| |
Pixar bets it can boost output to one movie feature a year
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CaliforniaIts
chief executive mastered it. Now Pixar Animation Studios is
giving multitasking a try. The studio, which pioneered computer-animated
movies with "Toy Story," used to make just one film
at a time. But today Pixar has four major movies and one short
film at various stages of production. First up will be "Monsters,
Inc," a movie about bedtime monsters slated for November
release. Next: an underwater-adventure feature, "Finding
Nemo," that will make its debut in mid-2003. Pixar's
top storytellers,n Mr John Lasseter and Mr Brad Bird, are
also working on two films that Pixar hasn't yet announced.
All this productivity will soon allow Pixar to reach a major
goal: making one movie a year. That's been a priority of the
studio's CEO, Mr Steve Jobs, who handles the business side
of Pixar in addition to his duties as chief executive of Apple
Computer Inc. Although Pixar's three feature films have all
been box-office and critical successes, the studio has suffered
from a sporadic revenue stream because of its spotty release
schedule. ("Toy Story" came out in 1995, "A
Bug's Life" in 1998 and "Toy Story 2" in 1999,
with some lean revenue months in between.) For most Hollywood
studios, trying to maintain a full pipeline is a given. But
a faster production pace could give Pixar some Hollywood-style
headaches. "If a studio only produces one film every
few years, it doesn't expose itself much to the potential
for a bomb," says Mr Paul Dergarabedian, president of
Exhibitor Relations Co, a Los Angeles box-office tracking
company.
"The more movies you have, the greater the chance you'll
falter once in awhile." AddsMs Sasa Zorovic, an analyst
at Robertson Stephens in San Francisco, "Things like
creativity don't necessarily scale up."
Mr Jobs
insists that Pixar's "priority is still to make films
that are really great" and that he's well aware of the
dangers of growth for a studio whose successes came out of
a lean structure that wagered everything on each film. But
he concedes that "not every one of our films will succeed."Nonetheless,
Pixar is charging ahead. Over the past two years, it has increased
its head count to 550 people from 400. It has added new divisions,
including one to help with the development of new movies and
one to oversee movie development shot by shot. It has also
ramped up its technology, boosting its computer-processing
power several hundredfold from what it was for "Toy Story."
In November,
Pixar moved into new headquarters nearer San Francisco. The
space was designed to encourage collaboration, with a huge
central atrium housing everything from the cafeteria to the
bathrooms. Pixar had previously been scattered in four buildings
in an industrial area about 10 miles away in Point Richmond.
"It was a mess," says Mr Jobs, who adds that he
spends at least a day a week at the new Pixar campus.
On a recent
Tuesday, Pixar's new headquarters was buzzing. In rooms at
the back of the gleaming bricks-and-glass building, more than
a dozen new employees were taking a sculpture class to nurture
their artistic side. Downstairs, in a spacious cafeteria anchored
by wood-burning ovens, small groups munched on freshly baked
pizzas and discussed their latest projects.
One of
these projects is "Monsters, Inc," a film nearing
the end of production. The movie is about some bedtime monsters
who scare children because they need the kids' screams to
survive. Actors Mr Billy Crystal and Mr John Goodman supply
the voices of two of the monsters, whose world is thrown off
balance when one brings a real child into Monsters, Inc headquarters.
Another
project is "Finding Nemo," which is being led by
home-grown director Mr Andrew Stanton. The movie, which began
production late last year, centres on a timid father clownfish's
search for his son, who was stolen away from their home.
Mr Jobs
says the studio's growth has been "careful." In
1997, he cut a deal with Walt Disney Co that gave Pixar film
distribution and marketing for five movies. That helped free
up the creative staff. The studio is also changing the way
it nurtures film ideas. In the past, says Mr Ed Catmull, Pixar's
president and chief technical officer, because the entire
company was at work producing one film, no one had time to
develop ideas for new projects.In 1998, Mr Catmull volunteered
to create a separate eight-person development team. "Once
more ideas are percolating, we have more options to choose
from so no one artist is feeling the weight of the world on
their shoulders," says Ms Sarah McArthur, Pixar's vice-president
of production.
Pixar
also formalised its training programme, dubbed Pixar University.
Many graduates put their new skills to use on Pixar's short
film, "For the Birds," which was completed last
year. Now, they have been scattered across the teams working
on "Monsters, Inc" and "Finding Nemo."
The company
also began mentoring programmes and hired a mix of younger
employees. At the same time, it brought on more experienced
technical and creative workers - for instance, Mr Bird, who
directed the critically acclaimed but commercially unsuccessful
film "The Iron Giant." Mr Bird is now developing
a movie that may be released after "Finding Nemo."
TOP
|
Other
Stories...
 Actor Dinesh Anand shot dead at Borivali
Zee TV, India Today hand over Shakeel tapes to police
Court receiver appointed for Chori, Chori
Tee Phulrani leaves an aching void on stage and screen
Audience surfs channel of griefBharti Cellular opts for Bollywood Magic
CBFC to hire sleuths
to nab violators
|
