Steve Jobs wants to return to Disney if ..

[Giaguara]

http://www.nypost.com/business/18437.htm :

April 9, 2004 -- Steve Jobs wants to return to the Disney fold if Michael Eisner is ousted as CEO, The Post has learned.

In January, Jobs' Pixar Animation Studios dealt a serious blow to Eisner when it announced it was ending talks on extending a lucrative movie deal with Disney.

But lately, Jobs has told associates in Hollywood that he would like to re-up with Disney if Eisner is pushed out, according to sources close to Jobs.

When Pixar ended the talks with Disney, Jobs said in a statement that the company would enter talks with other studios. But now those talks are on hold as Jobs waits to see what Disney's board of directors does in the wake of a shareholder revolt against Eisner, sources say.

Competing studios are salivating at the chance to ink a deal with Pixar, which has produced such hit movies as "Toy Story," "Monsters Inc." and "Finding Nemo."

If Pixar and Disney do not eventually re-ignite talks, Warner Bros. is believed to have a leg up over other studios in the race to forge a partnership with Pixar, sources say.

Other studios, including MGM, Sony and Fox, are said to be interested. Both Fox and The Post are owned by News Corp.

At Disney's annual meeting in March, a stunning 43 percent of Disney shareholders voted to withhold support for Eisner. The board immediately responded by stripping Eisner of his chairmanship, but it kept him as CEO.

The shareholder vote followed an aggressive grass-roots campaign by former board members Roy Disney and Stanley Gold, who resigned last year and have been vocally pushing for Eisner's ouster.

The current deal between Disney and Pixar expires in 2005. The companies still have two more movies to make under the partnership: "The Incredibles" and "Cars."

The current deal is extremely lucrative for Disney, which receives half the profits plus a 12.5 percent distribution fee. By some estimates, Disney and Pixar will split between $800 million and $1 billion in profits from "Finding Nemo" alone.

Under a new deal, Pixar is believed to be offering only a distribution fee, rather than a split of the profits. Pixar also is seeking to retain the rights to the films it will produce.

Under the current pact, Disney keeps the rights for most of the films produced.

Interesting..

I know people who love Apple but hate Disney [because of Micky Mouse aka Disney influenced copyrights and Disney having used public domain fairytales, made them to their hit movies and thus getting the copyright for originally public domain stories like Cinderella, Snow White etc] so the only reason they would see / did see Disney/Pixar movies was because of Pixar (and Jobs) - I wonder what their thoughts and reactions are? Mine are probably still the "Mickey Mouse must die"

 

[bobw]

oh no, not Mickey Mouse

Gia, careful. You could be deported for messing with our Mickey Mouse.

 

[evildan]

I don't know... I think it's time that little mouse gets shown the door.

 

[chevy]

http://www.nypost.com/business/18437.htm :



Interesting..

I know people who love Apple but hate Disney [because of Micky Mouse aka Disney influenced copyrights and Disney having used public domain fairytales, made them to their hit movies and thus getting the copyright for originally public domain stories like Cinderella, Snow White etc] so the only reason they would see / did see Disney/Pixar movies was because of Pixar (and Jobs) - I wonder what their thoughts and reactions are? Mine are probably still the "Mickey Mouse must die"

Disney doesn't have any rights on Cinderella, Snow White, Pocahontas, .. or any other older legend. They have the rights on Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck,...

 

[Satcomer]

I seem to remember a couple of years ago and Eisner bad mouthing Apple's Rip, Burn promotion in front of a Congressional Committee on illegal down loading. Wasn't it the same Committee that heard what's face drummer from some stupid forgotten rock group?

 

[mi5moav]

I think you are correct about Eisner up on the podium. I don't think the SSSC act got anywhere. I think it had to do with embeding some form of copy protection in every single kind of electronic device (crazy) not just about internet downloads. Alot of x's start crapping out their mouths on things they know are dead in the water before they go anywhere. Eisner knew it wasn't going anywhere so why not give a quick 5 minute BS session and throw in a couple jabs at Apple.

 

[mindbend]

One of the many great historical books about Apple and Steve Jobs (can't remember which one, I get them all confused) talks about how Steve renegotiated the Pixar/Disney deal after Toy Story became a smash. The reason that's interesting is because Pixar was already under contract for X more movies, so re-negotiation wasn't really supposed to be part of the equation. Leave it to Steve to make it part of the equation.

This is how I envision that meeting going:

Steve: "I'm here to renegotiate our deal now that Toy Story is huge and put Pixar on the map."

Eisner: "That's great. Too bad, you're already under contract for X more movies."

Steve: "Guess what. I don't care. I'll drop you in a second, beeatch, and take my company elsewhere and tie you up in legal fees for years, ruining your reputation in the process."

Eisner: "What was that part about renegotiation again?"

Steve: "Like I was saying..."

 

[onegoodpenguin]

Disney doesn't have any rights on Cinderella, Snow White, Pocahontas, .. or any other older legend. They have the rights on Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck,...

I believe what the author intended to point out was that Disney has repeatedly capitalized on stories and characters in the public domain while influencing the copyright laws that will potentially allow them to keep ownership of their own intellectual 'property' for far too many years to come.

I am generally opposed to the idea of a franchise that extends far beyond the life of the one who conceived it.

 

[jackdahi]

I think Pixar and Disney are a match made in heaven. I consider Pixar the best CG animations studio on the planet. And Disney is the most recognized name in animation on this planet.
Eisner helped Disney when he took over long ago but I believe his time has come. He should be replaced by someone who is willing to take the Disney into new heights.

Hey Giaguara, Mikey is an American Icon and a hero.