Warner Bros is under fire once again for shelving another completed movie. This time, it's Stephen King's upcoming horror flick 'Salem's Lot', and understandably, he is furious.
According to Bloody-Disgusting, Stephen shared a Post on X being disgruntled by the fact that Salem's Lot, a film that is completed and tested successfully - is not yet released. Originally it was going to come out in September 2022, but pushed back to 2023, and then taken off the release schedule completely, similar to the uncertain fate of the latest Looney Tunes movie, Coyote Vs Acme, which was also completed, gained positive reception during test screenings, but then shelved for tax write off purposes. A global movement protesting the support to release Coyote Vs Acme has been happening since Warner Bros refused buyers' options of the film, despite it being in demand from Netflix, Amazon and Paramount (who would have given it a theatrical screening). Even Bugs Bunny voice actor Eric Bazua yelled "RELEASE COYOTE VS ACME!" at the 2024 Annie Awards which received a standing ovation.
Eric Bazua, current Looney Tunes voice actor yells "RELEASE COYOTE VS ACME!" to standing ovation at 2024 Annie Awards.
Now "Salem's Lot" has sadly a similar unfortunate fate to that of Coyote Vs Acme. Rumors are that it's the next film in line to be shelved by Warner Bros for tax write off claims, in another disgusting and bizarre move from the film company. According to Stephen King himself, he has seen the Salem's Lot film and enjoyed it. Says it's a 'quite good, old school horror film with a slow build but good pay off', and he's 'not sure why WB are holding it back. Not like it's embarrassing or anything" ending the Tweet with "I write these fucking things!"
Shelving films for tax write offs has been a growing subject of concern lately and has even gotten the attention of some higher up US Lawmakers and Senators. Consumer Advocate Lisa McCormick recently demanded justice for the release of Coyote VS Acme and told WB to stop treating the fans like the main character of the film, meanwhile Texas Republican Joaquin Castro has called for a federal probe into cancelling such films for tax write offs, saying it's like building a house and then burning it down for insurance money. Hopefully the same thing can be said about the possible shelving of Salem's Lot. People want to see these movies. They will support them if they are released. These kind of decisions just make everyone feel sad and frustrated. Films are an art. They are made by thousands of people behind the scenes so we can enjoy them. They should be preserved, not shelved and destroyed. While the future is uncertain for both Coyote VS Acme and Salem's Lot, I hope one day the US Government steps in and demands a formal investigation as to why this should be happening and to hopefully get these films released, but in the mean time, people would just have to continue letting their voices be heard.
Maybe we need to start a #ReleaseSalemsLot movement too! Either way, these decisions are not a good look for Warner Bros, as they would need to figure out how to improve their public image if these films do get cancelled.
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