animated movie, “Coyote vs. Acme,” considered a “hybrid” as it used both cartoon characters and human actors.
The film, which was set to be released in 2023, featured Looney Tunes’ beloved characters Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner and their hilarious chases. A host of other cartoon characters took part, including Foghorn Leghorn, Tweety Bird, Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and of course, Porky Pig. Humans John Cena and Will Forte starred beside them as legal adversaries, with incredible special effects including the familiar falling anvils, explosions and far-flung boulders.
Test audiences gave rave reviews, and it looked like the famous pair would chase each other into big screen history. Instead, the head of Warner Brothers Studio chose to shelve it for tax reasons. Years of work and talent were crushed – not unlike the anvils that smashed Wile E. Coyote into the pavement.
There were large protests over the shelving of the movie, and soon after, the rights to the film were sold to the independent film distributor, Ketchup Entertainment. Wile E. and the Road Runner were off and running again.
The film ran recently at the Wanee Theatre in downtown Kewanee to appreciative audiences. Those who remember the pair from their childhood can recall the slapstick adventures; this movie is for them. For the younger crowd, who would enjoy some exciting animation with a host of great cartoon characters, this movie is for them as well.
Unlike other films that almost didn’t make it into theatres, such as Pulp Fiction, Titanic, Casablanca, Toy Story and Back to the Future, this one had some real-life champions who lobbied for its release. At the end of the movie, after the credits are completed, comes this statement:
“Dedicated to everyone who posted, shared, held up signs, and spoke out when it counted. This film made it to the big screen because of you.”
The acknowledgment celebrates the fan campaigns that rescued the movie after it was initially shelved by Warner Bros. Discovery. The dedication has been described as one of the most meaningful moments of the film, reflecting the unusual journey the movie took to reach theaters.
