Several TUAW readers have reported after seeing midnight showings of Disney-Pixar's new and highly-rated movie WALL•E that when the robot boots up, he makes the standard Mac startup sound. That's not the only Apple connection with the movie.
Of course, Steve Jobs is the largest single shareholder of Disney after Pixar was purchased by the entertainment giant for $7.4 billion in 2006. He still serves on a steering committee for Pixar that oversees the Disney-Pixar animation businesses, and he's on the Disney Board of Directors. I'm not sure, but he may be tapped to be the first CEO of BuyNLarge...
WALL•E's job is to wander around an abandoned Earth, pick up trash, and compact it into small blocks. However, when he finds something nostalgic that he likes, such as an iPod or Rubik's cube, he keeps it.
The object of WALL•E's desire, EVE, was actually designed with the assistance of Apple Senior VP of Industrial Design Jonathan Ive, who apparently spent a day with the Pixar team in 2005 consulting on the ultra-sleek floating robot.
Thanks to Matt for the heads-up and inspiration for this post!
I'm a big fan of almost everything Pixar does (Cars wasn't their best effort, though it was enjoyable), so it is a happy day when a story that links Pixar to my favorite computer company comes along.
It would seem that the good folks at Pixar really wanted to play up the differences between the titular hero of Wall*E and a new robot that appears (Eve, pictured to the right). They wanted it to look very cool, and very high tech. Luckily for Pixar, they know a guy pretty high up in Apple who was able to get Jonathan Ive, Apple's famed product designer, to help out with Eve's look.
Well, it seems that all of this may blow over...at least for Steve and the Pixar execs. Late last year, Pixar, Steve's other company which he sold to Disney, was forced to take another look at some accounting actions. One of the suggested possibilities was that Pixar's John Lasseter was given a backdated stock options bonus. This past Friday, however, Disney announced that all of the accounting in question took place before Disney acquired Pixar, and that no one currently involved with the company "...engaged in any intentional or deliberate acts of misconduct."
We don't know where this will all end up, but it looks like Uncle Steve is off the hook as far as Pixar is concerned.
There's some more news today on the stock options story. According to AppleInsider, it has been suggested that Steve gave Pixar director John Lasseter a questionable, backdated stock option bonus.
I must admit that I haven't really paid much attention to this story, mostly because it's still speculation and hearsay at this point. So we'll see where it goes. For now, though, it's still news.
The Wall Street Journal has the best summary (subscription maybe required) of the Apple options backdating scandal that I have read to date. They take a look at Apple's filings and point that that Steve 'recommended the selection of some favorable grant dates,' though he was not involved in the improper backdating of options which he was granted. The WSJ also talks to a number of experts about what this could mean for Apple and everyone's favorite iCEO.
I also found out, thanks to this article, that some options that Pixar granted to employees are also under investigation. Steve didn't receive any of those, but they were all granted while he was CEO of Pixar.
Remember folks, just because Apple's internal investigation says that His Steveness has done nothing wrong that doesn't mean that the Feds aren't going to take a look for themselves. This story is far from over.
Although I'm getting older and grayer by the day, I'm still really a kid at heart. That's probably why I love the movie Cars. I love it so much that it's about to become the very first full-length movie that I personally purchase on iTunes.
Cars was released today in the iTunes Store [iTS link] and Apple has made it even more appealing with their special pricing of $12.99 for new releases. That makes me, as Mater would say, happier 'n a tornado in a trailer park!
Brian at FreeMacBlog writes in to point out an Apple easter egg he spotted in Pixar's Cars. During the opening race, one of the cars that is briefly on screen has an Apple logo on the hood, and is fittingly numbered "84." Pretty cool, Brian! Did anyone else spot this car?
Who doesn't like Pixar movies? The latest effort from our favorite part of Disney is 'Cars.' I know, I know this isn't exactly breaking news but the fine folks at Pixar have created a video podcast chronicling different parts of the movie, and it is available via iTunes.
Steve Jobs told shareholders this week that, in light of Disney's acquisition of Pixar, he would actually be spending
more time at Apple, in part because he'll be relinquishing his CEO position at Pixar in a couple of weeks once the
merger finishes. Many have been speculating that Mr. Jobs would be spending more time at Disney, but he publicly
responded "that couldn't be further from the truth... It'll require less of my time than Pixar did."
