Thursday, October 29, 2026 at 7:30 PM
Hammer Museum, Los Angeles
Followed by a conversation with director **Dave Green**, voice actor **Eric Bauza**, and producer **Chris DeFaria** The midcentury modern aesthetic of Chuck Jones's streamlined Roadrunner cartoons (b. 1949) is fruitfully transported to a 21st century context of rampant legalism and corporate hegemony. Taking off from a clever 1990 *New Yorker* piece by Ian Frazier, director Dave Green (*Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows*) executes the most satisfying blend of live action and animation since Robert Zemeckis’s 1988 *Who Framed Roger Rabbit*. The pristine desert landscapes of the cartoons have given way to a dingy, cluttered southwestern strip mall culture. Once an incurable techno-optimist, Jones’s Wile E. Coyote has finally grown disillusioned with the utopian promises of the Acme Corporation. Enlisting the aid of a personal injury lawyer (Will Forte), he files a product liability complaint that threatens to expose massive corporate malfeasance. The screenplay, by the versatile Samy Burch (*May December*, *Late Fame*) introduces some nicely understated pathos as Wile E., the ultimate lone wolf, discovers the pleasures of friendship. The animation was directed by Keith Roberts; Eric Bauza voices Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Tweety, and Foghorn Leghorn. Completed in 2023 and shelved by Warner Bros., the film reached theaters in 2026 through Ketchup Entertainment. 2026. USA. Directed by Dave Green. Screenplay by Samy Burch, James Gunn, Jeremy Slater. With Will Forte, Lana Condor, John Cena. DCP courtesy Ketchup Entertainment. 103 min. **$10 Hammer members | $20 general admission ** Current members, check your email for your link to buy tickets, or contact [membership@hammer.ucla.edu](mailto:membership@hammer.ucla.edu). General admission tickets go on sale Monday, October 19 at 11 a.m. **Enhance your movie experience as a member!** Hammer Members receive priority seating and half-off Contenders tickets—plus discounts at the museum store and Lulu restaurant. [Become a member](https://hammer.ucla.edu/support/membership) *MoMA Contenders 2026* is organized by The Museum of Modern Art, New York. This film program is organized by Rajendra Roy, the Celeste Bartos Chief Curator of Film, Sean Egan, Senior Producer, Film Exhibitions and Projects, and Olivia Priedite, Film Program Coordinator, The Museum of Modern Art, New York. The Hammer Museum's presentation is made possible by The Billy and Audrey L. Wilder Foundation.