Breaking the Mouse
January 29th, 2004 - 3:01 pm
Pixar Studios — Disney’s last surefire hitmaker of animated films — is going its own way:
Pixar Animation Studios Inc. said Thursday it ended talks with Walt Disney Co. to extend a five-picture deal for Disney to distribute Pixar films.
Pixar said it would begin talks with other companies to distribute its films starting in 2006.
“After ten months of trying to strike a deal with Disney, we’re moving on,” Pixar CEO Steve Jobs said in a statement. “We’ve had a great run together — one of the most successful in Hollywood history — and it’s a shame that Disney won’t be participating in Pixar’s future successes.”
And with that, I’d have to guess that Mike Eisner is history.
Obviously, things like ‘quality animation’ are antiquated and simply not enough to support a growing concern like Disnopolis. Let the also-rans worry about things like ‘entertainment value’, Eisner’s diversifying the company into things like pudding pops and Segways – the wave of the future!
Walt is spinning in his freezer right now…
We can only hope he’s history. The guy had three seconds of brilliance tempered with a dozen years of stupidity.
Now, the interesting part is going to be seeing what Roy is up to with his bajillion dollars and kindred spirit.
To say nothing of the rights to a large number of Disney’s feature films.
I don’t know anything on the inside of this, Stephen, but I’m not sure this is a done deal. This may only be a salvo in negotiations with more to come.
I bought a few shares of Pixar a couple of years ago, so I’m really happy with this news. Now, if I could just figure out what company they might go with for distribution…
Pixar’s movies have grossed something like half a billion dollars on average… and the trend is upwards. Disney’s contribution is distribution & marketing, not creative… Methinks Disney is the big loser in this.
For those of you wondering about what Roy Disney is doing:
http://savedisney.com
Roy is trying to get shareholders to vote out Eisner. I thought Roy had a chance to succeed BEFORE the Pixar announcement.
I agree with our host. Eisner is done.
From the local area, the #1 afternoon talkshow hosts, Roe & Garry, might be leaving WLS which is owned by DIS. Very, very foolish on management’s part.
If you’re interested, wlsam.com, 2-6 p CST. Roe’s still on because his contract runs differently. Still funny, not the same. I’ve been listening to Garry since Disco Demolition. That should date me.
Hvae you seen the trailers for the new Disney movie “Miricle”? It’s about the 1980 Winter Olympics US Hockey team. The trailers looked good, and made me think Disney might be pulling its head out of its ass.
Oh, well, I guess not.