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Pixar Founder John Lasseter Accepts Steve Jobs' Disney Legends Award in Emotional Speech

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Pixar founder John Lasseter accepted Steve Jobs' Disney Legends Award yesterday at the D23 Expo, an annual Disney event held for fans. In a video from YouTube channel WDWINFO, Lasseter can be seen emotionally talking about how Jobs had become like a brother to him after he lost his own brother to AIDS, going on to share several stories about Jobs' involvement with the animation company over the years.

In the speech, Lasseter recounted the early days of Pixar in 1984 when it was a technology company, noting that Jobs had liked what Pixar was doing and had tried to convince the Apple board to purchase the company. However, Jobs was soon fired from Apple and any potential purchasing intention or thoughts were dropped.

The Pixar founder then remembered a dinner he had with Jobs during one of the more troubling periods of production on "Toy Story", noting that Jobs saw how Pixar's work could be remembered far longer than any computer.
We were having dinner one day, in the middle of the hardest part of making 'Toy Story', and he started looking off again in the distance and he said: You know John, when we make the computers at Apple. He said the lifespan of that computer is what, 3 years? He said in 5 years it's a door stop. Ya know, that's how technology goes. But he said 'if you do your job right what you create and what Pixar creates can last forever.'
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Lasster also noted that Jobs had "changed" significantly during his time at Pixar. He had married his wife and began to see and embrace the arts while also seeing the creativity and skills of Pixar employees. Lasseter explained that he could see Jobs growing into a wonderful leader who was constantly pushing Pixar's employees to aim higher than they ever thought was possible.

Under Jobs' leadership, Pixar grew to be responsible for a large part of Disney's success, with Jobs eventually selling the company to Disney for $7.4 billion in early 2006. Last November, Pixar named its main building in honor of of Jobs.

Disney Legends was a program that originated 26 years ago, and over the years the program has honored over 250 individuals who have made significant contributions to The Walt Disney Company. Jobs received the award for his "visionary attitude, and penchant for innovation", his work at Apple, his contributions to Pixar, and his work on the Disney board of directors.

In addition to Jobs, Dick Clark, John Goodman, Billy Crystal and more were be recognized at the ceremony. Honorees are awarded a two-foot-tall bronze sculpture that signifies "imagination, creativity and magic that they have brought to the company."

Article Link: Pixar Founder John Lasseter Accepts Steve Jobs' Disney Legends Award in Emotional Speech
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2013/08/11/pixar-founder-john-lasseter-accepts-steve-jobs-disney-legends-award-in-emotional-speech/
Tankmaze

Tankmaze

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However, Jobs was soon fired from Apple and any potential purchasing intention or thoughts were dropped.
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Mad respect for SJ, he could have just spend his days enjoying his money on an island or somewhere and enjoy life, but he just keeps moving forward to what he believed in.
 
ValSalva

ValSalva

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Good stuff. The Isaacson biography covered a lot of the Pixar years and Disney dealings. I thought that was the best part of the book, probably because it was the part of Job's life I knew the least about. SJ really came of age as a business man during his Pixar years.
 
Small White Car

Small White Car

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I believe that 50 years from now Steve Jobs will be most remembered for 2 things: The iPad and Pixar.

I'm not saying the rest will be forgotten, but I suspect those will be the first things people talk about.
 
macs4nw

macs4nw

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MacRumors said:
.....In the speech, Lasseter recounted the early days of Pixar in 1984 when it was a technology company, noting that Jobs had liked what Pixar was doing and had tried to convince the Apple board to purchase the company. However, Jobs was soon fired from Apple and any potential purchasing intention or thoughts were dropped.....

Article Link: Pixar Founder John Lasseter Accepts Steve Jobs' Disney Legends Award in Emotional Speech
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How cruel and unpredictable life can be, and how it can sometimes turn out better in the end.
 
Truffy

Truffy

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The audio was a little unclear in parts, but I got the impression that SJ started at Pixar figuring he could do what anyone else did, and ended up realising otherwise. That he came to respect them for being different. :cool:
 
rdlink

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If you've never watched the movie named The Pixar Story I would highly recommend it. Very uplifting movie about an incredibly talented and dedicated group of people, and the part of the movie that includes Jobs truly shows his amazing vision.
 
CindyRed

CindyRed

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newdeal said:
Of all the takeovers you hear about 7.6 billion was a steal
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Not as much of a steal as when George Lucas sold it to Jobs for $5 million, because the studio seemed to be heading in a direction that he didn't believe would lead to the future of motion pictures. Seeing what Lucas has made since then, he probably didn't see the future of motion pictures as entertainment for humans.
 
macs4nw

macs4nw

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rdlink said:
If you've never watched the movie named The Pixar Story I would highly recommend it. Very uplifting movie about an incredibly talented and dedicated group of people, and the part of the movie that includes Jobs truly shows his amazing vision.
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After seeing this clip, I definitely want to see The Pixar Story. What stood out for me was (at 4:15 in the clip) Steve's 'if you do your job right' quote.
 
the8thark

the8thark

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Small White Car said:
I believe that 50 years from now Steve Jobs will be most remembered for 2 things: The iPad and Pixar.

I'm not saying the rest will be forgotten, but I suspect those will be the first things people talk about.
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For me the iPad is much more Ive then Jobs. To me Steve's greatest legacies are Pixar and Apple itself (not the products, but the whole company and everything in it)
 
jonnysods

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CindyRed said:
Not as much of a steal as when George Lucas sold it to Jobs for $5 million, because the studio seemed to be heading in a direction that he didn't believe would lead to the future of motion pictures. Seeing what Lucas has made since then, he probably didn't see the future of motion pictures as entertainment for humans.
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Quote of the day!
 
GenesisST

GenesisST

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CindyRed said:
Not as much of a steal as when George Lucas sold it to Jobs for $5 million, because the studio seemed to be heading in a direction that he didn't believe would lead to the future of motion pictures. Seeing what Lucas has made since then, he probably didn't see the future of motion pictures as entertainment for humans.
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He made movies that he enjoyed and (I think) paid from his pocket... Although they were far from stellar, I can respect that.

Same as Jobs... It just happens that people like his vision.
 
ConCat

ConCat

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Small White Car said:
I believe that 50 years from now Steve Jobs will be most remembered for 2 things: The iPad and Pixar.

I'm not saying the rest will be forgotten, but I suspect those will be the first things people talk about.
Click to expand...

I'd have to add the Mac too. All three products created consumer markets where none existed; the rest were simply incredible innovations on existing markets.
 
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