Some of you may already have seen this announcement last week. The one where Sony Pictures revealed that — even before “Spiderman II” opened in theaters — that “Spiderman III” will be opening at a multiplex near you on May 4, 2007.
But such is life in Hollywood today. Where — in order to secure the best possible slot for an upcoming major motion picture — you have to announce your film’s release literally years in advance.
This is the problem that Pixar Animation Studio is reportedly facing right now. Though company insiders have made it extremely clear that this animation studio would really love it if Pixar were able to continue to partner with the Walt Disney Company on all of its future productions, this deal renewal ISN’T going to happen as long as Michael Eisner remains in power at the Mouse House.
And therein lies the problem. Steve Jobs is said to be extremely supportive of Roy Disney and Stanley Gold’s “Save Disney” efforts. Even supposedly going so far as offering to join forces with the Mouse House, maybe even accepting a position on Disney’s Board of Directors once Eisner is ousted.
The only problem is … Eisner is showing absolutely no signs that he is getting ready to leave. In fact, if current reports pan out, Disney’s CEO is actually digging in his heels. Becoming more and more determined to hang out to the top slot at the Mouse Factory ’til his contract officially runs out in September 2006.
And — speaking of 2006 — that’s the year when “Ratatouille” (AKA “Rats,” the first film that Pixar has put into production that is NOT covered by their deal with Disney) is due to debut in theaters nationwide. However, in order to secure the best possible slot for this animated feature, Pixar actually has to make a decision sometime in the next six weeks.
This is why — though Steve reportedly sincerely wants to continue to help Roy and Stanley’s effort to remove Michael — Pixar’s management has supposedly given the folks at Shamrock a “heads up.” That the “Save Disney” folks have ’til the first week of May to oust Eisner. Otherwise, Pixar will have no choice but to sign a distribution deal with some studio other than Disney.
Said one Pixar insider who was familiar with the situation:
“Even waiting that long is a risk, Jim. We still have to make arrangements with toy companies in order to have ‘Rats’ based products in store by the time the film’s being released. Plus meeting with potential promotional partners like Kellogg’s and Keebler in order to make sure that consumers are aware of the movie.
Thank goodness that McDonald’s is already on board. They’d told us that they’ll be happy to cut a deal with whichever film studio we end up with. Just so they can continue to put Pixar-based toys in their Happy Meals.
The problems is negotiations for all this ancillary stuff takes time. Which is why we’ve really got to make a decision about a distributor in the next few weeks.
Yeah, we’d really love to stay with Disney. But there’s no way that Jobs will allow us to do that as long as Eisner’s still in charge.
So — if they can get that guy out in the next six weeks — great. Otherwise, Pixar’s gotta make a deal with someone else.
Which I just know is gonna break Lasseter, Docter and Stanton’s heart. Those guys are big-time Disney dweebs. But business is business.”
Jobs said to begin formally meeting with other studio heads sometime next month. Supposedly because Steve is looking to winnow the pool of candidates of possible distributors for Pixar Picture No. 8 … and beyond.
And speaking of “… and beyond”: It’s beginning to look like Walt Disney Pictures may actually be serious about going through with its own “To Infinity and Beyond.” I.E. Produce a third installment of the “Toy Story” series all by itself. With absolutely no help from the folks over at Pixar.
In a story that appeared in Reuters on Friday, Walt Disney Studios chief *** Cook was quoted as saying that he was leaning toward having WDFA produce “Toy Story 3” as a feature film, rather than a straight-to-video release.
“My hunch is big screen,” is what Cook allegedly said to reporters. But (once again proving himself to be one of the sharper political animals currently working in Hollywood today), *** then went on to say that no official decision had been made yet about “Toy Story 3.” Furthermore, that it could be years before Disney actually gets around to putting this particular sequel into production. “We are nowhere (near ready to begin work) on it right now,” Cook concluded.
You see now why *** Cook is a Tinseltown survivor? He said just enough to make Michael Eisner happy, but not enough to totally piss off the people at Pixar.
So here’s hoping that Roy and Stanley are able to get something going sometime soon. Because the clock really is ticking for Pixar. And — unless Michael moves on before the beginning of May — Steve Jobs may have no choice but to sign a distribution deal with some other company than Disney.
Your thoughts?