Warner Brothers is trying once again to bring their Looney Tune characters back to the big screen and this time they’re looking to a former Saturday Night Live performer/writer for help. The Hollywood Reporter states that former SNL cast member Jenny Slate has been hired to write the screenplay for what the studio intends to be a hybrid live-action/CG film.
The studio is keeping Slate’s proposed story for the film under wraps.
Slate was a member of the 2009-2010 SNL cast, joining the show as a writer and featured player. She made an impressuion, albeit a negative one, when on the very first show of the season when she accidentally said “fuck” in the sketch “Biker Chick Chat.” She was not seen on air for several episodes afterwards which probably impaired her ability to gain any popularity with the audience. Although she did finally get back in front of the cameras, her contract was not renewed at the end of the season.
Previous to her SNL stint, Slate was a performer at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater. Following SNL she made appearances on HBO’s Bored To Death and the Fox series Brothers and voiced characters in Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax and Alvin And The Chipmunks: Chipwrecked.
The Looney Tunes characters originated in the cartoons produced in the 1930s, ‘40s and ‘50s at the studio’s in-house animation studio, affectionately known by those who worked there as “Termite Terrace.” The shorts aired in television syndication for decades afterwards introducing new generations to the likes of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Yosemite Sam, Elmer Fudd, Sylvester and Tweety and more. Warners first returned the characters to the big screen in 1996’s Space Jam which paired the cartoon characters with the very real basketball star Michael Jordan. Although successful, it took the studio seven years before it brought out a follow, Looney Tunes: Back In Action. Unfortunately, that pairing of cartoon characters and Brendan Fraser underperformed at the box office.
