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Pixar Creator has the last laugh. An 8 Billion dollar one.

philly.com — What could be better than getting fired and then being hired/bought back for 8 Billion dollars. That's revenge at its finest!

Who dugg this? Made popular Jun 9, 2006

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  • emosewami, on 10/12/2007, -1/+35Some people just love doing what they do.
  • shoover, on 10/12/2007, -2/+31Cars won't flop. It's Pixar and reviewers like it. It may not be the biggest grossing Pixar film, but there I can't conceive of this film not doing well.

    73% @ Rotten Tomatoes: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/10004076-cars/
  • 5thfreedom, on 10/12/2007, -1/+30Where is the submitter getting 8 billion? All I saw in the article was 7 billion.
  • shoover, on 10/12/2007, -8/+30Maybe poster is Canadian? Or really bad at math?
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -17/+35How about jesus ***** christ not everything is about Apple.
  • Kypt, on 10/12/2007, -1/+17If I were that rich I would still work. When you have the money you can really work doing what you love without worrying about about putting bread on table. He was lucky enough to put bread on table by doing what he loves. If I were rich and didn't work I'd feel useless.
  • 2L84ME, on 10/12/2007, -2/+18Unlike your dreadful jokes.
  • saralk, on 10/12/2007, -1/+11That guy wasn't personally bought back for $8billion, the company he worked for was.
  • DevanJedi, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9Lasseter is not a "Pixar Creator"... that would be Lucas, who founded Pixar as a unit of LucasFilm. It was later purchased by Steve Jobs.
  • adamcrown, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10John Lasseter first worked for Disney as a skipper on the Jungle Cruise in Disneyland and now he's been put in charge of the theme park attractions.

    If you've ever been on the Jungle Cruise you'd know that it's pretty crazy that one of the Skippers would practically end up running the place.
  • xswag, on 10/12/2007, -4/+12I'm going to see Cars today. I don't think it will flop. Looking forward to a sequel for The Incredibles.

    Here is some history on the Pixar/Disney history.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pixar
  • cawpin, on 10/12/2007, -8/+16@hereisandy - That's why you'll never be rich or respected.
  • Alegis, on 10/12/2007, -3/+11It's relevant to the situation of being kicked and then bought back.

    Getting fired from the company you founded, that's goddamn ridiculous.
  • MetricLobster, on 10/12/2007, -2/+10 I am given to belive from this article that the 2d animation was shut down by "suits" (woot quotes im so cool) at disney because they thought there was no longer a market for traditionaly animated movies (they are wrong of course.... disney movies just started to suck balls so we all watched something better) ..... if John Lasseter gets a 2d studio up and running again I would be willing to bet that only good stories would be made (i base this assumption off the fact that Pixar has a good track record with stories..... sometimes there character designs might suck a little but there over all stories have allways been good as far as I rember)

    now lets hear a giant YA for long run-on sentences.... *gets kicked in the ass by a really fat guy in a star wars tshirt*
  • Kypt, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9In effect it was him. He left to create this company and now he's back w/ that much money. They could've saved that money if they had just listened to him in the first place.
  • electrichead, on 10/12/2007, -3/+10$8 billion, but Pixar has $1 billion cash so it equates to $7 billion
  • Poco, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8If I was that rich I might still want to work, but no one would want to hire me because I wouldn't bother showing up to meetings.
  • jaxshores, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Very interesting article. I always knew Disney was run by bureaucrats.
  • imtigger2, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6adam, you'd be correct... in not being 100% sure. The Disney Animation Studios cleared out it's 2D talent with the false vision that it would allow them to move into 'up to date', 3D graphics.. similar to Pixar. It was a horrible mistake that put many very talented artists and storytellers out of work. Artists that 'could' have been used to create new stories and artwork even for the 3D animation, which 'still' requires talented artists.

    Their 1st film was Chicken Little. Not a flyaway hit by any means. So, with Michael Eisner gone, Bob Iger decided to just buy Pixar outright (a great move in my opinion) and meld them with Disney. Not only that, but they get Lasseter as the man in charge, not only of the Animation division, but Attractions as well. I'm confident he'll do the company some good. Between Iger and Lasseter, they've already started the process of rehiring all that lost talent from the 'old' Animation Dept.
  • RobotCitizen, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Unfortunately, what happened to Lassiter is all too common. Foreward thinker tries to advise a calcified old institution and gets slapped down for it. At least this time the turnaround was really sweet.
  • Guder, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6I won't say purchased... maybe almost stole. Or sold to Steve Jobs at fire sale prices...
  • imtigger2, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5BTW... Disney's purchase of Pixar had two purposes. They got the talent, and they aquired their biggest competitor. It was a LOT of money, but a smart business move. Pixar films aren't only about the films themselves, this gives Disney an open license to YEARS of kickbacks from sequels, merchandise and theme park attractions. They'll make plenty off the purchase, and it will affect their bottom line in the theaters, stores and theme parks.
  • SyDIGG, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4People who get rich tends to love what they do and is good at it.
  • griz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Disney has not owned Pixar until recetly. You are thinking of "Disney/Pixar" films which are joint ventures between Pixar Animation Studios and Disney.
  • Chompy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Ever since Lasseter lobbied for and got Miyazaki's films released here in the United States, I've worshipped at his feet. He's good people, and his taking over the theme parks and studios represents the best possible ending to the whole Disney/Pixar saga. The man is a living national treasure.
  • deepsub, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Maybe George Lucas felt sorry for Steve Jobs after he got ousted from Apple.

