News Lasseter taking leave of absence

[Sirwalterraleigh]

It will as long as Disney keeps Lasseter gone.

I don't think he's coming back...because as hinted here, iger doesn't feel he's really that valuable.

Two birds, one stone.

I've been under impressed with lasseter as CCO...or whatever he's called. The parks have not been really...ummm...creative. Since he's been around. Unless somebody else is paying.

I'm sure this Star tours 3.0 millennium falcon rocking platform will be GREAT...except I don't think so at all.

 

[RandomPrincess]

Isn't that just a part of maturity?

...and no, I'm not saying that all people are equal there.

I personally was attacked at 13 by a man old enough to be my father. I don't want to watch movies by a man who raped a teenage girl. No, I can't separate the fact. It's too close to me. Can I separate Lasseter for his characters? I think I can. I'm only telling my story to illustrate that you do not know where people are coming from or their reason for why they can not forget and just detach. It has nothing to do with maturity it has to go with knowing what I need to keep myself safe and sane.

 

[bclane]

If any works of Pixar are 'tainted' because of JL's involvement it would be the Toys and Cars franchises for which he has writing credits. He obviously has producer credits for everything else, but, with regard to the hands on creative process, it's mainly Toys and Cars.

Cars I can live without. Toy Story is gonna be a really sore spot for me personally for a while though. I'll probably watch Toy Story and ride TSMM again someday, but right now I just wanna puke when I think about anything Toy Story related. I didn't even go near the area today and I had been really looking forward to seeing the progress on TSL over the wall.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I personally was attacked at 13 by a man old enough to be my father. I don't want to watch movies by a man who raped a teenage girl. No, I can't separate the fact. It's too close to me. Can I separate Lasseter for his characters? I think I can. I'm only telling my story to illustrate that you do not know where people are coming from or their reason for why they can not forget and just detach. It has nothing to do with maturity it has to go with knowing what I need to keep myself safe and sane.

Understood. It's real to you and that's completely understandable. But I was more commenting on the immediate outrage form the D 23 crowd...buying product and filling a house with it isn't a "familiar" relationship with John lasseter...generally speaking.

If I went to a Star Trek convention...I wouldn't expect bill shatner to send me a crhistmas card

 

[RandomPrincess]

Understood. It's real to you and that's completely understandable. But I was more commenting on the immediate outrage form the D 23 crowd...buying product and filling a house with it isn't a "familiar" relationship with John lasseter...generally speaking.

If I went to a Star Trek convention...I wouldn't expect bill shatner to send me a crhistmas card

No, but also no one thinks Shatner is a fun friendly guy who makes amazing family movies and has created some of the greatest animated films of all time. The feel betrayed by the image projected about Lasseter and this news is only 24 hours old. It will take time for people to adjust.

 

[AEfx]

Still...even if out of context...he was right. But the first instinct - sadly - is to make the victim prove it, not make the attacker defend himself.

Hopefully that will change...

But that's the point - he was just hinting around at several people that it could have been, not making any accusations, and the "hints" he was giving out could have applied to several other (innocent) people.

 

[LAKid53]

I'm with @Sirwalterraleigh on this. We need to separate John Lasseter from the products produced by both Pixar and Disney Animation. While an obviously talented individual (with some serious problems), he didn't create these products on his own. If it makes you uncomfortable to ride TSMM or see any Pixar/Disney Animation movies for a while, then do so. But to call for an all out boycott of previously released or upcoming movies or rides does nothing more than negates the work of all those creatives involved in producing these movies and attractions...and may have the unintended consequence of affecting their livelihoods.

Reading Spirit's comments leads me to believe more revelations may be coming. And TWDC may be liable for some serious fines. Remember, sexual harassment is a federal offense. This has the potential to cost Disney some big bucks and will definitely affect their bottom line.

 

[HauntedMansionFLA]

Cars I can live without. Toy Story is gonna be a really sore spot for me personally for a while though. I'll probably watch Toy Story and ride TSMM again someday, but right now I just wanna puke when I think about anything Toy Story related. I didn't even go near the area today and I had been really looking forward to seeing the progress on TSL over the wall.

I think of Tom Hanks, Tim Allen and Randy Newman when I watch Toy Story. Never thought of Lassaster. I guess we will wait and see. Interesting timing to come out with this leading into a long holiday weekend.

 

[RandomPrincess]

So far all the sources are from Pixar, what was happening over at Disney Animation? He heads both.

 

[AEfx]

I personally can't watch anything by Stanly Kubrick after learning of his crimes.

Kubrick? What did he do?

Do you mean Roman Polanski?

If so, interesting side note - I actually had the odd circumstance of having a conversation with his victim earlier this year. She really wishes people could separate the films from what happened. She got over it a long time ago, and has been really vocal about wishing the whole world would move on.

 

[LAKid53]

So far all the sources are from Pixar, what was happening over at Disney Animation? He heads both.

He's been running Pixar longer than Disney Animation, so fewer potential victims? From what I gather, corporate climate at Disney Animation is a tad more structured and conservative than free wheeling Pixar. But those are just my guesses.

 

[RandomPrincess]

Kubrick? What did he do?

Do you mean Roman Polanski?

If so, interesting side note - I actually had the odd circumstance of having a conversation with his victim earlier this year. She really wishes people could separate the films from what happened. She got over it a long time ago, and has been really vocal about wishing the whole world would move on.

Sorry. Yes, Polanski. I can't watch some Kubrick not because of him personally but because of the violent scenes against women. I'm glad his victim has healed I'm glad for her.

 

[AEfx]

Sorry. Yes, Polanski. I can't watch some Kubrick not because of him personally but because of the violent scenes against women. I'm glad his victim has healed I'm glad for her.

