In episode 008 of the Pixar Post Podcast we discuss:
- Disney Infinity release date change and new power discs
- Ed Catmull’s honor from the Computer History Museum and our reader visit to the computer history museum in Mountain View, California.
- Monsters University Japanese language trailer as well as the two new English version faux commercials that were released (with audio clips).
- Monsters University window cling available in the official store.
- Discussion of the Monsters University gala preview at Pixar Animation Studios on June 15 with the opportunity to visit Pixar studios, bid on artwork as well as view the movie prior to the June 21 North America release.
- Wrap-up of the Artists Help Japan auctions (with a discussion about the Brave crew gift that we won).
- We candidly discuss the ongoing topic of female directors within Pixar and why we feel this is greatly exaggerated (including our opinions as well as facts…and maybe a topic that might change the tone of the conversation moving forward). We’d love to hear your thoughts in regards to the discussion – what do you think, are we way off base, or are we on to something?
Listen to the episode using the embedded player below or subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Great episode! Congratulations on your Brave blanket auction win, that's so cool. Can't wait to see some pictures of it!I really appreciate you going into the whole woman director thing! I couldn't agree more with you. I had a couple of thoughts on the topic:First, this often happens to successful companies. They become so successful that people expect each new movie/product to be better than the next (which of course is not possible). When they don't, people start claiming the end is near. It becomes a herd mentality. The same thing is happening to Apple right now. Second, Brenda wasn't released because she is a woman! As you pointed out, this is not the first time a director has been replaced. It happened on Ratatouille, and if you look at what occurred with Toy Story 2, where the entire production was shut down 9 months before its release to rework the story, I would consider that similar. And newt (directed by Gary Rydstrom), was canceled. This is just how things work at Pixar, and I think it's one reason why Pixar has been so successful. I can't imagine how painful it must be to go through a director change, but Pixar is all about quality, and if they don't feel the film is where it needs to be they will take drastic steps, rather than let something be released that doesn't live up to their standards.Finally, I think before we see more women directors we will see women supervising/directing animators and/or heads of story, as most directors come from story and animation. I'm not sure if Pixar has any women in these roles?
Great insights and thoughts as usual Jeff! Couldn't agree with you any more about Apple and Pixar – each product/project should NOT be compared to the last because each is its own entity and wasn't created to be a clone. It's hard not to compare – we naturally do it, but it's unnecessary as long as the body of work is solid!I also love your extra thoughts on the changing directors and even the cancelation of projects – well said.T.J.