This should be good news for anyone concerned about Mr. Jobs' continued involvement with Apple.
Yesterday, we asked for your opinion on the quality of
films that will come out of the Pixar/Disney union. In our utterly unscientific poll, your options were:
Fantastic news!
Disaster! Disney will kill future movies
I'll wait and
see
I have no opinion
Of the 2,008 of you who voted, a full 45% selected "I'll wait and
see." "Fantastic news" and "Disaster..." were very close at 26% and 24% respectively, and 5%
of you really couldn't care less about this.
I'm with the skeptics. As long as Disney lets Lasseter and co.
do what they do unfettered, we should be all right.
Yesterday's big
news, of course, was Disney's buyout of
Pixar. Steve got more money than he could use in 10,000 lifetimes, a seat on Disney's board of directors and
boatload of stock. But what does this mean for the films that are yet to be born of this union? I'm hoping that the
Disney suits will look at Pixar's track record (every film has earned more than its predecessor) and just leave well
enough alone. Of course, they could come in and clean house. So, what's your opinion of "Pixney"? Take the
poll and return tomorrow to view the results.
The
finance obsessed people at Bloomberg have a very comprehensive article
up covering the Disney/Pixar deal (it was as if they were working on it before the deal of finalized. Imagine that!).
Disney will pay $59.78 a share for Pixar stock (and since Steve Jobs is the largest stockholder of Pixar he is going to
make out like a bandit), though Disney will be paying with Disney stock (helping to diversify his Steveness' stock
interests in the process).
Disney is hoping that Pixar will transform the company into the animation
powerhouse it once was. Disney is taking the right steps by placing Pixar people in key positions, however, something
tells me that Disney and Pixar have very different corporate cultures.
CNN
is reporting that
Disney is buying Pixar for $7.4 billion, confirming lots of speculation as of late. Jobs will join the board of Disney
while John Lasseter, the creative spirit behind Pixar, will become chief creative officer for the combined animation
studio. I hope this means only good things for Disney, and no bad things for Pixar. Only time will tell.
When the
rumor surfaced last week that Disney might be interested in buying Pixar, I passed it off as just another rumor, along
the lines of "Sony to buy Apple" or "Microsoft to buy Fort Knox". But multiple news organizations
are reporting today that the all-stock deal may actually be approved and happen as early as tomorrow and that it may be
worth as much as $7 billion.
As Steve Jobs has a majority share in Pixar, this would be incredibly
significant for Mr. Jobs but might also be significant for Mr Jobs' other company, Apple Computer.
Could
this mean there might be more Apple-Disney partnerships in the future? Disney videos for sale via the iTunes store?
Disney-branded iPods? iPod-friendly audio guides at the Disney parks?
At the very least, a Disney-Pixar
combination should be able to improve the animated offerings coming from Disney, which have been less-than-stellar in
the last few years.
Several TUAW readers have reported after seeing midnight showings of Disney-Pixar's new and highly-rated movie WALL•E that when the robot boots up, he makes the standard Mac startup sound. That's not the only Apple connection with the movie.
I'm a big fan of almost everything 
Well, it seems that all of 
There's some more news today on the stock options story. 
The Wall Street Journal has the 
Who doesn't like Pixar movies? The latest effort from our favorite part of Disney is 'Cars.' I know, I know this isn't exactly breaking news but the fine folks at Pixar have created a video podcast chronicling different parts of the movie, and it is 
Steve Jobs told shareholders this week that, in light of Disney's acquisition of Pixar, he would actually be spending
more time at Apple, in part because he'll be relinquishing his CEO position at Pixar in a couple of weeks once the
merger finishes. Many have been speculating that Mr. Jobs would be spending more time at Disney, but he publicly
responded "that couldn't be further from the truth... It'll require less of my time than Pixar did."
Yesterday's big
news, of course, was 
The
finance obsessed people at Bloomberg have a very 
CNN
is 
When the
rumor surfaced last week that Disney might be interested in buying Pixar, I passed it off as just another rumor, along
the lines of "Sony to buy Apple" or "Microsoft to buy Fort Knox". But multiple news organizations
are reporting today that the all-stock deal may actually be approved and happen as early as tomorrow and that it may be
worth as much as $7 billion.
