Pixar begins scouting for a new home

By: Patrick Sauriol
Date: Thursday, February 05, 2004
Source: Pixar, The Hollywood Reporter

In a teleconference with business investors and media reporters, Pixar CEO Steve Jobs spoke about his company's high quarter earnings (four times what they were in the quarter the year before) and the decision to conclude contract talks with the Disney studio. Jobs revealed that shortly after making the announcement that Pixar will look for a new distribution partner for its future films after 2005's CARS, representatives of all the major Hollywood studios called him and expressed their desires to open a dialogue.

Jobs also said that he would begin talks with the studios beginning in March and that he hopes to have a deal concluded by sometime in the fall. He also added that resuming discussions with Disney was "very unlikely." Jobs took the opportunity to thrust a couple of pointed comments at the breakdown of talks with Disney and singled out Disney CEO Michael Eisner's prediction that FINDING NEMO would prove to be a bomb for Pixar. "As you know, things turned out a bit differently," Jobs quipped.

The company has more than half a billion dollars in hard cash and could conceivably finance its own production of new movie projects. Jobs said that after the final movie in Pixar's agreement with Disney is delivered, they already have one new project in early development and should have a second decided upon before the end of the year.



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