The buzz coming into WALL-E was that the films designers were inspired by Apple’s product design in their creation of the EVE robot. Pixar went as far as inviting Apple designer Jonathan Ive to consult with Pixar artists. Today’s story in AdAge suggests Pixar went… Read More »WALL-E and Apple: Product Placement or Product Inspiration?
Mercury News reports that Steve Jobs has been found to be in the clear when it comes to criminal charges related to the backdated options he received as CEO. Backdating isn’t always illegal, but steps must be followed, including disclosure rules. In Apple’s case, the company has admitted the grant to Jobs, approved in December… Read More »Steve Jobs avoids criminal charges in backdated options probe
Joseph Menn of the Los Angeles Times takes a look at what Disney CEO Bob Iger has been doing, and how he’s been doing it. In his short tenure, Iger has amassed goodwill by patching up feuds he inherited from his predecessor, Michael Eisner. Yet he has limited his public exposure to carefully selected events,… Read More »What About Bob (Iger)?
CNN has a transcript online of an interview with Bob Iger (President & CEO of The Walt Disney Company, in case you are new around here), who was interviewed by Andrew Stevens: Stevens: Michael Eisner was at Disney for 21 years, you were his number two for five years, how important was it for you… Read More »Bob Iger Interview on CNN
A few choice quotes from around the horn: The revolt succeeded at the company’s annual meeting last year in Philadelphia, when 45 percent of the votes cast were withheld from Mr. Eisner and the board stripped him of his chairman’s title. Five months later, Mr. Eisner announced he would not renew his contract past 2006.New… Read More »Around the Horn on SaveDisney’s Announcement
“We feel sick about Disney doing [Pixar] sequels,” said Steve Jobs, the Apple chief who also heads Pixar, at the height of animosities between the two. At the time, Mr Jobs said: “If you look at their sequels, like Lion King 1½ . . . it’s pretty embarrassing.” Alright, there’s yet another story on the… Read More »Disney and Pixar sitting in a tree…
In listening to the Pixar quarterly analyst meeting, I came away with the distinct impression that Steve Jobs was willing to wait until the next CEO of Disney was announced. Jobs said he expected a game of musical chairs would occur in the film industry and it didn’t make sense to finalize a deal until… Read More »The Pixar Mating Season
The New York Times and the LA Times have two good articles on Eisner’s exit strategy. Both speculate that a deminished Eisner role could entice Steve Jobs to rehitch Pixar to Disney’s horse. Disney’s has had a cash cow in its joint venture with Pixar, which in some years has generated 50 percent of the… Read More »Eisner Out Means Pixar In?