|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
   |
PIXAR'S AMBASSADOR TO THE MAGIC KINGDOMFor Pixar Animation Studios creative chief John Lasseter, even commuting in rush-hour traffic can be fun. Whenever possible, he rides with Pixar animator James F. Murphy--from their homes in Sonoma, Calif., to the offices 55 miles away in Point Richmond--so they can get in the fast-moving carpool lane. They don cheesy toy crowns, blast rock music such as the Beatles' Revolution, and mock solo commuters in the slow lanes with cries of ''Look at you peasants!'' and ''We Rule! We Rule!'' Says a beaming Lasseter: ''We call ourselves the Diamond Kings because of the diamonds painted in the car-pool lane.'' It's oh-so Lasseter to conjure a bit of whimsy out of something as mundane as commuting. The 41-year-old overgrown kid, with five sons of his own, is the creative force behind Pixar's 1995 hit Toy Story and the upcoming A Bug's Life. While animation's creme de la creme used to look down their noses at using computers, Lasseter, with two Academy Awards to his credit, has found magic in technology. Now he's earning $700,000 a year and respect from his colleagues. ''John and his crew have real genius,'' says Chuck Jones, the animation legend who created Bugs Bunny and RoadRunner for Warner Bros. Inc. What sets Lasseter apart is his ability to come up with imaginative stories and then use computers to create believable, lovable characters. His 1988 Oscar-winning short film Tin Toy, for example, was a humorous look at what it's like for a small toy on its first encounter with a baby--a huge drooling monster in the eyes of the toy. That was a breakthrough in animating characters: The baby's face had 20 control points so Lasseter could, for example, raise an eyebrow with the touch of a computer mouse. ''It's easy to get carried away with action rather than acting, but John really makes these computer characters act so the audience knows what they're feeling,'' says Ollie Johnston, a retired Walt Disney Co. animator who helped make Pinocchio, Bambi, and Cinderella. Lasseter's creativity is matched only by his drive to push the limits of computer animation. Pixar animation supervisor Glenn J. McQueen remembers the first time Lasseter described the climactic scene in A Bug's Life, when hundreds of ants are fighting a gang of grasshoppers in a rainstorm. With so many characters moving against an ever changing background, the scene was sure to be a technical nightmare. ''The blood just drained from our faces,'' says McQueen. Still, Lasseter insisted, and the scene was done--after more than 15 staffers worked four months to produce what became four minutes in the film. Lasseter is a favorite of the Pixar troops. Credit his infectious enthusiasm, his easily dispensed bear hugs, and openness to others' ideas. Take the voice of Heimlich the caterpillar in A Bug's Life. Story artist Jorgen Klubien suggested the blubbery guy have a silly Bavarian accent--sort of like Sergeant Schultz on Hogan's Heroes. Writer Joe Ranft then piped up with a rendition. Lasseter not only went with it, but gave the voice-over job to Ranft instead of the actor Disney had lined up. FAMILY MAN. How did Lasseter become a heavyweight in toon town? Born in Whittier, Calif., outside Los Angeles, the lifelong cartoon junkie decided to become an animator as a freshman in high school after reading a book on the making of Snow White. He was a skilled artist from the start, thanks in part to his mother, a high school art teacher for 38 years. Lasseter joined Disney after graduating from the California Institute of the Arts but quickly got disillusioned with its bureaucratic ways. He quit in 1984 and joined Pixar. Now, 15 years later, Pixar has its five-film deal with Disney--because of Lasseter. Disney wanted Lasseter's skills so badly that it insisted Pixar sign him to a seven-year contract and it pays half his salary. ''He's like a member of the family,'' says Disney Studios chief Joe Roth. The Diamond King has arrived.
By Peter Burrows in Sonoma, Calif. RELATED ITEMS
|
Updated Nov. 13, 1998 by bwwebmaster
Copyright 1998, by The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights reserved.
Terms of Use