After 40 years of silence, except when she was dragged out every few years by the media and the courts (trying to help him get his legal issues resolved), she finally wrote a book this year about it. You might want to check it out.

 

[bclane]

I'm with @Sirwalterraleigh on this. We need to separate John Lasseter from the products produced by both Pixar and Disney Animation. While an obviously talented individual (with some serious problems), he didn't create these products on his own. If it makes you uncomfortable to ride TSMM or see any Pixar/Disney Animation movies for a while, then do so. But to call for an all out boycott of previously released or upcoming movies or rides does nothing more than negates the work of all those creatives involved in producing these movies and attractions...and may have the unintended consequence of affecting their livelihoods.

Reading Spirit's comments leads me to believe more revelations may be coming. And TWDC may be liable for some serious fines. Remember, sexual harassment is a federal offense. This has the potential to cost Disney some big bucks and will definitely affect their bottom line.

I agree with that. I definitely appreciate the fact that a lot of people are involved in making these things and I wouldn't call for a boycott of Pixar based on what JL has done. I'm just gonna personally have a hard time separating these things in my mind for a while and that has a lot to do with how much of a huge JL fan I used to be. To me, he was Pixar and Pixar was JL.

 

[Pixieish]

Understood. It's real to you and that's completely understandable. But I was more commenting on the immediate outrage form the D 23 crowd...buying product and filling a house with it isn't a "familiar" relationship with John lasseter...generally speaking.

If I went to a Star Trek convention...I wouldn't expect bill shatner to send me a crhistmas card

No one here aside from those who have met him in person have even insinuated that they had a "familiar" relationship with him.

I'm with @Sirwalterraleigh on this. We need to separate John Lasseter from the products produced by both Pixar and Disney Animation. While an obviously talented individual (with some serious problems), he didn't create these products on his own. If it makes you uncomfortable to ride TSMM or see any Pixar/Disney Animation movies for a while, then do so. But to call for an all out boycott of previously released or upcoming movies or rides does nothing more than negates the work of all those creatives involved in producing these movies and attractions...and may have the unintended consequence of affecting their livelihoods.

Reading Spirit's comments leads me to believe more revelations may be coming. And TWDC may be liable for some serious fines. Remember, sexual harassment is a federal offense. This has the potential to cost Disney some big bucks and will definitely affect their bottom line.

No one is suggesting a boycott - I think those of us who have been victims or who admired Lasseter are trying to process the information and talking about it is often the best way to do so.

Kubrick? What did he do?

Do you mean Roman Polanski?

If so, interesting side note - I actually had the odd circumstance of having a conversation with his victim earlier this year. She really wishes people could separate the films from what happened. She got over it a long time ago, and has been really vocal about wishing the whole world would move on.

Kubrick may not have been a $exual predator, but what he did to Shelly Duvall during the filming of The Shining could be considered psychological abuse.

 

[the.dreamfinder]

That's not how the "outrage machine" sees it, though. In a lot of circles, people refuse to watch Miramax films period now.

It's kind of interesting culturally to watch people push push push but when they start to realize the impact of what they are pushing, they want to pull back.

In this case, thankfully for Disney, the general public really doesn't know who the hell John Lasseter is.

Then in 10 years, like this will happen.

 

[Travel Junkie]

I have spent some time digesting this and although I am heartsick, I have no doubts it is real. My daughter is an animator in CA. She has participated in panel discussions at Pixar headquarters on "Women in Animation". There aren't many of them. I have great photos of her at Pixar. It would have been the job of her dreams. She belongs to a professional group of women in the area. It is really hard for female animators to be taken seriously and uncomfortable situations happen often in larger studios.

John, however, wrong, wrong, wrong, and Just no. I can tell there is more to this story.

I think this is an underreported part of the story involving all of these abusers. We talk about oh how will Disney make up for the void of JL being out or I'll miss the contributions of so and so. All of these years and decades they have been suppressing in one way or another the creative work of others. Hopefully one of the positives that comes out of this is the future workplace will be welcoming to all people and so their creativeness and imagination can finally be demonstrated on and off screen.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

Yes...but a bit of detachment from media product is usually warranted, no?

Would you have mature detachment when served a meal prepared by a man who molested your daughter?

Why should the work of a molester not be tainted? Especially, precisely, a creative product. If you have a great painting in your living room, and years later you find out the painter in between painting it molested your 15 year old, would you leave it hanging?

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Would you have mature detachment when served a meal prepared by a man who molested your daughter?

Why should the work of a molester not be tainted? Especially, precisely, a creative product. If you have a great painting in your living room, and years later you find out the painter in between painting it molested your 15 year old, would you leave it hanging?

I think it's hard to make that leap...though I'm not discounting anyone's right to make it.

As others have stated...John lasseter being a creep doesn't negate the impact of a Chinese made woody toy.

Do I wish that those properties weren't tainted? Sure...who doesn't? But I can't make it personal from my perspective. Others can and I have no problem with that.

Disney fans tend to be very susceptible to group think, and also attaching feelings to things that are ultimately inanimate...
...most of us are just consumers. That's where the context should be.

I'm not downplaying the emotional kick that anyone who has dealt with these issues has...not for a second. I'm not in their shoes.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

But that's the point - he was just hinting around at several people that it could have been, not making any accusations, and the "hints" he was giving out could have applied to several other (innocent) people.

But if he implicated powerful people...he would have been destroyed behind the scenes and been wrecked in courts financially...

Because the power system is rigged in that fashion.

He really couldn't do more at that time. And his reputation would have disqualified him within many...including possibly law enforcement.

What's the saying?...power is about money, and all other things are about power.

That's a fact.