Apple CEO Steve Jobs “is going Hollywood, as the single biggest shareholder of the most iconic of Hollywood studios: Disney,” Jack Gruber reports for USA Today. “Disney said Tuesday it is buying Pixar — the animation studio Jobs runs — for $7.5 billion and giving Pixar CEO Jobs a seat on the board of directors… Questions about Jobs’ involvement in Disney are numerous. Even with just a 4% market share for computers, Apple is one of the great comeback stories — with its packed retail stores in major cities, red-hot iPod media device, and a $64.3 billion market cap that’s a good deal larger than Disney’s $50 billion.”
“Tech analysts say it is unlikely Jobs will abandon the company he co-founded in 1976, put on his sunglasses and start spending most of his time at Disney headquarters in Burbank, Calif. More likely, he will continue to spend most of his working energy on Apple, devoting one day a week to his other love, Pixar,” Gruber reports. “Charles Wolf, a longtime Apple analyst who covers the company for equity firm Needham & Co., says Jobs is emotionally attached to Apple. ‘It’s his heart and soul, it’s kicking ass all over the world and becoming a huge brand. He would be really reluctant to leave it now.'”
“After being ousted by Apple’s board of directors in 1985 after an internal power struggle, Jobs started the computer company NeXT and bought Pixar from Star Wars director George Lucas for $10 million in 1986. He returned to Apple in 1997, first as interim CEO, when it bought NeXT,” Gruber reports. “Richard Doherty, an independent analyst for the Envisioneering Group, says Jobs’ biggest accomplishment upon returning to Apple was bringing his ‘zeal’ back to the company, and asking the right questions. ‘At the board meetings, Steve asks questions nobody would dare bring up, and you better have an answer,’ says Doherty. ‘At Apple, he asked these amazing questions, and the company started to transform.'”
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews reader “sailfish” for the heads up.]
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Iger recently saw Pixar next feature animated film titled “Cars,” and said it is one of the best films he’d ever seen “I can’t wait for the rest of the world to see it,” he said. Disney and Pixar plan an exclusive preview of the fim in Detroit before the SuperBowl next month. The movie is set to open in theaters this June.
Guess that squashes any rumors that “Cars” is going to flop
Analysts: It’s unlikely that Steve Jobs would abandon Apple; ‘it’s his heart and soul’
No shit.
Maybe not enough heart and soul to stop. Steve returned to Apple originally as interim CEO suggesting he was willing to make it temporary. he was asked to stay when others caught on to his plan. Well, mission accomplished. If Steve is really as spiritually oriented as he seems, he could have no problems walking away at any time.
After a cancer diagnosis, a past of mega-success, and quite a comfortable retirement fund, walking away would not actually be a hard thing to do.
I hope he won’t. He’s too young. But there is chance.
i agree, I think Cars is going to be huge. It really will tap into the Car loving American audience. The thing is, I saw the trailer and was sorta lukewarm on it too. But i felt the same way about The Incredibles, and it turned out to be my favorite Pixar , er uh, Disney film.
not really. I’m really concerned about Cars. Of course, Igor said it’s amazing… now it’s his movie too ($$$). Anyway, the teaser trailers look terrible, and I’m just not convinced that a cartoon (whose trailers at least) that markets itself to the testosterone only present in a small portion of their audience will succeed. It doesn’t mesh with the strategy of coming up with gripping stories and MULTI-DEMENTIONAL characters. Prove me wrong, Steve, please prove me wrong. No one wants this to succeed more than me, but I think your going to need more than your new boss’ thumbs up to get this one to succeed.
Pixar characters so far: People, people, animals, people and monsters, fish, people… now cars?? points for creativity, but yikes…
Hey, who knows, they haven’t let us down before. Maybe the trailers just want you to go “wow” and the movie actually rocks…
matt… “Pixar characters fo far: People, people, animals people and monsters, fish, people…now cars?…”
Uhh… they really haven’t done people?
