Lee Unkrich leaving Pixar after 25 years

[rteetz]

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/h...or-lee-unkrich-leaving-pixar-25-years-1177411

 

[The Pho]

That’s too bad he was a big part of many great films from the studio.

 

[karly05]

Noooo!!!! No no no no no!!!! First the disappointing binge of sequels, now the loss of the man who made the truly epic Toy Story 3 and my 2nd favorite Pixar movie, Coco, which is just wonderful in so many ways. I'm super bummed about this.

 

[CampbellzSoup]

HUGE loss...

 

[Dfan79]

I don't have a clue who he is, but I'm sure he'll be missed.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Definitely a big loss - but if he is doing it to spend more time with his family than good for him (my first thought was wondering it he was leaving to join Lasseter at his new gig)

Definitely a time of change for Pixar and just hope new minds bring new ideas and the next great original movie

Thanks for all the great work Lee!

 

[Dfan79]

My first thought was wondering it he was leaving to join Lasseter at his new gig

Yeah, that's a possibility. All that's left at Pixar now is a bunch unhugging weirdos, who respect each others space.

 

[mixmastertoy]

I bet he is switching firms and going with Lasseter.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I bet he is switching firms and going with Lasseter.

Per the story he is quoted saying specifically that he is not going to another studio - so if he does then he flat out lied. Usually people are more vague in what they say but he was pretty clear

I mean, wouldn’t be the first time somone lied Of course though

 

[rteetz]

Per the story he is quoted saying specifically that he is not going to another studio - so if he does then he flat out lied. Usually people are more vague in what they say but he was pretty clear

I mean, wouldn’t be the first time somone lied Of course though

I think he will take some time off before going anywhere else.

 

[marcyleecorgan]

I think he will take some time off before going anywhere else.

haha that's just what animators do in the industry.

 

[rteetz]

haha that's just what animators do in the industry.

Lasseter didn’t take any time off though.

 

[rteetz]

Message from Lee.

https://twitter.com/leeunkrich/status/1086675568894996480?s=21

Says he is not looking to go to other studios but rather take time off for family and other passions.

 

[Dfan79]

He looks like an evil version of Tom Bergeron, but he seems like a nice guy. No skeletons have been found in his closet, at least not yet.

 

[marcyleecorgan]

Lasseter didn’t take any time off though.

Unkrich didn't need to attend misconduct classes and communication training either though ....

 

[OnSpaceshipEarth]

Meanwhile, Universal is supplanting Disney as the most consistently profitable animation studio in the world with Illumination. They also look to really kick commercial butt with DreamWorks Animation. They have their own Lasseter...Chris Melendri. Commercial instincts you can't buy...just like Lasseter.

Disney's filmed entertainment, in general, seems to be coming off the rails. Save for Marvel, the studio's performance was downright scary in 2018.

The holiday season was horrid, all three offerings were underperformers or catastrophic money-losers.

Ralph is just now at the breakeven point with 450 million gross on a 175 million budget+marketing expense of 100 million.

Poppins is still in the red and Nutcracker lost the studio 100 million dollars.

We'll see how Dumbo does in a couple of months but I have a feeling it could be another costly under-performer.

 

[Dfan79]

Meanwhile, Universal is supplanting Disney as the most consistently profitable animation studio in the world with Illumination. They also look to really kick commercial butt with DreamWorks Animation. They have their own Lasseter...Chris Melendri. Commercial instincts you can't buy...just like Lasseter.

Disney's filmed entertainment, in general, seems to be coming off the rails. Save for Marvel, the studio's performance was downright scary in 2018.

The holiday season was horrid, all three offerings were underperformers or catastrophic money-losers.

Ralph is just now at the breakeven point with 450 million gross on a 175 million budget+marketing expense of 100 million.

Poppins is still in the red and Nutcracker lost the studio 100 million dollars.

We'll see how Dumbo does in a couple of months but I have a feeling it could be another costly under-performer.

What??? Is that you Chris Melendri? I noticed you didn't mention "The Incredibles 2" (over 608 million) because that would go against your point. So to try and fudge your numbers you tell everyone to forget about Marvel and that Ralph is breaking even with 471 million. Which is a lot of money for a movie that hasn't even gone to blu-ray yet.

1 Black Panther BV $700,059,566 4,084 $202,003,951 4,020 2/16 8/9
2 Avengers: Infinity War BV $678,815,482 4,474 $257,698,183 4,474 4/27 9/13
3 Incredibles 2 BV $608,581,744 4,410 $182,687,905 4,410 6/15 12/13

 

[OnSpaceshipEarth]

What??? Is that you Chris Melendri? I noticed you didn't mention "The Incredibles 2" (over 608 million) because that would go against your point. So to try and fudge your numbers you tell everyone to forget about Marvel and that Ralph is breaking even with 471 million. Which is a lot of money for a movie that hasn't even gone to blu-ray yet.

1 Black Panther BV $700,059,566 4,084 $202,003,951 4,020 2/16 8/9
2 Avengers: Infinity War BV $678,815,482 4,474 $257,698,183 4,474 4/27 9/13
3 Incredibles 2 BV $608,581,744 4,410 $182,687,905 4,410 6/15 12/13

Ralph is at 456 million currently, not 471 but regardless...I was actually being generous about it breaking even.

It's production budget is 175 million and it's marketing cost is probably around the 100+ million that is common for films such as this. Total cost= 275 million.

The studio only gets 50% of the gross(at best) so the break-even point would be around 550 million which would mean it's still substantially in the red.

 

[OnSpaceshipEarth]

What??? Is that you Chris Melendri? I noticed you didn't mention "The Incredibles 2" (over 608 million) because that would go against your point. So to try and fudge your numbers you tell everyone to forget about Marvel and that Ralph is breaking even with 471 million. Which is a lot of money for a movie that hasn't even gone to blu-ray yet.

1 Black Panther BV $700,059,566 4,084 $202,003,951 4,020 2/16 8/9
2 Avengers: Infinity War BV $678,815,482 4,474 $257,698,183 4,474 4/27 9/13
3 Incredibles 2 BV $608,581,744 4,410 $182,687,905 4,410 6/15 12/13

My apologies that I forgot Incredibles 2. So that gives them 4 hits for 2018 and 5 underperformers and/or outright disasters.

 

[Micca]

I bet he is switching firms and going with Lasseter.

I'm thinking this too. I know he said he's not going to another studio but to spend time with his family, etc. That indicates to me he has a non-compete in his contract that doesn't allow him to go to another studio for a period of time (a year perhaps.) After a year of spending time with family and pursuing other passions he can go anywhere he wants. This is just a hunch of course. But if I'm Lasseter I'm going to put together a team of folks I know and respect and that's going to include some of the Pixar vets.