John Lasseter
The success story of Disney-Pixar
PostED ON 22.09.2015 AT 11:10AM
EVENT - Just twenty years ago, he enabled digital technology to make a decisive entry into animation cinema with Toy Story. Awarded two Oscars, the director, screenwriter and producer John Lasseter, now Chief Creative Officer of the Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios, will honor the Lumière Festival with his presence. He will introduce several screenings, a tribute to the masterpieces of Pixar Studios.
Below are extensive extracts from a portrait of this successful man, published in Le Journal du Dimanche in June, penned by Stéphanie Belpêche.
He has a weakness for Hawaiian shirts. Incidentally, he's wearing one under his Armani jacket. "I have 350 in active rotation in my closet. The oldest ones are stored away in trunks. My wife, Nancy, arranges them by pattern and chooses them according to my schedule. Most of them feature tropical flowers and cars." On May 20, John Lasseter, head of the Disney-Pixar Group, the US entertainment giant, was pacing around, waiting to climb the stairs in Cannes for Pixar's latest studio gem, Inside Out by Pete Docter. Lasseter's own son, Bennett, was also in Cannes to present his short film at the Emerging Filmmaker Showcase. "So proud!"
During Lasseter's last visit in 2009, he had concerns other than the cinema. "A big rosé tasting tour, from the Côtes-de-provences to Bandol wines, my favorite. Nancy and I spoke to different vineyard owners to understand why it was superior to all others and to try and reproduce its incomparable flavor. We brought back 29 bottles in our suitcases." Back in Glen Ellen in Sonoma Valley, in "Provence de l'Amérique," the Lasseters bought a vineyard and opened a cellar. He said, "Our production is delicious. Business is good."
John Lasseter is 58 years old. He was born in Los Angeles, in a working class neighborhood of Hollywood. His father was in charge of spare parts at a Chevrolet dealership; his mother was an art teacher, an activity for which "Johnny" showed certain abilities very early on. To keep John busy during Mass, parents Jewell and Paul would give their son paper and crayons. "A perfect little angel in the church pew. I spent my time sketching comics, which kept me from getting bored. Regardless of my age, I was always the dreamer of the class. When I realized I could make animation my job, I announced the good news to mom. She thought it was a noble purpose in life." Today, John Lasseter still carries markers in his bag. Sometimes he makes pastels. But more often, he creates with a stylus on his iPad. "My staff designed an application to inform me of the progress of our current projects in real time."
There are twenty films in all, divided between Pixar, of which he is a co-founder, and Disney, the historical studio that made him fantasize as a child. "Dumbo gave me a jolt - it was absolute perfection of incredible poetry, with a hero who doesn't talk. When I was 12, I sent them an unsolicited application! In 1977, I was in my sophomore year at CalArts when I saw Star Wars. I swore that I'd be able to entertain the public in the same way, only with animation. Why shouldn't there be an animation equivalent to Lucas, Spielberg, Kubrick, Coppola or Scorsese? Inexhaustible sources of inspiration, as well as the famous cartoon creator of Warner Bros., my mentor, Chuck Jones." Two years later, when Lasseter manages to get hired at Disney with his friend Tim Burton, it is the ultimate.
He starts by working on The Fox and the Hound before turning to Tron, which allows him to familiarize himself with digital effects. "It was the future. When we arrived, the nine veterans of the golden age, including Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas, enthusiastically taught us everything. "
Lasseter then joins Lucasfilm Computer Graphics Group, an entity soon sold to Steve Jobs, the face of Apple. Jobs rebaptizes it "Pixar" and changes its orientation; now the studio is focused solely on 3D animation. What follows is a series of successes at the box office, including Toy Story, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo. "We paved the way. Since then, over 250 feature films have been created in the world." In January 2006, when Disney buys back Pixar, John becomes the big boss of the company. He insists on keeping the two poles separate from each other: "A studio is not a structure, but exists thanks to those who compose it. It evolves according to its culture."
Disney and Pixar, two distant cousins. The first is located in Burbank, the second in the San Francisco Bay area. "Disney is fairly faithful to its traditions; Pixar invents, innovates, experiments. Even now, we're proud of our independent spirit, we still consider ourselves rebels." Lasseter, head rebel, refuses to do certain aspects of his job. "I supervise the creative part, I let others take care of the management and administration; it paralyzes me. I decided to bet on the human side, not statistics. I support unique talents who dream up worlds, characters and incredible adventures." Tears suddenly well up in his eyes. "The true artistic genius was my brother, who died sixteen years ago. I still have my twin sister, Johanna, older than me by six minutes, a brilliant pastry chef." She had served as an inspiration for Ratatouille.
John Lasseter has passed down his vocation to his five sons: two TV producers, a director, a sculptor specialized in puppet making and the youngest, who studies staging. "I told them to do what they love. That way they won't work a single day in their lives. Myself, I didn't have to grow up. I still have the silliness and outlook of a kid. I remember my teachers writing on my report cards about my tendency to daydream. I compartmentalize, I concentrate and I forget everything. Nothing can pull me out of this state." Not even his cell phone, which rarely leaves his pocket. On his wrist however, he sports a custom-made Mickey Mouse Apple watch. "Blame Steve [Jobs]! But I don't write e-mails or texts." He prefers to escape aboard an authentic steam train for a tour of the premises.
Lasseter feels a kindred spirit with the master of Japanese animation, Hayao Miyazaki. "Between us, there's a perfect understanding. I don't understand Japanese, he doesn't speak English. But we communicate. We hiked together in Yosemite National Park." Lasseter showed Miyazaki his collection of Chevrolets inherited from his father, his vintage toys, his organic vegetable garden ("I'm an excellent cook"), but also the first sketches of Toy Story 4, which will herald his return as a director and scriptwriter in 2017. "I want to tell original, believable, memorable stories. So I do an enormous amount of research. Nothing is left to chance. It's the only way to become the best."
Stéphanie Belpêche
(Published on June 14, 2015 in Le Journal du Dimanche)
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A tribute to Pixar, in the presence of John Lasseter
