Disney's Iger Has Good Talks with Pixar

[CaptainMichael]

Reuter's reports:

Walt Disney Company Chief Executive-elect Bob Iger on Tuesday said he had "really good" talks with Pixar Animation Studios but had not struck a new distribution deal, says Reuters.

Iger said it was too early to tell if a new Pixar agreement would be reached. "I'm not sure I really want to give you odds. We've had really good discussions," Iger said.

Disney has released all Pixar films, from Toy Story to The Incredibles, but last year Pixar called off talks with Disney on a deal that would extend beyond Cars, the next and last picture covered by the current distribution deal.

"The fact that we are having a dialogue is a really good thing, and it has been really healthy," Iger added. "We'd certainly like to find a way to continue to do business with them, and I think the feeling is mutual."




Glad to hear that they are talking!

 

[tigsmom]

Its a step in the right direction. Lets hope things works out.

 

[TheDisneyMagic]

Ahh that is nice to hear, I would like Disney to be back on good terms with Pixar, I wonder what would happen to this new CGI department Disney them selves are in the process of setting up would come to if the two companies would work together again.

 

[Epcot82Guy]

I personally think Iger has enough background to work that out in a diplomatic way. I think he could find a niche for both and could put more emphasis on 2-D or hybrid animation. I think it would be great if he re-opened the Florida studio, which his current trends would make a viable possibility, I think. He seems to be doing some things right. Let's hope it continues.

 

[sheryl2007]

What was the problem between the Disney and Pixar ?? , I missed that news.

 

[CTXRover]

What was the problem between the Disney and Pixar ?? , I missed that news.

The short story is that Eisner and Steve Jobs (head of Pixar) disliked each other a lot. Both had a lot of bad blood and the jabs at each other after the original talks we're called off were evidence of that.

The more complex answer is an inability to come to a compromise on a new Pixar deal. As it stands, Disney distributes the Pixar films, helps finance them, and then gets over 50% of the profits (someone can correct me if I'm wrong in the %). Also, under the current contract, Disney has rights to all Pixar films created thus far and through Cars, allowing Disney the right to make sequels and continue to see revenue from such characters as Buzz Lightyear and Nemo. Steve Jobs was demanding a new contract that would be ridiculous for Disney to agree to. Basically Jobs wanted to give Disney a flat distribution fee for each new movie and allow Pixar to keep all the profits. Apparently, Disney/Eisner agreed to go that way and did not have a problem with that part of the new proposed contract. The relationship would have been similar to the Lucas agreement with Fox which gets a flat 50 million for distributing Star Wars no matter how well the films do. However, Pixar was also demanding that Disney give up all their rights to the previous films basically stripping Disney of any future potential revenue from popular Pixar characters like Woody and Sully. Striking a deal with those demands would have meant a huge loss for Disney and simply keeping the names Disney/Pixar together for the sake of keeping them together would have been wrong on Eisner's part and Jobs had to have known that. A lot of the demands were because of an inability to compromise on both Eisner and Job's part.

Jobs has long said he would wait until Eisner was out of there before discussing any new deals with Disney. Considering he's now had over a year to find a new partner since he called off talks with Disney and has shown little to no interest in other studios up to this point, my guess is he would like to see Disney and Pixar stay together. Hopefully Iger and Jobs are better friends than Eisner and Jobs. At least Jobs has commended Iger publicly.

 

[bgraham34]

I would hate to see Pixar leave Disney , but I would also hate to see Pixar get the toy and everything else rights and not see much Pixar stuff in the parks anymore.

 

[WDWnahtazu]

Basically Jobs wanted to give Disney a flat distribution fee for each new movie and allow Pixar to keep all the profits. Apparently, Disney/Eisner agreed to go that way and did not have a problem with that part of the new proposed contract. The relationship would have been similar to the Lucas agreement with Fox which gets a flat 50 million for distributing Star Wars no matter how well the films do. However, Pixar was also demanding that Disney give up all their rights to the previous films basically stripping Disney of any future potential revenue from popular Pixar characters like Woody and Sully.

But is that really a "bad" deal for disney? If it is either that deal or nothing then i wouldnt have a problem with it. Honestly, where would disney be without Pixar for the last decade? Stitch may be a success but he's nowhere close to the immortality that Buzz Lightyear has struck. In 25 years there aren't going to be any parents handing down a Chicken Little doll and saying "when i was your age i used to carry this everywhere".

Anyway, im much more on Pixars side on this. Pixar created these characters and in the last 20 years Disney has proven that they prefer milking franchises dry rather than building them. Toy Story 3 should be a Pixar film or it should never exist.

 

[KevinPage]

But is that really a "bad" deal for disney?

Absolutely. Disney would basically be giving up all the revenue they still generate from the prior films just for the "privilege" to distrubute the newer Pixar films. Financially Disney will make ALOT more $$$ keeping the rights to all the prior films and not getting paid ONLY a flat distribution deal for the new ones. Even people who detest Eisner, understand there is no way for Disney to agree to this deal.

Honestly, where would disney be without Pixar for the last decade? Stitch may be a success but he's nowhere close to the immortality that Buzz Lightyear has struck. I

Disney has had the luxury of the Pixar "crutch" over the years, but where would Pixar be without the markering might and name recognition of Disney to get them started? It's a 2 way street. Disney helped Pixar more than Pixar helped Disney in the beginning, now Pixar is better for Disney than Disney is for Pixar.

Stitch sells more merchandise than Buzz. Stitch is the 3rd largest revenue generator behind Pooh & Mickey.

n 25 years there aren't going to be any parents handing down a Chicken Little doll and saying "when i was your age i used to carry this everywhere".

CL looks quite good, you never know how these things will turn out. Surely no one thought Toy Story would be the monster it is today.

Toy Story 3 should be a Pixar film or it should never exist.

I totally agree. But it's not really a matter of who's side we should be on. Pixar's demands were ridiculous from a business perspective, so I hardly have any sympathy for them. Let's hope both sides can be happy with a future arrangement. If not, the silver lining is that Disney now has to fly on its own wings or die trying. More competition is good for everyone.

 

[dizneeboy]

This announcement seems a little forced to me. Why would they want to divulge information like this for any other reason than to take the focus off the law suit and/or negate the claim that he isn't the right man for the job.

hmmm...

 

[CaliSurfer182]

Pixar might be doing fine now, but the Disney name has been doing fine for a lot longer. Pixar needs Disney for its name and its huge distribution arm. Just think if they seperate how is Pixar going to sell its movies? *#$%^&@ the New CG animated movie from the Pixar studios that helped to bring you Toy Story and Finding Nemo but not the studio that owns them!

A deal with Disney makes just as much sense to Pixar, sure it needs to be tweaked, but not to the extent that Steve Jobs first proposed.

 

[DisneyFan 2000]

Pixar might be doing fine now, but the Disney name has been doing fine for a lot longer. Pixar needs Disney for its name and its huge distribution arm.

News flash. Pixar has a name, and at these times, a much more respectable one than Disney's.