Luv2Roam
DIS Legend
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- Jun 3, 2000
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Nothing too new here. But worth a read & has interesting points:
http://biz.yahoo.com/rc/040204/media_pixar_partners_1.html
Reuters
UPDATE - Pixar eyes March start for studio talks
Wednesday February 4, 7:38 pm ET
By Bob Tourtellotte
LOS ANGELES, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Computer-animated film maker Pixar Animation Studios Inc. (NasdaqNM
IXR - News) is eyeing a March start for its hunt to find a new film distribution partner with the goal of striking a deal in the fall, Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs said on Wednesday.
Jobs said it was "very unlikely" Pixar would return to its former partner, The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE
IS - News), after walking away from talks last week and added that his company has the cash to fund its own production well into the future.
Pixar and Disney ended their long-running collaboration that yielded a string of five major hits from 1995's "Toy Story" to last year's smash sensation "Finding Nemo," which has taken in over $850 million at the box office worldwide.
"Since announcing this, we have been fortunate to receive calls from the heads of every major studio in Hollywood, and it is clear that we are wanted by others," Jobs said in a teleconference with reporters and financial analysts following Pixar's fourth-quarter earnings release.
"We will begin discussions with these studios by March with the goal of striking a new deal with one of them by this fall," he said.
Jobs added that there are "at least four other major studios that will do a great job marketing and distributing" Pixar films, but he would not name the companies he had in mind.
"One needs to look no further than 'Harry Potter,' 'Lord of the Rings,' 'Spider-Man' or 'Ice Age' to see examples of excellent marketing and distribution," Jobs said.
STUDIO GUESSING GAME
The "Harry Potter" movies were distributed by Warner Bros., and the "Lord of the Rings" movies by New Line Cinema, both owned by Time Warner Inc (NYSE:TWX - News). "Spider-Man" came from Sony Corp.'s (Tokyo:6758.T - News) Sony Pictures Entertainment, and "Ice Age" was released by Twentieth Century Fox, which is run by News Corp Ltd.'s (Australia:NCP.AX - News) Fox Entertainment Group Inc.(NYSE:FOX - News).
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc.'s (NYSE:MGM - News) feature films, including the James Bond box office hits, are distributed in theaters overseas by Fox, but MGM has marketing control as well as home video and TV distribution rights in international territories.
The other major Hollywood studios, excluding Disney, are Viacom Inc.'s (NYSE:VIAb - News) Paramount Pictures and Vivendi Universal's (Paris:EAUG.PA - News) Universal Studios.
When asked by Chief Financial Officer Ann Mather if Pixar might return to talks with Disney, Jobs replied: "It's not very likely. It's very unlikely."
Under their current deal, Disney has two more Pixar movies to release to theaters, "The Incredibles" in November this year and "Cars" in 2005.
"Disney needs these films to be successful as much as Pixar does," Jobs said.
Beyond the two films, Jobs said Pixar could fund movie production on its own. It had $521.9 million in cash and cash equivalents as of Dec. 31; it expects to have $650 million by this summer, and $800 million to $1 billion by 2006, according to Jobs.
Pixar's CEO added that Disney has the right to make sequels of Pixar's first seven films if Pixar doesn't want to make them itself.
Pixar has decided not to make a sequel to "Toy Story" and "Toy Story 2," and Jobs said it is likely the company will not want to make sequels of the other films co-produced with Disney. But, he added "we haven't decided that yet."
"Our filmmakers are more interested in telling new, original stories, and we have demonstrated that our original films like 'Monsters, Inc.' and 'Finding Nemo' can be even more successful than our sequels, like 'Toy Story 2.'" Jobs said.
http://biz.yahoo.com/rc/040204/media_pixar_partners_1.html
Reuters
UPDATE - Pixar eyes March start for studio talks
Wednesday February 4, 7:38 pm ET
By Bob Tourtellotte
LOS ANGELES, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Computer-animated film maker Pixar Animation Studios Inc. (NasdaqNM
IXR - News) is eyeing a March start for its hunt to find a new film distribution partner with the goal of striking a deal in the fall, Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs said on Wednesday.Jobs said it was "very unlikely" Pixar would return to its former partner, The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE
IS - News), after walking away from talks last week and added that his company has the cash to fund its own production well into the future.Pixar and Disney ended their long-running collaboration that yielded a string of five major hits from 1995's "Toy Story" to last year's smash sensation "Finding Nemo," which has taken in over $850 million at the box office worldwide.
"Since announcing this, we have been fortunate to receive calls from the heads of every major studio in Hollywood, and it is clear that we are wanted by others," Jobs said in a teleconference with reporters and financial analysts following Pixar's fourth-quarter earnings release.
"We will begin discussions with these studios by March with the goal of striking a new deal with one of them by this fall," he said.
Jobs added that there are "at least four other major studios that will do a great job marketing and distributing" Pixar films, but he would not name the companies he had in mind.
"One needs to look no further than 'Harry Potter,' 'Lord of the Rings,' 'Spider-Man' or 'Ice Age' to see examples of excellent marketing and distribution," Jobs said.
STUDIO GUESSING GAME
The "Harry Potter" movies were distributed by Warner Bros., and the "Lord of the Rings" movies by New Line Cinema, both owned by Time Warner Inc (NYSE:TWX - News). "Spider-Man" came from Sony Corp.'s (Tokyo:6758.T - News) Sony Pictures Entertainment, and "Ice Age" was released by Twentieth Century Fox, which is run by News Corp Ltd.'s (Australia:NCP.AX - News) Fox Entertainment Group Inc.(NYSE:FOX - News).
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc.'s (NYSE:MGM - News) feature films, including the James Bond box office hits, are distributed in theaters overseas by Fox, but MGM has marketing control as well as home video and TV distribution rights in international territories.
The other major Hollywood studios, excluding Disney, are Viacom Inc.'s (NYSE:VIAb - News) Paramount Pictures and Vivendi Universal's (Paris:EAUG.PA - News) Universal Studios.
When asked by Chief Financial Officer Ann Mather if Pixar might return to talks with Disney, Jobs replied: "It's not very likely. It's very unlikely."
Under their current deal, Disney has two more Pixar movies to release to theaters, "The Incredibles" in November this year and "Cars" in 2005.
"Disney needs these films to be successful as much as Pixar does," Jobs said.
Beyond the two films, Jobs said Pixar could fund movie production on its own. It had $521.9 million in cash and cash equivalents as of Dec. 31; it expects to have $650 million by this summer, and $800 million to $1 billion by 2006, according to Jobs.
Pixar's CEO added that Disney has the right to make sequels of Pixar's first seven films if Pixar doesn't want to make them itself.
Pixar has decided not to make a sequel to "Toy Story" and "Toy Story 2," and Jobs said it is likely the company will not want to make sequels of the other films co-produced with Disney. But, he added "we haven't decided that yet."
"Our filmmakers are more interested in telling new, original stories, and we have demonstrated that our original films like 'Monsters, Inc.' and 'Finding Nemo' can be even more successful than our sequels, like 'Toy Story 2.'" Jobs said.
