Disney Buys Pixar

[zero]

Couple days old, but haven't seen it posted yet. Credit: imdb.

The Walt Disney Co. and Pixar Animation confirmed today (Tuesday) that they will merge in an all-stock transaction worth about $7.4 billion. Under the deal Pixar shareholders will receive 2.3 Disney shares for each share of Pixar. At Pixar's closing price of $57.57, the deal represents a 3.8 percent premium. Pixar Chairman Steve Jobs, who will join Disney's board, will receive Disney stock worth $3.56 billion. In a statement, Disney CEO Robert Iger said, "The addition of Pixar significantly enhances Disney animation, which is a critical creative engine for driving growth across our businesses. This investment significantly advances our strategic priorities, which include -- first and foremost -- delivering high-quality, compelling creative content to consumers, the application of new technology and global expansion to drive long-term shareholder value." In the same statement, Jobs said, "Disney and Pixar can now collaborate without the barriers that come from two different companies with two different sets of shareholders." But it immediately became clear that Disney's animation division, upon which the company was founded and built, will henceforth be directed by Pixar executives. Pixar President Ed Catmull, the companies said, will become president of the Pixar/Disney animation studios, while Pixar Executive John Lasseter will take on the newly created post of chief creative officer of the division. Nevertheless, both men acknowledged a career debt to Disney. Catmull remarked, "Pixar's culture of collaboration and innovation has its roots in Disney Animation. Our story and production processes are derivatives of the Walt Disney 'school' of animated filmmaking." Lasseter added: "For 20 years we have created our films in the manner inspired by Walt Disney and the great Disney animators -- great stories and characters in an environment made richer by technical advances."

Quite the interesting turn of events when everyone thought it was over between the two companies. Looks like Disney finally realized how much they were fucked if they lost Pixar.

Edited January 26, 2006 by Zero27

[apsham]

Where does it say that Toy Story 3 was cancelled, fuck corporations.

[zero]

Where does it say that Toy Story 3 was cancelled, fuck corporations.

Sorry, that was covered in a follow-up article:

Disney Studios Chairman Dick Cook officially announced Wednesday that the company is shutting down Circle 7 Productions, the unit that was set up to create computer-animated sequels to Pixar's original hit films. The Glendale-based Circle 7 was already well along in the production of Toy Story 3, according to several reports. Pixar Chairman Steve Jobs, who has made his dislike for sequels well known, remarked on Tuesday, "We feel very strongly that if the sequels are going to be made, we want the people who were involved in the original films involved in the sequels."

It's not 100% that it's cancelled, but Pixar has nothing to do with the current team working on it, the script, or anything else regarding the movie. Unless they try to re-work it, or press the reset button, I don't see them making the movie.

Edited January 26, 2006 by Zero27

[ROC]

CREDIT - Yahoo.com

'Toy Story 3' to be retooled at Pixar: sources

Thursday January 26 4:43 PM ET

The Walt Disney Co. will scrap production of the latest "Toy Story" sequel and hand the project over to Pixar Animation Studios Inc. as part of its deal to acquire Pixar, sources familiar with the situation said on Thursday.

It was not clear how the change would affect the production schedule at Pixar, which has not announced release dates for films beyond the June opening of "Cars."

Disney said on Tuesday it would acquire Pixar in a $7.4 billion stock deal expected to close by this summer.

Production had already started on "Toy Story 3" at Disney's new animation unit in Glendale, California. The unit, dubbed Circle 7, was set up while the two companies were haggling over the terms of a new distribution agreement for Pixar films.

Circle 7 will not immediately be shut down, but its future is yet to be determined, one of the sources said.

Disney's current agreement with Pixar allows it to make sequels to the animated films the two studios made together.

Sequels can be made in three to four years compared with four or five years of development for an original animated film because technical work on most of the characters has already been done.

Former Disney Chief Executive Michael Eisner ordered "Toy Story 3" into production after the two companies broke off talks over a new distribution deal nearly two years ago.

Current Disney CEO Robert Iger, who took over in October, returned all sequel-making to Pixar as part of the merger agreement.

"It was really important to me that the people who made the films originally ... get a shot at making any films that were derivative," Iger told analysts on a conference call earlier this week.

Edited January 26, 2006 by Black Math

[Skummy]

While I'm not at all happy about Pixar being bought, as I would really looking forward to seeing what they could do as a stand-alone organisation without Mousechwitz looking over them, at least they're going to be making Toy Story 3 in its entirety, rather than having Disney do it, because Disney are god-awful at producing sequels.

[zero]

While I'm not at all happy about Pixar being bought, as I would really looking forward to seeing what they could do as a stand-alone organisation without Mousechwitz looking over them, at least they're going to be making Toy Story 3 in its entirety, rather than having Disney do it, because Disney are god-awful at producing sequels.

Actually, Pixar totally has Disney by the balls in this one. It sounds like Disney is in control when you read the headline, but it's really Pixar that holds the cards. Steve Jobs is now the majority shareholder in Disney stock and he's on Disney's board of directors. And other higher-ups at Pixar are becoming higher-ups at Disney, so this deal definitely favors Pixar.

[Guest Chaos Theory]

Here is a little fact for you.

Walt Diseny was despised sequels. He was proably rolling over in his grave the whole time Michael Isner was in charge of the company. Isner fucked up the animation side of things because he fired the orginal animators, who had done Tarzan, Lion King and then they started releasing *cringes* those animated sequels.

[Guest muddatrucker]

How can he roll around in his grave? his corpse is in a freezer buried underneath disneyworld until someone can cure death.

[Dan]

That's just a myth.

[Guest muddatrucker]

Why don't you go back to your home on whore island!

[Skummy]

Here is a little fact for you.

Walt Diseny was despised sequels. He was proably rolling over in his grave the whole time Michael Isner was in charge of the company. Isner fucked up the animation side of things because he fired the orginal animators, who had done Tarzan, Lion King and then they started releasing *cringes* those animated sequels.

He hated Jews too, though, does that mean they shouldn't exist either?

[tristy]

He also loved porn.

[Colly]

He also loves... baseball!

[MGW]

Leave poor walt alone, he was a saint

Disney would have been screwed without Pixar, mabie now they have more pull things will be on the up.

I want to see a Mr Potato Head, Hamm and Rex road movie

[Skummy]

But what about the most important issue...who's going to voice Slinky?!

[MGW]

Who did it before?

[ACCBiggz]

I honestly don't see how Disney would be "screwed" without Pixar. I think they would have felt the hit, and it may have been a bit significant, but far from "Screwed". Not to mention the multitude of other companies coming up strong to challenge places like Pixar in this digital age.

I just don't see them as being screwed because Pixar only reallys deals with one part of the company, in one genre of movie making.

Who did it before?

Edited January 29, 2006 by ACCBiggz

[Skummy]

Who did it before?

The late, great Jim Varney. Second-best voice actor in the film, after John Ratzenburger.

[Bigal]

Who did it before?

The late, great Jim Varney. Second-best voice actor in the film, after John Ratzenburger.

[apsham]

Who did it before?

The late, great Jim Varney. Second-best voice actor in the film, after John Ratzenburger.

Jim Varney's dead?! I never knew that.

I got suspicious when I stopped seeing new Ernest movies at the video store.