Pixar is deprived of several historical records. Walt Disney's animation studios have cut 75 positions, including those of two executives responsible for the box office disappointment "Buzz Lightyear" (released in 2022), Reuters revealed on Saturday. These are the first major job cuts at the studio in a decade.
Among the 75 job cuts is the director of the animated film "Buzz Lightyear" who did not meet his audience in theaters, Angus MacLane. The screenwriter had been a member of these studios for 26 years and had participated in the success of "Toy Story 4" released in 2019. In two decades, he had participated in "Incredibles", "Ratatouille", "Wall-e"...
Successful films on which we also often find the other name that pays the price of this decision of Disney, Galyn Susman. The producer of "Buzz Lightyear" (2022), "Ratatouille" (2007) and "Finding Nemo" (2003), had arrived at Pixar since the release of the film "Toy Story" in 1995.
Galyn Susman whose story and link with Toy Strory 2 are mythical in the world of cinema. In 1999, in the middle of animation film production, a Pixar agent had indeed deleted by mistake and because of a line of code almost the entire film and its hundreds or even thousands of hours of work. But she had managed to save this future success.
They pay for the failure of "Buzz Lightyear"
"A woman who was part of the technical team (Galyn Susman) of the film had gone on maternity leave, and she had with her a copy of the whole film on a local computer that she had at home to work on," says director and studio veteran Lee Unkrich, taken over by Allo Ciné. "When that happened, she remembered she had this. So they went to her house and got the computer back. The entire film, which was supposed to be released several months later. So it saved the day. »
Despite these many services rendered, these two executives are paying the price for the failure of the last "Buzz Lightyear" which, with a budget of $ 200 million, would have brought in only $ 226 million with its admissions in theaters. He had not obtained an operating visa in fourteen countries and territories in the Middle East and Asia because of a fleeting kissing scene between two women. It received a mixed reception from the public.
According to Reuters, the announcements are part of a previously announced plan by Walt Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger to cut 7000,5 jobs and cut costs by $5.1200 billion. A restructuring that will bring together the film and television sectors into a single "Disney Entertainment" unit. Pixar has 2 employees but these job cuts are noticed in the sector because the studio and its creators have brought a lot to Disney. For example, "The Incredibles 2018" released in 1 with a production budget similar to "Buzz Lightyear" had global box office sales of $2.<> billion.
Disney has implemented layoffs in all divisions, including film and television, streaming services, and theme parks. The last time Pixar cut jobs was in 2013, after the studio postponed the release of the 2015 film "The Good Dinosaur" and fired its director, Bob Peterson. Thirty positions have been cut.
