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Steve Jobs Knocks Michael Eisner, Disney Films
by , 11:20 AM EST, February 14th, 2005
The LA Times reports that Apple Computer, Inc. and Pixar Animation Studios CEO Steve Jobs has shot back at Walt Disney Co. CEO Michael Eisner. Mr. Eisner had said Pixar's animated characters were "pretty pathetic" compared to those under development for Disney's upcoming film "Rapunzel Unbraided."
In response, Mr. Jobs said sarcastically: "Our films don't stack up to 'Atlantis,' 'Emperor's New Groove' or 'Treasure Planet.'" Those films were all created in-house at Disney, and were box office flops. Mr. Jobs also called Mr. Eisner a "loose cannon."
The comments came during Pixar's fourth-quarter financials conference call, during which Mr. Jobs insisted, both directly and indirectly, that Pixar was prepared to pursue distribution options that did not include Disney. Pixar's final feature film release with Disney, "Cars," is slated for the spring of 2006. The company's previous films have all been extremely successful at the box office, and include both "Toy Story" films, "Monsters, Inc.," "Finding Nemo," and "The Incredibles."
Observer Comments
My 3-year-old sides with Jobs on this one. I think he's seen "Emperor's New Groove" once. He'd watch "Toy Story 2" 24-7 if he could right now. He went though a period with "Monsters Inc." just like that. A similar, though a little more subdued phase with "Nemo" and he really injoyed "The Incredibles."
Of course, this probably just illustrates why Eisner will be unemployed soon.
*Engaging Conspiracy Engine*
Hmmm, I wonder what it would be worth to Disney to sabotage the release of Cars? I mean, what's one more flop to them? Might it be worth it to screw over Pixar with a manufactured "flop" to at least give them some sort of "blemish" on their record?
*Disengage Conspiracy Engine*
Nah, never happen. The amount of $ a Pixar release is bound to generate (including merchandise) is too much to pass up. Particularly if your studio is desperate for some kind of hit....even one made outside of your studio.
Mon Feb 14, 2005 2:25 pm Subject:
QuoteB-sabre wrote:
Nah, never happen. The amount of $ a Pixar release is bound to generate (including merchandise) is too much to pass up. Particularly if your studio is desperate for some kind of hit....even one made outside of your studio.
Also don't forget Disney owns the rights to produce sequels, so they aren't going to tank anything.
I agree that Pixar just makes better written and voiced films than Disney. That said, I really like Emperors New Groove. The animation was very average but David Spade saved the film. His humor doesn't translate well to little kids, though which is probably why it didn't do well at the theaters.
Anyone know who did this Robots movie that just came out?
Mon Feb 14, 2005 9:09 pm Subject: EIsner feeling threatened by Jobs.
It's unlikely that Disney would sabotage a Pixar film, few in the company are still loyal to Eisner after his dismal performance as CEO of Disney. Eisner is feeling threatened by Jobs after analysts began talking him up an ideal candidate for Eisner's replacement.
I'm not a fan of Steve Jobs, but the reality is that he's an infinitely more successful CEO than Eisner, and Jobs has the ability to turn everyone's heads in whatever industry he works in. And of course, he's obsessive about creating great products.
He understands technology and the movie business, and has an uncanny ability to change the direction of companies in a very short time. Skills that would be highly valuable to a company with a treasure trove of films in a world that's just starting to discover downloadable movies.
Probably won't ever happen, but you can see why Eisner would be trying to shoot down Jobs.
Mon Feb 14, 2005 11:17 pm Subject: "Emperor's New Groove"
QuoteB-sabre wrote:
*Engaging Conspiracy Engine*
Hmmm, I wonder what it would be worth to Disney to sabotage the release of Cars? I mean, what's one more flop to them? Might it be worth it to screw over Pixar with a manufactured "flop" to at least give them some sort of "blemish" on their record?
Actually, a few higher-ups at Disney DID try to sabotage Finding Nemo's release ... trying to inject stories into the mainstream media suggesting that Nemo was suffering numerous story problems, wasn't nearly as strong as their previous films, and so on. Obviously, the plan didn't work out so well.
But, at the time, Disney and Pixar were still in negotiations, and the plan was to try to suppress Nemo's box office to scare Pixar into jumping back on board and settle for Disney's higher demands at the same time. Now that their split seems pretty definite, it's more likely that Disney will want to soak all the profit and sequel rights out of Cars as they can.
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