John Lasseter Accused of Sexual Assault

[Sotiris]

John Lasseter's Second Chance: Will He Survive at Skydance?
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/ ... ce-1176407


What total BS. There's no way women who worked with Lasseter intimately would be OK with him returning to a position of power.

A source who is familiar with the report that Venable presented to Ellison says the firm spoke with a broad enough cross-sampling of women who worked closely with Lasseter over the years to “feel comfortable” with giving Ellison the green light to hire the Pixar founder behind such films as Toy Story, The Incredibles, Cars and Monsters, Inc.

Source: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/ ... ce-1176407

[Disney's Divinity]

I think that image of all the female Disney characters looking at Lasseter with disgust is a really effective choice. I'm surprised they didn't include Elsa among them.

If Ellison is taking a "wait-and-see approach," I guess this will really depend on how much blowback comes and how persistent it is. Hopefully the backlash doesn't let up.

[JeanGreyForever]

If the image had been made by Disney, I'd say that they were too afraid to implicate and taint their precious Frozen property. I'd love though to hear Kristen Bell and/or Idina Menzel speak out about this. I feel like if some of the big Disney celebrities spoke out, there'd be more press coverage of this and more blowback towards Lasseter.

[Sotiris]

Insiders Question If John Lasseter Has Reformed Enough to Merit Skydance Hiring
https://variety.com/2019/film/news/john ... 203108047/


This alone is proof Lasseter hasn't changed and hasn't regretted the things he did. He still refuses to even recognize what he did and insists it was just hugging. Of course, he only expresses that privately; in public he tells people what they want to hear in order to keep his job.

Privately, some wonder if Lasseter is genuinely contrite. According to a person familiar with the executive’s state of mind in recent months, he felt that Disney CEO Bob Iger had betrayed him. He had long been known at Pixar as a “hugger,” and felt that his accusers were blowing things out of proportion.

Source: https://variety.com/2019/film/news/john ... 203108047/

[Sotiris]

Brad Bird gave a new interview where he talks about Lasseter.

Bird has a hard time talking about the allegations against Lasseter. “These times are not good for nuance,” he says. “You’re either 100 percent for something or you’re 100 against something.” “I don’t at all put John in a category with Weinstein,” he continues. “You’re navigating a world where men have acted a certain way for thousands of years. Way too late, but all of a sudden, they’re expected to change that on a dime and it’s necessary and it’s right. But it’s a little bit a gray area. It’s not as hard of a cut as people want to make it. I’m an old friend of John’s and I don’t see him in black and white. I see him as a person like anyone else. He was a person who was very protective of us at a time when we needed it. So my feelings are a little bit more complicated.”

I ask him, aside from the experience of making The Incredibles sequel 15 years after the original, what the experience of talking about it in a different era of media has been like, when he’s been asked about everything from the film’s gender politics to the Lasseter accusations to Tom Cruise’s ties to Scientology.

“Some ways it’s less difficult,” he says. “Some ways it’s more difficult.” “It’s often like a pendulum,” he continues. “If people had been historically insensitive, the pendulum goes to hypersensitive. I understand where it came from and it’s fine. I just want to go to the other world where people don’t care about this kind of stuff so much. I just mean that once everybody has a fair shot, then it becomes about the work. That’s the place I want to get to. I don’t want people to be singled out because of whatever their particular slant is, or kept from opportunities because of it. I want a place where everybody gets to do everything and it’s now about the work.”

Source: https://www.thedailybeast.com/brad-bird ... redemption

[Disney's Divinity]

I can understand how it's complicated for the people around men this has come out about. It's hard to see what a person from the perspective of someone else when you've only ever had positive interactions with them.

[D82]

I'm glad at least someone from Pixar dares to share their opinion publicly. Every other person has tried to avoid answering questions about the subject.

[Disney Duster]

What does Brad Bird have to do with Tom Cruise and Scientology?

[blackcauldron85]

What does Brad Bird have to do with Tom Cruise and Scientology?

I thought that too, but then remembered Brad directed a Mission Impossible film.

[Disney Duster]

Oh, that's it! Thank you!

[JTurner]

I get the feeling that Brad Bird feels very, very conflicted about this whole issue. I hate to say it, but on one hand I don't blame him. After all, Lasseter DID bring him out of irrelevance and got him to direct a far more successful film than his underrated Iron Giant. That said, do I feel his answer was the best way to handle this? No. I do feel like he could have been a bit more bolder. But regardless, nothing will change the fact that this is the man who directed one of my favorite movies of all time, The Iron Giant, and I will forever acknowledge him for it. It really is unfortunate he's getting blasted with a lot of controversy on account of his recent remarks. Although on the flip side, I absolutely will never condone sexual harassment, and it's unfortunate Lasseter is guilty of it, and I do think it would have been ideal for Brad to be more openly admitting about this. But I can't hate someone who directed a great movie. Even the Great Masters of Music like Beethoven, Mahler, and Wagner had skeletons in their closet too.

[Sotiris]

Behind Skydance's Risky John Lasseter Hire: An Ellison Family Friend
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/ ... nd-1178577

Skydance Promotes Holly Edwards To President Of John Lasseter-Led Animation Division
https://deadline.com/2019/02/skydance-p ... 202557960/

[Sotiris]

I love her even more now!

Emma Thompson Exits Skydance's 'Luck' After John Lasseter Hire
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/ ... re-1187303

[Disney's Divinity]

Good on her.

[JeanGreyForever]

Glad to hear. She already had a bad experience working with Harvey Weinstein when he called Hayley Atwell a "pig" so I wouldn't expect her to work with someone of Weinstein's ilk ever again.

[Atlantica]

Good, hopefully it will be power in numbers.

[Sotiris]

Emma Thompson wrote a scathing letter adressed to Skydance and its CEO for hiring Lasseter.

Emma Thompson’s letter to Skydance: Why I can’t work for John Lasseter
https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/l ... story.html

[Sotiris]

John Lasseter is attempting Hollywood’s biggest #MeToo comeback. How’s that going?
https://www.latimes.com/business/hollyw ... story.html


Wow. Female employees were crying at Skydance over Lasseter's hire.

Inside Skydance, the mood after the announcement was one of shock and anxiety. In one account, audible gasps could be heard when the news went out, with female staffers crying in their offices. In another, Lasseter’s arrival was described by one employee as the end of “a happy and creative work environment.” In the tight-knit animation community, several female animators expressed their unwillingness to work for or with Skydance, and suggested that Skydance might have trouble attracting female animators.

Source: https://www.latimes.com/business/hollyw ... story.html

[JeanGreyForever]

I'm glad Emma Thompson brought this up too in her letter that there must be so many employees at Skydance who have no desire to work for Lasseter but have no other choice if they don't want to abandon their livelihoods. I really hope this gets more and more traction and Lasseter is shunted far, far away into oblivion. He has no business trying to make a comeback.

[Disney's Divinity]

OMG, Emma Thompson's letter was absolute FIRE! Burn these monsters out!