Hes been doing interviews all day forCars 2by the time we turn up in the graveyard slot.
He wouldnt be the first.
But then we start talking animation and its as if fresh jolts of energy are rippling through his body.
Thats interesting, yeah.
How does that work, and what are the ramifications for the rest of your job?
Im not going to lie.
Its a challenging thing in my job.
I love both sides of my job.
The ideas come from the filmmakers, and I love working with them, and their creative teams.
The heads of story, the writers, the directors, the art directors, the production designers.
All the people involved, to help them make their movie the best it can be.
We take all the other directors and form a kind of creative brain trust around them.
So, every three or four months, everybody has to show their movie to the studio.
And we give notes and help them, whats working, whats not working, things like that.
I love that part of my job.
But Im also a storyteller.
And I just love crafting the story.
Especially theCarsworld, which is very personal for me.
And I just love these characters.
I love the world, the whole notion of the world of cars being alive.
The little boy in me comes out in these things, having fun with it.
And therefore, I love to have the opportunity to do that.
I believe that, by directing, it makes me a better executive as well.
Its important for me to be able to be in those shoes.
Because now when I work with each director, they know Ive been in their shoes.
Especially the first time directors, the young directors.
I can really help mentor them.
But I want it to be their movie, and I want them to take ownership of it.
In your case theyre critiquing the boss.
I ensure of that.
They knew me long before I was ever that big boss.
Thats who I am to them.
And thats who I always will be.
And whatever you do, you cant do anything wrong.
Its like thats a recipe for disaster.
You want people to be honest with you.
No, its not working.
Its not working yet, and for these reasons.
At Pixar, there are a few ground rules, and I live by those rules.
One, it doesnt matter whose idea it is.
The best idea thats going to make the movie better is used, whether its mine or the receptionists.
Number two, theres no hierarchy of ideas.
Its really important that we establish that.
The last rule is that there are no mandatory notes.
Its not really the directors movie then, because hes assigned to it.
And then, everybody up the chain gives mandatory notes to the guy.
Thats the way Hollywood is.
This is the way Disney used to be before we stepped in.
And there was a great term that was used, that directors have lost their compass.
Instead, in a filmmaker-driven studio, its their movie.
Because now its on your shoulder.
And that is unique in the industry.
One of the most refreshing things Ive seen about Disney of late was talking to the directors ofTangledlast year.
[Suddenly, it starts raining heavily outside.]
Actually, I like this.
I was born and raised in California, and summertime there is just hot and sunny the whole time.
Even with [Byron Howard and Nathan Greno,Tangleddirectors], it was a collaborative effort.
And proud of for the rest of my life.
Something I can just show to people, and when people like it, I feel good.
Thats almost more important than a paycheque.
Doing what you love to do, and then being creatively satisfied.
And Im the kind of director that I feed off that collaboration.
I couldnt have come up with some of those ideas or animations.
Thats the true beauty of collaboration.
And thats what I love.
So, a lot of new, fresh amazing talent came in.
Animators, art department, you name it, they came in.
Directing, I can do that.
Yeah, I think thats probably a good cycle that Ill continue doing.
Ive got to convince my wife.
When youre a director, you really live whatever you do.
Its interesting to be able to have that kind of thing.
Im not really involved inFrankenweenieorThe Muppetsstuff, but Im a big supporter of it, though.
I just love puppet animation.
I love The Muppets, who doesnt love The Muppets.
They were thinking thats all that the world wanted to see.
And it was so wrong, because its not about the technology or the technique.
Its what you do with it, the stories you tell.
And it was so great to bring that back.
Then theres Henry SelicksCoraline, and its just magnificent to see this sort of film.
I love the Aardman guys.
Nick Park, Peter Lord, David Sproxton.
All the clay animation theyre doing is so exciting to see.
And they know their technique.
This is filmmaker-driven projects again.
Its different from studio-driven projects, where they say, This is popular.
Lets do a story with that.
And youre going, Wait a minute.
That doesnt really fit.
Thats whats so special.
So, when you see these films, you go back in time to when something is glorious.
You get something like Brad BirdsThe Iron Giant.
Its one of my favourite animated films.
Henry SelicksCoraline, too.
And definitely the work of Nick Park, and Tim Burton.
Its just so fun.
Its such a Hollywood way of thinking, when its the other way, the way I am.
I love animation, and I love that there are so many studios doing it.
And I just want them all to be great, because it benefits me.
you’re able to make deposits and you’re able to make withdrawals.
If you make too many withdrawals, youre bankrupt.
How the audience feels about your studio, your name, your brand, would be worthless.
Thats why Im devoted to making deposits.
To making every film we make at Pixar be great.
And thats what I hope people feel aboutCars 2.
John Lasseter, thank you very much.
Cars 2 is released in the UK on 22nd July.
