Release the Ayer Cut?

[thecolorsblend]

David Ayer is a broken man.

[The Laughing Fish]

They are long gone and the studio has changed owners twice. There's a new management in place, people who care and respect deeply both artists and fans.

https://twitter.com/DavidAyerMovies/status/1636220820073910272

I have to break my silence and come back to this outrageous statement by David Ayer, because if you didn't think it was already such a farcical thing to say after the PR damage that WBD has been leaving behind since its formation, Coyote vs. Acme becoming the latest tax write-off makes Ayer's statement even more worthy of scorn. Ironically, this is the same film that was co-written and co-produced by Ayer's supposed buddy Gunn.

To put it into perspective, Steven Price is the composer of Coyote vs. Acme AND Ayer's Suicide Squad, whose work in the latter movie was already marginalised in favour of the studio mandating pop and rock music. Unlike Ayer, Price has condemned WBD on social media for its latest decision, calling the studio "anti-art". Multiple people who worked on the film, except for Gunn (?!), have expressed their dismay that their hard work will never see the light of day:

https://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/coyote-vs-acme-composer-steven-223620324.html

The reactions online from Looney Tunes fans as well as people in the industry are overwhelmingly negative. In contrast, I looked up Ayer's Twitter account, and I've noticed he has NOT posted or shared anything about Coyote vs. Acme's shelving. Instead, he liked and retweeted Gunn's publicity post insisting that his Superman project will enter production next year to make its July 2025 release date.

That's right. Despite the fact that Gunn saw a project he helped write and produce getting shelved, he's somehow determined his Superman project will get off the ground. The only logical reason I can come up with is Gunn doesn't really care if his stuff never gets released, because he's only taking the chaotic situation at the studio to make money on the side. If it was any other normal person, they would've at least shown some reaction to one of their projects getting cancelled. If Gunn was truly the proud artist that most of these shills make him out to be, he would've outright quit his position at WBD out of protest.

Sure, Hollywood is full of ass-kissing, but you have to question someone's lack of integrity in sucking up to WBD after one PR backlash to another. Ayer could learn a thing or two from his Suicide Squad colleague in rightly calling out the studio for its gross mismanagement, but instead, he takes a two-faced approach for a studio that demonstrably has no regard for its fans or talent. Well, again, he has no right to complain when his Suicide Squad cut continues to get locked up and people stop showing their support.

[The Laughing Fish]

David Ayer is a broken man.

I reckon it's pretty hypocritical of him to lament this, because it was brought to my attention that he liked this tweet by some bot denigrating the fans. One would have to be daft to think this doesn't include those who want to see his Suicide Squad cut released:



https://twitter.com/snydercutfan/status/1593544960099368963

As I said in the Batgirl thread, there's a big difference between playing a political game and being a blatant cheerleader with nothing to show for it, e.g. calling Gunn "the bravest man in Hollywood" today on Twitter. That statement alone deserves mockery. Hollywood may be fuelled by ego, but you gotta have some integrity for Christ's sake. Forget about cheerleading, this is straight-up, unnecessary ass-kissing. For THAT man, out of all people too.

That being said, I just want to stress something I think is important:

If David Ayer wants to move on, that's totally fine and it's his right to do so. Seeing how WBD is burning bridges with a lot of people over the last eighteen months or so since it formed, I'd even sympathise if he felt deep down the battle to get his cut out is a lost cause.

But he doesn't get to stab people in the back for showing their support for his cut and then go back and forth crying about his experience making Suicide Squad. Be honest about where you stand instead of liking hostile posts against your own fans, FFS. Doing this comes across as cowardly. If anything, it speaks volumes to Zack Snyder's character when he encouraged to fandom to continue their support with VERO posts like "Never compromise" and so on. Ayer, however, has been sending mixed messages at best. At worst, he's completely alienating everyone.

If you're wondering this Twitter like may have been an accident, I very much doubt it, because this isn't the only time. I was told he liked a similar comment earlier this year and he even quoted about "toxic fans", before he retracted upon being told the person in question trashed his work as a director.

And no, it has been over two years since the Gunn Squad cast took the opportunity to plug the Ayer cut support in hopes to get people to see their flop, and Ayer cut hasn't been released, so let's not pretend this is some political PR exercise to play nice with the CEO.

To paraphrase on my previous comment, I've washed my hands of David Ayer. Either fight for your artistry or don't, it's your choice either way. But don't be two-faced about it.

[The Laughing Fish]

Ayer wrote this comment on New Years Day, and then he deleted it.



He later wrote a tweet saying he wished WBD and Gunn all the best, but that comes across as insincere because he has now stated a few times on Twitter that he has no interest in working on a comic book project ever again. That entire comment may be what he really feels. I'd have sympathy for him if he hadn't previously been so excessive in his support for Gunn and WBD.

[The Laughing Fish]

Ayer wrote this comment on New Years Day, and then he deleted it.



He later wrote a tweet saying he wished WBD and Gunn all the best, but that comes across as insincere because he has now stated a few times on Twitter that he has no interest in working on a comic book project ever again. That entire comment may be what he really feels. I'd have sympathy for him if he hadn't previously been so excessive in his support for Gunn and WBD.

Oh boy...something CERTAINLY happened behind the scenes that made Ayer change his tune.

Back in August, Ayer claimed that Gunn had promised him his cut would come out at some point, and Ayer was still optimistic about his chances only a month ago.

All I know is my unseen film plays much better than the studio release. The interest in my cut being show[n] seems real and organic. And Gunn told me it would have it's [sic] time to be shared. He absolutely deserves to launch his DC universe without more drama about old projects. In a way I'm chained to this thing. I'm riding a tiger here and navigating this situation the best I can. Life is a very strange journey.

https://deadline.com/2023/08/david-ayer-james-gunn-suicide-squad-cut-1235457059/

I'm going to be hopeful. You know, there are a lot of people that are invested in certain narratives that don't want it to see the light of day. So there's an immense political headwind against it, because if that cut were made public, the cowardliness and the whole just general sh*ttiness of how the film's been treated, and how the actors have had this great work that they'd done taken away.

That narrative blows up once people see the movie. But it's coming. Something's going to happen. Something's going to be revealed. The truth always comes out. It always comes out.

https://deadline.com/2023/12/david-ayer-suicide-squad-ayer-cut-1235654057/

But fast forward into the first week of 2024, Ayer has now completely lost all hope and vows to move on. These are the posts he wrote today:





This tells me two things: either Gunn and DC Studios don't have much power and autonomy from the higher-ups at WBD like they pretend they have, or Gunn outright lied to Ayer. I'm going with the latter, as Gunn already has a track record for lying (e.g. claiming Affleck was interested in directing a DCU movie) and even paid lip service to supporting the Ayer cut a few years ago.



Whatever the case may be, I'm not mad or even disappointed. I just don't care anymore. WBD has already shown what kind of company they are after every bad decision and PR debacle they've created. As for Gunn...well, what else can I say? You'd have to be extremely naive to believe he would do Ayer a favour.

All that cheerleading and it was all for nothing in the end. It makes me all the more thankful we got the Snyder cut when we did.