We had hoped we might be able to send you into Thanksgiving weekend with some lighthearted Tinseltown news—word of another film inspired by a delightful, candid celebrity snapshot, maybe, or a long-delayed greenlight for that movie where Tracy Morgan was supposed to play an e-mail scammer who actually is a Nigerian prince. (That script is real; look it up!) And then John Lasseter abruptly stepped away from Pixar, citing the need to re-evaluate and recharge in light of recent “difficult conversations” about his unspecified “missteps.” What, precisely, was he referring to? Nicole Sperling and Rebecca Keeganhave a hunch: in interviews with more than 10 former and current Disney and Pixar employees, they learned that Lasseter had a history of crossing the boundaries of appropriate office conduct, particularly when he had been drinking. “Lasseter is the crazy-horny 13-year-old who you have to keep in check all the time,” one said. “But there’s no No. 2 for John. He’s the beating heart of Disney Animation and Pixar. He’s a genius. Nobody can do what he does.”
That may be the case—but it’s also true that under Lasseter, Pixar has earned a deserved reputation for heavily prioritizing stories about and by white, male protagonists, as Yohana Desta points out this morning. Elsewhere in HWD, contributor Allen Salkin dives into the latest drama between HGTV and its former stars Chip and Joanna Gaines; contributor Joel Keller explains how Spike Lee turned to female writers to bolster his Netflix adaptation of She’s Gotta Have It; and Josh Duboff sits for a breezy conversation with the criminally charming Armie Hammer, perhaps proving that despite everything, we actually can have nice things.
Life with Lasseter
In the animation world, he’s a living legend—who allegedly kissed his female employees on the lips and made his male employees pay for his lap dances.
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Pixar’s Woman Problem
Lasseter oversaw a studio that won accolade after accolade . . . while making female animators feel unwelcome.
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Back in Brooklyn
Spike Lee on returning to the story of his very first feature film, in a borough that’s changed dramatically since 1986.
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Behind Those Granite Counters
Chip and Joanna Gaines said they were quitting Fixer Upper to spend more time with family—but HGTV’s golden couple may actually have bigger things in mind.
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Stop: Hammer Time
The star of Call Me by Your Name discusses distasteful press queries, working with Timothée Chalamet, and getting recognized for his voice.
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