December 13, 2008

History of Pixar: George Lucas' brain tumor (Part 1)

Why am I doing this? Well, I'm actually doing this partly for the heck of it, and partly because they're an influence to my "creative" side. 'Tis the power of Pixar, but how about you consider this as a precursor to my Pixar Movie Marathon, eh?

And hey, why not take a stroll down memory lane in everyone's favorite animation studio anyway?
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Where would Hollywood be right now without Pixar? No, I'm not just talking about 3D animation, I'm talking about their role in moviemaking in general. Where would Hollywood seriously be without them right now? We wouldn't have countless titles to enjoy, like Iron Man, Titanic, The Dark Knight, The Tuhminaydah or hell, Star Wars, without Pixar! What I'm talking about is CGI, people.

So how did Pixar come to revolutionize CGI anyway? Well, apparently, before Pixar was Pixar, it was called the Graphics Group and they were just a bunch of NYIT (New York Institute of Technology) people hired by George Lucas to make special effects, thus the creation of what was, and what still is, the ever-revolutionary, ever-present, ubiquitous Renderman.

But in the Lucasfilm days, it was actually the Motion Doctor first, and it allowed 2D animators to just sit down and work without nearly any training.

And then came the Jobs, Steve Jobs... when he left Apple in 1985. He bought the Graphics Group for 5 million dollars and became CEO (he likes the position, doesn't he?). Why did Lucas sell them to Jobs in the first place? 

It was probably because his brain tumor was starting to spread on his storytelling methods, probably located back then on his brain's left hemisphere (and now on his ass) with the release of the bestiality-promoting Howard the Duck. Well, at least that tumor wasn't bad enough to screw up the 3rd Indy and the Return of the Jedi.

Anyway, the Steve Jobs buyout was the time when the company was renamed Pixar- a fake Spanish word that means 'to make pictures or pixels', as well as the time when John Lasseter saved it from financial fail with a stroke of genius.

(To be continued)

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