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Pixar and WDAS's Ed Catmull to Retire

Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2018 5:46 pm
by disneyprincess11
I think his past is about to get out.
The president of Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios will step down from his current roles at the end of this year and stay on as an adviser through July 2019.
Ed Catmull, who co-founded Pixar along with Steve Jobs and John Lasseter and in doing so revolutionized the animation industry, is retiring after a ground-breaking five-decade career, during which he has been involved with dozens of hit films from Toy Story to Frozen to this year's Incredibles 2.

Catmull, who acts as president of both Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios, will step down from his current roles at the end of this year, according to a Disney announcement today, and then stay on as an adviser through July 2019 before formally retiring.

“Never in my wildest imagination could I have conceived of the path or the extraordinary people I have worked with over all of these years – the twists and turns, the ups and downs, along with exhilarating passion, talent, and dedication that have led to something extraordinary, something that has an enduring impact in the world,”Catmull, 73, said in a statement.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/ ... m=referral

Re: Pixar and WDAS's Ed Catmull to Retire

Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2018 6:40 pm
by Sotiris
Great news! :party: With him covering up for Lasseter and orchestrating wage-fixing in the industry, I'm actually surprised he wasn't kicked out sooner. Because that's what this is. He's getting fired. Just like Lasseter. This isn't a "retirement". It's evident by the fact they're both staying on as "consultants" until their contracts expire. Good riddance!

Re: Pixar and WDAS's Ed Catmull to Retire

Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2018 7:03 pm
by Rumpelstiltskin
I wonder how much consulting Lasseter has done for Disney since he decided it was time for him to seek new challenges in life.

Also, why can never the media get the facts straight? From an article:

http://www.waff.com/2018/10/24/disney-a ... ll-retire/
Catmull was a pioneer in computer animation and technology in film. George Lucas hired him in 1979 to head Lucasfilm's computer division. Catmull in 1986 co-founded Pixar with Steve Jobs and John Lasseter.
No, Jobs and Lasseter were not co-founders.

Re: Pixar and WDAS's Ed Catmull to Retire

Posted: Sat Dec 08, 2018 9:42 am
by Sotiris
Catmull stepped down as president last week. He'll be staying as an advisor until July 2019 though. It's pitiful that Pixarians are still praising him.
Dave Mullins wrote:Last week was Ed Catmull’s last day as President of Pixar. He imparted us with his wisdom before he left, asking us to embrace new technology, be kinder to each other and asked us if we can clearly visualize pictures when we close our eyes (some can, some can’t).

I’m grateful for all the wonderful experiences I’ve had with him over the last 18 years. I was also very proud to see him wearing a LOU T-shirt on his last day.
Source: https://twitter.com/_DaveMullins/status ... 3724573697
Q: What's it like to work with Ed Catmull?

Lee Unkrich: He’s a great guy who I’ve learned a lot from.
Source: https://twitter.com/leeunkrich/status/1 ... 5527767041

Re: Pixar and WDAS's Ed Catmull to Retire

Posted: Mon Dec 10, 2018 1:37 am
by Rumpelstiltskin
When we are told that someone will retire or leaving a company, I am often a little skeptical about how willingly this happens when the sentence ends with the words "but will remain in an advisory role/serve as a consultant till the contract expires in a few months' time". For Catmull, this happens shortly after a $170 million payout for the employees.

(And now when Lasseter and Catmull is gone, what will Disney do with Ike Perlmutter)

Re: Pixar and WDAS's Ed Catmull to Retire

Posted: Wed Dec 12, 2018 3:38 am
by Rose Dome
I'am glad this is happening. The Man has been rotten.

Re: Pixar and WDAS's Ed Catmull to Retire

Posted: Fri Dec 21, 2018 3:06 pm
by JTurner
What exactly did Catmull do to warrant a lot of disgust here?

Re: Pixar and WDAS's Ed Catmull to Retire

Posted: Fri Dec 21, 2018 4:18 pm
by Rumpelstiltskin
This article mention what got it started:

https://www.cartoonbrew.com/business/pi ... 01362.html

In addition, he was obvioulsy aware of Lasseter's behavior, but did little to correct him.
And despite being the president of Pixar, he has allowed Pixar's homepage to write Alvy Ray Smith out of the company's history, even if these two were the ones who started it together: alvyray.com/Pixar/documents/edfromalvy_2004.pdf
Dear Ed
I am hurt, and have been for some time, and have decided it is time to say so. I just went to the Pixar website, as part of my preparation for a history of Lucasfilm/Pixar, which is in research by Michael Rubin, and looked at the History section under Company Info. The "history" begins in 1984 with André & Wally B. and John Lasseter. Then in 1986, Steve and you are mentioned, you as the co-founder of Pixar, implying I suppose that Steve is the other. There is no mention of my role as the other co-founder. Steve was, of course, our venture capitalist, in standard industry terminology and not a co-founder. Then in 1996 in the list of awardees for the Digital Compositing Academy Award, my name is omitted. Then in 1998 my name is again omitted from the Academy Award for Digital Painting.
Ed, this is a lie, and you know it. Just because Steve and I don't particularly like each other is no excuse for dissembling the truth. It is very embarrassing to me to tell friends my history then have them say that none of it is mentioned at Pixar's website, and for magazine articles to completely disregard my role. It can only be a systematic misrepresentation.
I am very clear about what happened, and I'm sure you are too. We started the company together. I was the first to suggest it even. We bought how-to-start-business books together on the first day at Larkspur Landing. We attended all the founding meetings together for months. We met with Steve at his home together. We interviewed all the prospective employees together at that Thai restaurant. We signed the founding documents together. We both received individual copies of the 3-volume bound leather papers of the deal with our names in gold on them. I am not just another of the 44 or so legal "co-founders." We Co-Founded Pixar together. Pure and simple, and I want it acknowledged. It just looks small of you not to do so. You are clearly the leader at Pixar and always were number one, and I have never denied you that. You don't need to deny me. You have the last 13 years of sole leadership and all of the future. It is very important to me to be acknowledged as the [not "a"] co-founder of Pixar. This is a fair description of my role.
The recent Wired magazine makes no mention of me and even gives you credit for the "Genesis Demo," which was my concept and direction, again as you well know. This too appears to be a willful bending of the facts and further evidence of a chronic problem of denial that a little leadership could readily fix.
This is painful to me and I hope embarrassing to you. Please do something about it. This kind of letter should be unnecessary. Just tell the story as it is.
I am reminded of at least one earlier time in our history together when I finally realized that, despite your inherent goodness, you were not going to speak up for me in meetings with outsiders, and finally said so. After that, you were careful to include me, and to say "we" instead of "I". Perhaps this is again the problem. I hope it will have the same conclusion.

Sincerely
Alvy Ray Smith PhD

Re: Pixar and WDAS's Ed Catmull to Retire

Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2019 8:48 pm
by Sotiris
After everything he's done, the industry is still giving him awards. :roll:

Oscars: Pixar's Ed Catmull, ILM's John Knoll Among Sci-Tech Awards Honorees
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/behin ... rs-1168791

Re: Pixar and WDAS's Ed Catmull to Retire

Posted: Tue Jan 08, 2019 4:56 pm
by Disney's Divinity
Somehow I'm not surprised. I'm sure people will be blowing smoke up Lasseter's behind for years to come still, for example.

Re: Pixar and WDAS's Ed Catmull to Retire

Posted: Sat Aug 01, 2020 8:05 am
by Sotiris
Pixar’s Ed Catmull to Give Keynote for 2020 VIEW Conference
https://variety.com/2020/film/news/pixa ... 234722358/