Pixar's Q4 earnings nearly quintuple (http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?siteid=mktw&guid=%7B31192817%2D46EB%2D477B%2D8515%2D9EB191D74E DC%7D&) - CBS Marketwatch, 2/4/04

QuikQuote: Jobs read from news reports that said Disney Chairman and Chief Executive Michael Eisner thought "Nemo" would not succeed, and that if it didn't that would help Disney in negotiations.
"As you know, things turned out a bit different," Jobs said. He added he had some regrets about ending the relationship with Disney and the company's film chief, Richard Cook. He also intimated that Disney's focus has not changed for the better.
"We feel sick about Disney doing sequels," Jobs said. "If you look at their sequels like 'Lion King 1 1/2,' ... it's pretty embarrassing."

I highly recommend that you listen to the actual Steve Jobs comments, they are very interesting...



http://corporate.pixar.com/medialist.cfm



Click on the Fourth Quarter comments to listen to the webcast, Mr. Jobs comments start at about the 15 minute mark.

I remember hearing (or reading) reports that "Finding Nemo" was going to be a bomb, and I really had no interest in seeing it because of these reports. My daughter talked us into going when it came out, and I figured it had undergone some major retooling, because it was great! Now that I am a little more aware of Eisner's willingness to sacrifice profits just to be able to prove a point, or close animation units, or manipulate business partners into a more vulnerable position, I am beyond disgusted with him. No wonder Jobs walked away from the WDC. :|

I really don't think Jobs is helping himself with the remarks being quoted in these articles. Quite frankly, he comes off sounding like an overconfident, arrogant jerk. He certainly sounds exceedingly unprofessional.

The more I'm hearing of all this, the more it sounds like this whole situation came down to a couple of monumental egos that basically got in the way of anything even resembling good business.

Frankly, I really hope both companies can somehow survive the excessive egos of their CEOs...

-Jeff

Originally posted by JeffG
I really don't think Jobs is helping himself with the remarks being quoted in these articles. Quite frankly, he comes off sounding like an overconfident, arrogant jerk. He certainly sounds exceedingly unprofessional.

Welcome to the world of Steve Jobs, LOL. That's just how he is. But I'm thinking that Pixar's at least doing a lot better than Disney is!

I think that the difference between Jobs and Eisner is that Eisner's got that whole micromanager thing going for him, surrounding himself with yes-men. Yeah, Jobs comes off as arrogant- one might say ecccentric- but he surrounds himself with people who are good at what they do.

I don't even think of Jobs as the head of Pixar as much I as I do Lasseter.

Adrienne

Personally, I disagree with Jobs that Brother Bear was a flop, and that Treasure Planet was a creative failure (even though it did in fact flop). But while Jobs is certainly being arrogant about Pixar's comparative successes, he has earned the right to be so (if one can ever actually earn the right to be such). Pixar is the best animation studio right now. Period.

Frankly, I'm glad Jobs finally said publicly what everyone already knows about him and Eisner. Yes, he will take some heat for it, but ultimately it gives some much needed support for Roy and Stanley's cause, which is a good thing I think.

I think Steve Jobs is tweaking Michael Eisner's nose. The impression of Jobs' remarks in making it sound like Pixar is walking away and is never coming back is unfortunate, because when you are in negotiations you never say never. Walking away for cooling off is a negotiation tactic, and I think both sides need to cool off. And this thing with the "We'll start talking to other studio distributors in March" is interesting, since that is also when the Disney Stockholders' meeting is. That meeting will be a pivotal point. We'll see which way the wind is blowing to "send a message" to Michael Eisner, the cooling off will have settled in, Pixar will get a better idea of the lay of the land and know solidly which direction to go in, Eisner and Company will know if they can confidently pursue the directions they were going in, and Roy Disney and Stanley Gold will have the answers they were seeking. March 2-3, 2004 will be one of those subplot culmination moments, like in TV soap operas when a lot of dramatic threads come together and people just gotta find out what happens next. This is much more interesting than fiction! But with Jobs and Eisner, I think it's boys being boys right now.