News John Lasseter takes leave of absence from Pixar and Disney amid "missteps"

Discussion in 'TV & Media' started by The Nth Doctor, Nov 22, 2017.

  1. The Nth Doctor

    The Nth Doctor Infinite Possibilities... Premium Member

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    Link to The Hollywood Reporter news story.

    I'm still trying to process this news because I greatly admire John Lasseter's decades-long work with Pixar and what he has done with Disney since he took over their creative department.

    The press statement from Lasseter doesn't make clear what exactly he did nor the extent of what he did, but the statement did come out ahead of an article from The Hollywood Reporter (which can be read immediately after the statement).

    I'm not discounting the situation or the possible claims, but the one thing that bothers me about The Hollywood Reporter article is that all of its claims come from unnamed sources. It does specifically state one person who received unwanted advances (Rashida Jones, co-writer of Toy Story 4), but the article lacks verification from her or anyone representing her.
     
  2. Orac

    Orac Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    It's always sad when someone you've admired turns out to be a sex pest. :(

    Fortunately dismissing this as fake news can make you feel better. :)
     
  3. Tosk

    Tosk Admiral Admiral

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    Which Jones has since refuted.
     
  4. The Nth Doctor

    The Nth Doctor Infinite Possibilities... Premium Member

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    Which is relieving. But I'm still disappointed at Pixar at large considering the reasons why she (and Will McCormack) actually left Toy Story 4, an issue that has been around since at least Brave.

    The supposed accusations (there's certainly something to them considering he took a leave of absence) against Lasseter aren't as bad as Charlie Rose or even Al Franken, but they are problematic. I do take assurances that Lasseter recognizes the problem and has taken time away from the company to deal with it.
     
  5. Awesome Possum

    Awesome Possum Moddin' Admiral

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    I've become disappointed in many people I admired. I guess you never can know how awful someone can be. :(
     
  6. Harvey

    Harvey Admiral Admiral

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    The allegations against Lasseter are at least as bad as those made against Al Franken. In fact, I'd say they are worse, given the scope and duration being reported by The Hollywood Reporter and other outlets (for the record, I believe both men should resign based on their behavior).

    Given that Lasseter not only took a leave of absence and apologized to his employees, but attempted to preempt these stories by doing so, there's no doubt in my mind that the allegations are true. Reporting these things anonymously seems to have been a prudent course of action, since, unlike Harvey Weinstein, Lasseter's career is not on the decline and he has not been fired.
     
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  7. The Nth Doctor

    The Nth Doctor Infinite Possibilities... Premium Member

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    Well, like I said in my original post, I'm not immediately believing everything The Hollywood Reporter says until either another source collaborates their story or someone goes on record. I don't doubt the allegations in general, but they've already gotten one part of story wrong and that was when they actually used a name for the record (regarding Rashida Jones). That puts the rest of their story into question.

    That being said, there is clearly some wrongdoing going on here as proven by Lasseter's leave of absence. You're right that if these allegations are substantiated that what Lasseter is as bad as Franken and I stand corrected on that point. As I said, I'm still struggling with this news and I admit I'm trying to give excuses when I shouldn't be. The behavior is appalling and should be punished accordingly, when it's more clear what that behavior was.
     
  8. Harvey

    Harvey Admiral Admiral

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    In addition to The Hollywood Reporter, there's Variety:
    There's also Vanity Fair:
    And there's the Los Angeles Times:
    These outlets have all done their own reporting on this story, and they aren't relying on one or two people to back them up. Vanity Fair's story had more than ten former and current Pixar employees as sources.

    I totally understand; this is how I felt about Al Franken when the stories about him started to come out.
     
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  9. The Nth Doctor

    The Nth Doctor Infinite Possibilities... Premium Member

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    Ah, thank you for the additional sources. I've been rather out of the news cycle for the last few days, so I've missed these stories. That and I don't typically read those particular sources (although the L.A. Times really should be part of my regular diet), so I rely on seeing them from other sources (social media, A.V. Club, etc.). Seeing more independent reporting on this story does give the claims more merit. The Variety story is particularly damning. :(