1) Toy Story – Toys
2) Bugs Life – Bugs
3) Toy Story 2 – Toys
4) Monsters, Inc. – Monsters
5) The Incredibles – *Gasp* People / Super-heroes
6) Cars – Cars
Magic Word: ‘car’… ironically
And Finding Nemo – Fish…!
Ironically again, Magic Word: ‘and’…
What kid (or adult, for that matter) doesn’t love playing with Hot Wheels or Matchbox cars? I’m 43 years old and found myself not long ago kneeling on the floor zipping a toy Mini Cooper back and forth with my buddy, who’s even older than I am. Even my 12-year-old, mall-loving, fashion-princess daughter has a Hot Wheels she keeps — a bright yellow Miata convertible, to be specific. I think Cars will tap into that automobile buff in all of us — and therefore will be HUGE. And then think of the merchandising. Sure, kids love to play with Buzz or Woody, Nemo or Dash — but just imagine all the kids playing with toy versions of the main characters (car-actors?) from the movie. I predict another hit for Pixar.
Apple isn’t in the computer business anymore. Apple is in the technology business.
Computers, iPods, video, software, etc. are the vehicles to allow users to be more productive, to permit users to enjoy new forms of entertainment, and encourage users to be more inventive.
Bri, I think the word is coincidence.
An ironic word would have been ‘people’ or ‘human’.
Sorry for being pedantic.
I predict Steve-O will attend Disney board meetings via iChat AV
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meatofmoose “Apple isn’t in the computer business anymore. Apple is in the technology business.”
Wrong-o meatofmoose! Apple is in the media delivery business.
———–
Cars will be a car wreck -unfortunately. They delayed it for nearly a year because of problems. And you think a Disney exec is going to come out and saw his movie sucks?
http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/cars/
Little kids (girls, ecspecially) don´t identify with automobiles. Booooooooorrring.
queezzzie, I’m sorrie I don’t usually say such things, but what hole did you grow up in? I’ve been in love with cars since I was 9 months old, lol. and girls don’t identify with automobiles?? ummh do you have any facts to back that up? because every woman in my family identifies with cars,
>Little kids (girls, ecspecially) don´t identify with automobiles. >Booooooooorrring.
Hm. I’ll be sure to tell that to my girls (and their older brother) when I take their Matchbox cars away as a punishment.
They’re _riveted_ to the TV by the Cars trailer.
Perhaps you need to meet some more children? I have met few that don’t identify deeply with cars, living in the US, France, Switzerland and Brazil. Just saying.
Trust me all you fake mac fanboy writers who think they know girls, as a Mother of 3 girls – Ages 3 – 12 , none are interested in cars. Other than the one Barbie rides in.
The Cars clip is boring.
Father: “I have met few that don’t identify deeply with cars, living in the US, France, Switzerland and Brazil. Just saying.”
You go around the world (US, France, Switzerland and Brazil) visiting kids? Hmmmm….
At first you say girls like cars, then you say that in the countries of US, France, Switzerland and Brazil they don´t.
Genius.
You ever seen any girls at ToysRUs hanging out at the toy car section? Not me.
simple1 (yes) -lots of cars and car stuff at the ToysRUs section for girls:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/browse/-/714648/ref=t_th_ln_s_gg/002-8568321-4243224
NOT!
Little kids (girls, ecspecially) don´t identify with automobiles. Booooooooorrring.
My 13 year old daughter would beg to differ. She isn’t a car nut, but she and I are both fans of The Transformers. Remember those? Cars and other vehicles that changed into Robots and back again? Yeah, those Transformers. Admittedly these toys are targeted to boys, but there are plenty of girls who are fans of cars. My friend in Florida has been a car aficionado since she was a kid, she owns 4 cars, one of them being a reproduction of Zebra-3, the Ford Torino from Starsky & Hutch. Frankly, I know plenty of girls and women who do identify with cars.
But this movie isn’t simply about cars. It has characters that are vehicles, a la Thomas the Tank Engine, but THAT is what the audience is supposed to identify with. Not the fact that they are cars, but rather cars with personalities.