    "Pixar was founded as the Graphics Group, one third of the Computer Division of Lucasfilm that was launched in 1979 with the hiring of Edwin Catmull from the New York Institute of Technology (NYIT). After years of remarkable research success, and key milestones in films such as Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and Young Sherlock Holmes, the group was purchased in 1986 by current Apple Computer, Inc. CEO Steve Jobs after he left the company he founded with Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. He paid US$5 million to George Lucas and put US$5 million as capital into the company. The sale reflected George Lucas' desire to stop the cash flow losses associated with his 7 year research projects associated with new entertainment technology tools, as well as his company's new focus on creating entertainment product rather than tools. A contributing factor was cash flow difficulties following Lucas' 1983 divorce concurrent with the sudden drop off in revenues from Star Wars licenses following the release of Return of the Jedi. Lucas also felt that a lot of the work being done by Pixar was redundant, with Industrial Light and Magic doing similar work."

    (From Wikipedia)
  • SyDIGG, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Movies or any art for that matter tend to be a rehash of something one way or another. Recorded history is a bitch for originality.
  • fiendlama, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3John Lasseter said this morning on the Alice morning show (here in SF) that when they start any movie they watch a bunch of older movies with similar stories. Doc Hollywood was one of them. So yeah, I think you're right it's not a new story, but rarely any story is.
  • imtigger2, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3saralk, you are absolutely correct. In fact, Jobs owned more of Pixar than Lasseter did. As well, this was a huge stock deal, not a boat load of cash like most are thinking.
  • xombiefarts, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2bonnie hunt is a hottie, to bad shes a car :(
  • thedberg, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Straight up...I want time and money. I want a setup that will bring me lifetime residuals and time. The Queen Mary 2 has a 3 month cruise and I know a lot of people who can afford the money to go on the cruise. However, I only know one person who can afford the time. Therefore, don't waste your time working. According to the Social Security Agency, Jobs have a 98% failure rate at getting people financially independent by age 65. Thus, start your own business, put in about 2-5 years of hard work and then cash in on the benefits of being a business owner. Thank heavens for the United States and its capitalist ways!
  • xswag, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2The link that I followed to the story originally said something about 8 Bil. My mistake.
  • Chompy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1That $2B is just box office; it doesn't include DVDs/merchandising/etc.. and you're forgetting about how investment works. You pay money now for a future benefit. If Pixar continues to be as successful as it has been, it will earn much more than $8B over it's lifetime.
  • imtigger2, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1badump bump, phsssss
  • adamcrown, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I'm not 100% sure but I think that the 2D departments were "shut down" because all of the actuall animation was outsourced not because disney wasn't going to be making anymore 2D movies (although it has been a while).
  • beesforbreath, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3Can you really say any recent work of Disney/Pixar *hasn't* been a rehash?
  • cryonix, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1finding nemo... i cant think of any other story thats like that... won awards for original screenplay.
  • Metal_Guru, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@ cryonix - Yet their were several law suits about it ripping off several novels out there. Not saying that's conclusive by any means. Can't remember what the outcomes were tho.
  • imtigger2, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1You mean you love that they benefited greatly from purchasing new talent, and merged with their biggest competitor! Cool! Me too! I too think it was a great purchase on Disney's part.
  • Lutz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1he had a share hold of 51% before Disney bought Pixar, now he's a mayor shareholder in Disney, I think it's 7% or something like that but I'm not sure.
  • imtigger2, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Just to clarify, Jobs isn't a major shareholder (by definition), but he is one of the largest single shareholders of Disney stock (not meaning how big 'he' is of course). ;)
  • philmunt, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1The Incredibles 2, Toy Story 3, Finding Nemo 2 - There is Disneys money back.
  • nesagwa, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1The Corporate part of Disney DID shut down Disney Animation Studios. First the Orlando studio located in Disney World (They did Tarzan, Lilo and Stitch, Pocahontas, Atlantis, etc.) and then later they shut down the California studio (Just about everything else for the big screen) and then about a year later they shut down the Australia studio (They did all of the TV animation like House of Mouse and stuff).

    The animators Ive talked to that worked at Orlando said that they saw it coming for a few years given the VERY bad decisions being made as far as movies being made go (Brother Bear, Home on the Range, and one last movie that got kicked around and changed so many times it ended up never being released and was what they were working on when the word came that they were being shut down).

    Kind of a ***** situation. Especially since 3D movies are a dime a dozen (there are like 10 different CG kids movies out this year alone). The only 2D animated movie Ive seen out in a while was Curious George (lots of ex-disney animators worked on that movie).

    3D Is just a fad right now, I think eventually when they realize that churning out mediocre movies because its faster and cheaper doesn't really equal quality or even profit.
  • dougmc, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I just saw Cars today. It was great!
  • xswag, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I just got back from Cars and it wasn't my favorite Pixar movie. Funny in areas but by the end of the movie I was a little bored. Talking cars just didn't do it for me. Give me The Incredibles II. Next summer the Pixar movie is about a rat that lives in Paris.
  • imtigger2, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1What r u talking about!? High School Musical ROX!! ;)
  • magic6435, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0"73% @ Rotten Tomatoes: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/10004076-cars/"

    Dude MI3 has a 70% at rottentomatoes so you cant trust any of that crap MI3 was worse than mi2 and that just takes pure talent.
  • kgool, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/series/Pixar.php

    I am sure licensing is huge part of the deal. I think Dinsey distributed Pixar's movies anyway and probably paid them a fortune in licensing to get Buzz, Woody, Nemo, and company on the shelves in the Disney stores.

  • maiku00, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1What a pimp
  • speedyrev, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1They could have hired me for half that price. ;)
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