9781422270462

THE BEGINNING OF PIXAR In the early 1970s, Ed Catmull, a brilliant visionary and tech genius, was engrossed in computer animation work. By the end of the decade, he accepted an offer from George Lucas, the legendary filmmaker best known for creating Star Wars and Indiana Jones. Lucas hired Catmull (and his team) to lead the Lucasfilm Computer Division. Catmull then recruited animation innovator John Lasseter to help him, which seemed to be a perfect match as the pair shared a passion

In 1982, Jobs was on the cover of Time magazine.

for producing computer-generated short films. It turned out, however, that it was difficult for the Computer Division to turn a profit over the years, and while Lucas didn’t share his division’s level of excitement when it came to animation, Jobs did. Jobs had offered to buy the Computer Division from Lucas while at Apple. The year after he left (1986), he paid just $5 million to buy it and named it Pixar Animation Studios. In an interview years later discussing that deal, Lucas said of Jobs, “He did things because they were fun and cool.” Jobs also had a savvy eye for the potential in the dynamic duo of Catmull and Lasseter and capitalized on the opportunity to invest in them. He put in another $5 million immediately following the acquisition. Jobs could have turned his attention—and pried open his checkbook—to all sorts of companies

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DISNEY’S PIXAR