A demure Pixar takes no notice of eager suitors (http://news.com.com/2100-1026_3-5219140.html?part=dtx&tag=nhl) - NY Times/CNet, 05-24-04
Coy is rarely a word used to describe Steve Jobs. So it is more than a little surprising that he seems almost uninterested in finding a new partner for his Pixar Animation Studios once its joint venture with Walt Disney ends next year.

Two months ago, Jobs, who is Pixar's chief executive, was invited to visit the Culver City, Calif., headquarters of Sony Pictures Entertainment, but he has yet to make the trip, said a Sony executive apprised of the invitation. Jobs regularly swaps telephone calls--but little more--with Alan Horn, the president of Warner Bros., which has expressed interest in distributing Pixar films. Other studio executives, including those at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, have asked to meet with Jobs recently and been turned down. According to one of those executives who asked not to be named, Jobs told him "he was not ready to talk."

Even Jobs conceded in an interview two weeks ago that he was moving ahead slowly with potential distributors. "We are talking," he said, "but maybe not as much as they'd like."

Coy is rarely a word used to describe Steve Jobs. So it is more than a little surprising that he seems almost uninterested in finding a new partner for his Pixar Animation Studios once its joint venture with Walt Disney ends next year.

Are we all talking about the same Steve Jobs here???

Who's surprised? The guy is cocky and "cocky and coy" go hand in hand, people. Answer the clue phone already! I'm not surprised. He doesn't want to seem desparate, he wants to pick and choose, he's in a position of power with all these studios wanting him and he's enjoying it. Duh.

Adrienne

And conisdering the battle he's been through with Disney, now that he's got some clout, it doesn't surprise me at all to see him being very cautious about singing a new deal.

Why in the world would he rush into something. It is a couple of years before they will have a movie in need of a distributor and if they're confident in the next two movies for Disney, it will only strengthen their deal.

And if they recognize that Disney really is the best fit for them, the longer they wait the better the chances of getting the deal they want from the distributor they'd prefer.

i really want pixar and disney to work together again. when you think of pixar you think disney. its just the way it is. I really want eisner gone and then i hope his replacement has better people skills.

I think Alex has the key point here. There really is no reason at all for Pixar to rush into a deal since there wouldn't be a film that would be part of that deal until late 2006. It would be particularly foolish for them to jump too quickly into a deal with the management situation at Disney in such a flux. I'm sure that Jobs and everyone else at Pixar is well aware that their best situation would still be to figure out a new distribution deal with Disney. Why close the door on that if the possibility exists that the situation there could change before a deal has to be in place?

-Jeff

If I wasn't too busy rolling my eyes around in my head, I would've posted what I was thinking, but Alex beat me to it ;)

That's a long way of saying to Alex and Jeff: Me, too.

Adrienne