At least wait until the movie is out in theaters, and see it, before you pan it. I remember panning Finding Nemo, but then after I saw it, with my daughter, I thought it was a great movie. Since then, I don’t pre-judge a movie based on it’s teasers and trailers.
MW: young – as in “Only the young-a-heart would understand…”
My soon to be 3 year old son is already wanting to go see Cars after seeing the previews on his DVD’s. America is car crazy. This movie will be the biggest Pixar movie yet. Maybe not the best, but definitely the biggest.
Girls may not be interested in racing cars or in car technology, but they do love cars. Regardless, it’s the story about the cars that will either bring them in or not.
By the way, exactly who cares about fish? And who really cares about ants and grasshoppers?
Queezie:
You are so narrow-minded that a razor blade could not be inserted between your ears.
Define “media” delivery?
How is super-computing restricted to media delivery?
How is Searchlight restricted to media delivery?
How is a Unix-based, 64-bit OS restricted to media delivery?
How are dual-core processors restricted to media delivery?
Does this mean that I cannot use my Mac’s for research, data analysis, word processing, and emails anymore?
Does this mean individual use of my Mac’s have been supplanted by mass communication of voice, sound, text, still pictures, and video?
Queezie is part right, but Apple is more than just media delivery.
Apple is an information technology company. Apple provides an integrated system of tools, devices, and services for information/knowledge/content creation, delivery and consumption. It sits at the intersection between computing, networking, and consumer electronics.
Creation: Macs plus software (consumer, prosumer, professional), peripherals/accessories
Delivery: XServe, .Mac, iTMS, Airport
Consumption: Macs and iPods, plus software, peripherals, accessories
Apple is also a retailer that sells its integrated system of tools, devices, and services through an online store, retail stores, and resellers.
The thought that Jobs might abandon Apple is preposterous. Only health matters could change that. Steve is on the cusp of an historic victory — to become the central controlling player in consumer electronics, including computers. For Steve to leave now would be a self inflicted coitius interuptus, denying this incredibly talented individual one of the greatest climaxes in business history.
“Trust me all you fake mac fanboy writers who think they know girls, as a Mother of 3 girls – Ages 3 – 12 , none are interested in cars. Other than the one Barbie rides in.”
Mom o’3,
girls also don’t read superhero comics, at least they are not the primary target group. Still, the Incredibles were incredibly successful, largely because the female characters were superbly developed (and I do not mean physically <grin>).
The teasers and previews of Pixar movies usually do not give away anything about the main story line. We need to wait and see.
And the movie was delayed so that it comes out in the summer holidays and rake in a bundle as DVD for Christmas. You can’t wait a year anymore to release DVDs, with all the piracy.
Not just asking amazing questions, Steve J. has always been able to make the hard decisions that would otherwise hold Apple back even when us Mac enthusiast (cultist is some people’s eyes) found it hard to swallow. Examples would include,
• Making a deal with Microsoft to share some technologies.
• Asking for and getting money from Bill & legitimatizing Apple in other peoples eyes.
• Realizing the importance of Office for the Mac and getting Bill to continue developing it and invest in Apple.
• Letting go of floppies, ADB, OpenDoc with Cyberdog, Newton including eMate, the happy mac face on startup, RGB monitor connections, multi-colored Apple logo, and PICT file format.
• Killing Apple’s behind the times printer division.
• The adoption of Intel’s USB.
• The cold shoulder toward FireWire 800.
– And finally,
• Having the balls to risk the wrath of 3rd party developers by creating programs that already had well established (and windows friendly) programs such as Safari, iTunes, Final Cut Pro, Keynote, Automator, and Dashboard. Microsoft was pissed about Sarfari, Keynote, Mail, Address Book, iCal, and Pages, all Microsoft competitors. Adobe was very pissed about Final Cut Pro and, hopefully, Aperture. That’s what they get for not supporting Core Image.
The old Apple would have never had the guts to come out with iTunes.
Aperture? That took guts! And it’ll pay off in version 2.