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Lasseter New Animation Head of Skydance Media by Karl Cohen
John Lasseter, the founder and ex-head of Pixar, in happier times before he was let go for sexualized hugging. photo: courtesy Pixar
MOST PEOPLE BY NOW KNOW THAT JOHN
Lasseter, the recently-disgraced head of Pixar, accused of multiple times of excessive hugging and more, is the new chief of animation at Skydance Media in Los Angeles. He will report directly to Skydance's CEO David Ellison, who wants to give him a second chance.
The head of one Hollywood woman’s group, however, has already spoken out, saying this is the wrong message to send women.
“Lasseter has been forthright in taking ownership of his behavior, apologized for his actions and has spent the past year on sabbatical analyzing and improving his workplace behavior," Skydance's Ellison told Variety.
"We did not enter into this decision lightly. John has acknowledged and apologized for his mistakes and, during the past year away from the workplace, has endeavored to address and reform them.”
Mr. Ellison did not specify how, nor does his explain what saying that Skydance “employed outside counsel to investigate the allegations” means.
A representative of Women in Film told the press that hiring Lassater, “endorses and perpetuates a broken system.”
Another woman media worker familiar with the situation told me, “I find this thoroughly disgusting and a slap in the face to the women that had the courage to speak out about his behavior.”
David’s father, Larry Ellison, is the CEO of Oracle Computers and one of the nation’s richest billionaires (he's largely responsible for bringing the America's Cup boat race to the Bay area, see "Steady as She Films: Panzica’s America’s Cup Doc”)
There is no easy solution as long as power brokers like Ellison feels hiring people like Lasseter is what his son’s company needs to compete.
“Skydance Animation is a small, untested player," noted The Hollywood Reporter. "It relies on a partnership with Madrid-based Ilion Animation Studios, a Los Angeles-based staff of 65 people and a distribution deal with Paramount Pictures."
"One of the projects in Skydance's pipeline, set up under the company's previous chief, Bill Damaschke, is a fantasy with a female protagonist, led by two of the most important female creative figures in feature animation: Shrek director Vicky Jenson and Beauty and the Beast and Lion King screenwriter Linda Woolverton."
Lasseter being accepted back by people in the industry will probably be seriously debated for some time to come.
One friend of mine, a retired Navy officer, says she believes, “some folks do deserve a second chance. I’ve worked for and with many men in private and military organizations. If we removed all the men who never learned to control their hormones, how many men would we honestly have in jobs?"
"Yes, I could have said, ‘Me, too,’ but I moved on several times over the past decades.”
Karl Cohen is an animator, educator and director of the local chapter of the International Animation Society and can be reached .Posted on Jan 12, 2019 - 03:39 AM