Slashdot Mirror
George Lucas Consolidates his Empire
Shadowcat writes "George Lucas is consolidating his galaxy, merging LucasArts, Lucas Digital (ILM & Skywalker Sound), Lucas Licensing, and Lucasfilm into one mega-corporation to provide a single place to create all sorts of media. You can find the
article on SF Chronicle Site."
Hollywood.com's story
Bizjournal.com's story
Uemedia.com's story
Anyway, it IS going to (still) be called Lucasfilm Ltd.
Steve Jobs doesn't run Pixar the way he runs Apple.
And, in typical fashion, George Lucas takes credit for starting Pixar and then selling it to Steve Jobs.
IIRC, what really happened was that, in the early 1980s, all the people in the then-small ILM computer graphics department wanted to do full-length animated films using computer animation. Lucas, on the other hand, wanted ILM's CG department to supplement ILM's business as a VFX company for traditional films. They were able to reach an agreement where the guys in ILM's CG department would get to go out on their own, and in return they would hire and train their replacements, as well as giving ILM continued access to whatever technology they developed. Thus Pixar was formed.
In 1986(?), Steve Jobs acquired a controlling interest in the newly formed company. However, Pixar is John Lasseter's baby, and would most likely not have become so successful were it not for him.
On a side note, Lucas is a revisionist and a bit of a megalomaniac. I think that the new consolidation is an attempt to bring in the "wayward" companies (aka ILM). And while the LucasArts people might be glad about having better access to ILM's resources, I'll bet that the ILM people are none to pleased. I know I'd be pissed.