Okay, first of all, I found this in the NY Post, which isn't the NY Times, but that doesn't mean it can't be true.
IT'S MIKE OR ME
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.
IT'S MIKE OR ME
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.
