jt04
Well-Known Member
Somebody I know, who is every bit as cynical as you, told me that Disney would never go into the cruise ship business. I'm not joking. Never is a loooooong time.
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Conversation with John Lasseter
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Somebody I know, who is every bit as cynical as you, told me that Disney would never go into the cruise ship business. I'm not joking. Never is a loooooong time.
I thought this was kind of a boring "interview". I put "interview" in quotes because it didn't seem like there were really very many questions asked of John Lasseter, or any insight that we didn't already know. The article seemed more about the food they ate than about Lasseter. I thought it was kind of strange how the author seemed so obsessed with repeatedly giving detailed descriptions of the food. :veryconfu
tirian
Well-Known Member
I admire Lasseter, but Disney is a company and needs to be run by somebody with respect for the past--which he has--and without too much nostalgia--and that's his problem. Lasseter seems to allow his rose-colored memories to override good judgement ("Cars" was way too long, for example); but he's still one of the best things going for Disney right now.
Jobs is grossly overrated.
Jobs is grossly overrated.
Tim G
Well-Known Member
I was one of them... And is still am...
WDW1974
Well-Known Member
Sorry, pal, but I'm not cynical.
I view myself as a realist.
As for the cruise line business, it was one of the smartest moves Disney made under Eisner and is still one of the few parts of P&R that is run in a (relatively) first class manner.
But airlines are a completely different beast ... I would think anyone would be able to understand why it isn't a complimentary business (DCL clearly is) and all the dozens of reasons why it would be sheer idiocy to even think about.
Tim G
Well-Known Member
ROTFL.. Robert Iger neutral??? :lol:
Iger is the radio controlled puppet, with Jobs at the controll sticks wheel...
WDW1974
Well-Known Member
Lasseter will never run Disney and he'd (except for the money, I am sure) likely never want to. Heck, I sincerely doubt he'd ever want to run the Parks and Resorts division, not that that will happen either.
His loves are Pixar, WDFA and DL ... in that order. After that, it's not that he doesn't care about WDW. It's just that he cares kind of like the way most folks on this site care about ... say DLP. Sure they care. It's a park with the Disney name on it, but most aren't ever going to visit and most therefore only likely think about it as something abstract.
I disagree about John having a problem with nostalgia.
I think it's just that aspect of the man that makes me compare him to Walt Disney ... they both had/have their feet firmly planted in the present but were/are looking ahead to the future with eyes wide open and an appreciation for technology and all the cool things you can do with it, while always respecting the past.
Nostalgia should be more then fans buying retro logo merchandise and Lasseter gets that.
That's why every film Pixar has ever made has had heart, story and great animation and why every film has been a huge creative and financial success.
I don't buy that either. And I say that as someone who has never owned an Apple product (should I be ashamed to say that?) The man built an empire based on being ahead of the techno curve and making his products must haves for geeks everywhere.
Now, I am not sure just how much influence he has at Disney ... but I do know when the man talks, people, including Bob Iger, listen.
And he is squarely in John's corner, which certainly is a good thing for people who want Disney to live up to its legacy.
WDW1974
Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kamikaze
I seem to remember the smarter people saying that getting rid of Eisner was a bad move.
As someone who got to know Michael a bit, and who once thought the man could walk on water, I'm curious as to why you feel that way ...
I personally think the man was batting about .200 by the time he was forced out.
I really think he should have resigned about the time DAK opened.
Do you really think the company was headed in the right direction under his leadership the last 5-6 years he was CEO?
Originally Posted by Kamikaze
I seem to remember the smarter people saying that getting rid of Eisner was a bad move.
As someone who got to know Michael a bit, and who once thought the man could walk on water, I'm curious as to why you feel that way ...
I personally think the man was batting about .200 by the time he was forced out.
I really think he should have resigned about the time DAK opened.
Do you really think the company was headed in the right direction under his leadership the last 5-6 years he was CEO?
Agreed! Unfortunately, there are people who think that just because Eisner woke up the company and did great things back in the 80's and early 90's, that we should continue mourning the loss of him and praising him forever. This may seem like an extreme comparison, but when Saddam Hussein first took control of Iraq, he modernized the country and brought it into the 20th century. But that doesn't mean he should be forever hailed as a great man or a great leader.
tirian
Well-Known Member
You may have misunderstood what I meant. I typed my first post on my iPhone, not my Mac, so I may not have fully explained myself, either. :lol:
Nostalgia is important, but IMO Lasseter is letting his nostalgic love for DL override what's good for the entire parks division (not that he's really in charge of it, anyway). Whether he wants to admit it or not, WDW—not his beloved DL—is the company's cash cow and *should be* their crown jewel. Sorry, I love DL, but from a business perspective it's a fact. I wish he'd care more about all the parks instead of just his "home" one.
I'm not knocking the guy's talent or vision, though. I myself am fairly nostalgic, but I wouldn't ignore the rest of the pie because I'm obsessed with my favorite piece. Heck, if he'd start caring about all the parks like he cares about DL, I'd be thrilled to see him take over Rasulo's post!
In case you couldn't tell from my first response, I love Apple products. I like Steve Jobs too. But he's not a visionary. He takes other products and revolutionizes them, but he also has a team of very talented people contributing to that; and as much as I love my Apple stuff, I have to admit that the way they shun PC conventions (like Copy and Paste on the iPhone) is frustrating. My comment had nothing to do with Disney.
So...we disagree about this. Meh. It's not important anyway. I still like your posts.
HMF
Well-Known Member
If only that were true.ROTFL.. Robert Iger neutral??? :lol:
Iger is the radio controlled puppet, with Jobs at the controll sticks wheel...
CaptainMichael
Well-Known Member
You know, I was wondering if there was a way to do this on the itouch earlier...I guess I've found my answer.
Yes, "interview" may not have been the best description, but like you, I wasn't too sure what else to call it. Maybe just an article about him, or as the article itself called it "a lunch" with John Lasseter. However, the author might describe the lunch a bit, yes, but just for the record, out of the 27 paragraphs in the article, the author mentions in passing no less the lunch or some aspect of the lunch in 7 paragraphs. Not more than a sentence or a few words. I'm not sure what article you read, but I did not see any repeated or detailed description of the food.
And I apologize there was not any insight "we" didn't already know. We aren't all as knowledgeable as you are, please don't forget. I thought there may be some Disney fans who would enjoy reading about him if they didn't already know much, and it was a current news article on a fairly obscure website, one I would guess most people wouldn't come across. Sorry if you did not find it very informative.
No worries. I got the impression that the author of the article was incredibly limited on time, so he probably did not get much of an opportunity to find out more about the person he was there to interview. He probably had to "pad" the article with all the details about the food just so that he would have those 27 paragraphs. I got the impression he wasn't a very polished interviewer. :lol: