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To Pixar and Beyond: My Unlikely Journey with Steve Jobs to Make Entertainment History
The never-before-told story of Pixar's improbable success?
“Hi, Lawrence?” the caller asked. “This is Steve Jobs. I saw your picture in a magazine a few years ago and thought we’d work together someday.”
After Steve Jobs was unceremoniously dismissed from Apple, he bought a little-known graphics company called Pixar. One day, out of the blue, Jobs called Lawrence Levy, a Harvard-trained lawyer and executive to whom he had never spoken before, to persuade Levy to help him get Pixar off the ground.
What Levy found was a company on the verge of failure. To Pixar and Beyond is the story of what happened how, working closely with Jobs, Levy produced and implemented a highly improbable plan that transformed Pixar into one of Hollywood’s greatest success stories.
Set in the worlds of Silicon Valley and Hollywood, the book takes readers inside Pixar, Disney, law firms, and investment banks. It provides an up-close, firsthand account of Pixar’s ascent, how it made creative choices, Levy’s enduring collaboration and friendship with Jobs, and how Levy came to see in Pixar deeper lessons that can apply to many aspects of our lives.
“Hi, Lawrence?” the caller asked. “This is Steve Jobs. I saw your picture in a magazine a few years ago and thought we’d work together someday.”
After Steve Jobs was unceremoniously dismissed from Apple, he bought a little-known graphics company called Pixar. One day, out of the blue, Jobs called Lawrence Levy, a Harvard-trained lawyer and executive to whom he had never spoken before, to persuade Levy to help him get Pixar off the ground.
What Levy found was a company on the verge of failure. To Pixar and Beyond is the story of what happened how, working closely with Jobs, Levy produced and implemented a highly improbable plan that transformed Pixar into one of Hollywood’s greatest success stories.
Set in the worlds of Silicon Valley and Hollywood, the book takes readers inside Pixar, Disney, law firms, and investment banks. It provides an up-close, firsthand account of Pixar’s ascent, how it made creative choices, Levy’s enduring collaboration and friendship with Jobs, and how Levy came to see in Pixar deeper lessons that can apply to many aspects of our lives.
274 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 1, 2016
1386 people are currently reading
12549 people want to read
About the author
Lawrence Levy
5 books74 followersLAWRENCE LEVY is a former Silicon Valley lawyer and executive hired by Steve Jobs in 1994 as CFO and member of the Office of the President of Pixar Animation Studios. He was responsible for Pixar's business strategy and IPO and guided Pixar's transformation from a money-losing graphics company into a multibillion-dollar entertainment studio. He later joined Pixar's board of directors. He then left corporate life to study Eastern philosophy and meditation and their relevance to modern life. He now writes and teaches on this topic and cofounded Juniper Foundation to pursue this work. Originally from London, England, he earned degrees from Indiana University and Harvard Law School. He lives with his wife, Hillary, in Palo Alto, California.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 780 reviews
August 21, 2016
I don't really read business books, but I loved this. Levy's story is a really well-told personal narrative about bridging the gap between art and commerce, and anyone who's seen a Pixar movie in the last twenty years will find something of value here. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some borderline-miraculous movies to go re-watch.
December 1, 2016
I don’t typically read business books, but Lawrence Levy’s book, “To Pixar and Beyond” isn’t a typical business book. There’s a warm, lovable fuzziness to it that is, in my mind, antithetical to the typical business ethos. It's a jarring cognitive dissonance, for me, at least.
It may help to explain my hatred of the business world.
I believe that the MBAification of the world started about fifty years ago when colleges and universities across the country started downplaying humanities and started emphasizing pro-capitalist pro-big business agendas and curriculum. The Arts were quickly being replaced with the Art of the Deal.
Subsequently, a business model began being applied to fields to which such models had previously never been applied nor should have been applied---education, health care, church administration. Arguably, this has destroyed the very foundation of these fields and has created many more problems than it has solved.
It has created an education system that is floundering miserably in this country, as a strong anti-public education campaign led by conservative politicians has led to entire school systems failing kids in droves while diverting federal funds from public schools to private and charter schools, which have repeatedly been proven by study after study to be completely ineffectual and/or detrimental to student learning.
It has created a health care system run not by doctors and health care workers but by insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies; a system that only the wealthy or those willing and able to pay enormous premiums can afford to use while those with no insurance or limited insurance are literally dying because of their lack of access.
It has created megachurches who feed off the weak-minded, allowing some pastors to bring in incomes rivalling CEOs of small companies, while cutting ministries and programs that have historically helped the community by offering food aid, clothing, and shelter to the homeless and the poor.
Business has created a country ruled by politicians ruled by money, who worship at the feet of Mammon, who care nothing for the people beneath them.
Business has created a society guided by greed, where compassion and empathy are signs of weakness, where helping the environment and saving people’s lives are not cost-effective, and where bullying is a legitimate tactic to get ahead in the workplace, in classrooms, in relationships, in politics.
Business enabled Trump to become our president-elect.
So, yeah, I basically hate the business world, and I pretty much have no respect for people with MBAs. I truly believe that they are ruining the world.
Then I read “To Pixar and Beyond” about a company owned by one of the most famous business assholes in the world---Steve Jobs---who calls in a (gasp!) corporate lawyer to save this company, which by all rights should have folded years ago, and take it public.
And I enjoyed it. A business book. A book chock-full of ridiculous business terms like “stock options” and “IPOs” and “profit motive”. A book in which the narrator is a stinkin’ corporate lawyer.
Damn you, Levy, for making me like you! And making me kind of like Steve Jobs! And for educating me on how start-up companies work! And for saving Pixar!
No, seriously, thanks a hella ton for that last point. I love Pixar. My wife and I own every single Disney/Pixar movie ever made, on VHS, DVD, and blu-ray. My three-year-old daughter has grown up loving the “Toy Story” movies and the “Cars” movies and “Finding Nemo” and “Finding Dory” and “Brave” and, well, all of them.
Pixar is one of the only Hollywood studios doing anything even remotely original and unique. While Hollywood churns out sequel after sequel or remake after remake or some obscure comic book adaptation of a superhero nobody has ever heard of or a big-budget epic film based on a video game, Pixar actually makes movies in which story and character development actually matter.
Which is why Levy’s story is so fascinating and, well, almost suspenseful, because the little computer animation company that could was almost the little computer animation company that never was.
Levy starts the book with the phone call in 1994 that changed his life, literally.
Jobs had acquired Pixar in the late-‘80s from George Lucas’s Lucasfilm. He had hoped to turn it into a revolutionary imaging computer and software company, but it had gone nowhere. When Levy was asked by Jobs to join the Pixar team as the chief financial officer, he found a company on the brink of going under. Any other CEO would have pulled the plug years before, but Jobs saw something special in Pixar. Over a short amount of time, Levy did as well.
Pixar had everything riding on the success of their first full-length computer-animated motion picture, “Toy Story”, which was a few storyboards and about 20 minutes of a very early-stages scene when Levy joined.
Jobs and Levy had extraordinary confidence and faith in the brilliance and creativity of the Pixar team, led by John Lasseter.
Unfortunately, the company needed funding, and the best way to do that was to go public.
There was also the issue of a convoluted contractual agreement worked out between Pixar and Disney’s then-CEO, Michael Eisner, who was notorious for his lackluster and (some would say) disastrous mismanagement of Disney.
“To Pixar and Beyond” should not be a book that I found fascinating or endearing in any way, but I did, and I’m glad I read it.
It gave me faith and hope that not all businesses are bad, that not all business people are assholes and not all companies are evil, soul-sucking monstrosities bent on world domination and/or destruction.
I still think the majority of them are, though... Just sayin’...
It may help to explain my hatred of the business world.
I believe that the MBAification of the world started about fifty years ago when colleges and universities across the country started downplaying humanities and started emphasizing pro-capitalist pro-big business agendas and curriculum. The Arts were quickly being replaced with the Art of the Deal.
Subsequently, a business model began being applied to fields to which such models had previously never been applied nor should have been applied---education, health care, church administration. Arguably, this has destroyed the very foundation of these fields and has created many more problems than it has solved.
It has created an education system that is floundering miserably in this country, as a strong anti-public education campaign led by conservative politicians has led to entire school systems failing kids in droves while diverting federal funds from public schools to private and charter schools, which have repeatedly been proven by study after study to be completely ineffectual and/or detrimental to student learning.
It has created a health care system run not by doctors and health care workers but by insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies; a system that only the wealthy or those willing and able to pay enormous premiums can afford to use while those with no insurance or limited insurance are literally dying because of their lack of access.
It has created megachurches who feed off the weak-minded, allowing some pastors to bring in incomes rivalling CEOs of small companies, while cutting ministries and programs that have historically helped the community by offering food aid, clothing, and shelter to the homeless and the poor.
Business has created a country ruled by politicians ruled by money, who worship at the feet of Mammon, who care nothing for the people beneath them.
Business has created a society guided by greed, where compassion and empathy are signs of weakness, where helping the environment and saving people’s lives are not cost-effective, and where bullying is a legitimate tactic to get ahead in the workplace, in classrooms, in relationships, in politics.
Business enabled Trump to become our president-elect.
So, yeah, I basically hate the business world, and I pretty much have no respect for people with MBAs. I truly believe that they are ruining the world.
Then I read “To Pixar and Beyond” about a company owned by one of the most famous business assholes in the world---Steve Jobs---who calls in a (gasp!) corporate lawyer to save this company, which by all rights should have folded years ago, and take it public.
And I enjoyed it. A business book. A book chock-full of ridiculous business terms like “stock options” and “IPOs” and “profit motive”. A book in which the narrator is a stinkin’ corporate lawyer.
Damn you, Levy, for making me like you! And making me kind of like Steve Jobs! And for educating me on how start-up companies work! And for saving Pixar!
No, seriously, thanks a hella ton for that last point. I love Pixar. My wife and I own every single Disney/Pixar movie ever made, on VHS, DVD, and blu-ray. My three-year-old daughter has grown up loving the “Toy Story” movies and the “Cars” movies and “Finding Nemo” and “Finding Dory” and “Brave” and, well, all of them.
Pixar is one of the only Hollywood studios doing anything even remotely original and unique. While Hollywood churns out sequel after sequel or remake after remake or some obscure comic book adaptation of a superhero nobody has ever heard of or a big-budget epic film based on a video game, Pixar actually makes movies in which story and character development actually matter.
Which is why Levy’s story is so fascinating and, well, almost suspenseful, because the little computer animation company that could was almost the little computer animation company that never was.
Levy starts the book with the phone call in 1994 that changed his life, literally.
Jobs had acquired Pixar in the late-‘80s from George Lucas’s Lucasfilm. He had hoped to turn it into a revolutionary imaging computer and software company, but it had gone nowhere. When Levy was asked by Jobs to join the Pixar team as the chief financial officer, he found a company on the brink of going under. Any other CEO would have pulled the plug years before, but Jobs saw something special in Pixar. Over a short amount of time, Levy did as well.
Pixar had everything riding on the success of their first full-length computer-animated motion picture, “Toy Story”, which was a few storyboards and about 20 minutes of a very early-stages scene when Levy joined.
Jobs and Levy had extraordinary confidence and faith in the brilliance and creativity of the Pixar team, led by John Lasseter.
Unfortunately, the company needed funding, and the best way to do that was to go public.
There was also the issue of a convoluted contractual agreement worked out between Pixar and Disney’s then-CEO, Michael Eisner, who was notorious for his lackluster and (some would say) disastrous mismanagement of Disney.
“To Pixar and Beyond” should not be a book that I found fascinating or endearing in any way, but I did, and I’m glad I read it.
It gave me faith and hope that not all businesses are bad, that not all business people are assholes and not all companies are evil, soul-sucking monstrosities bent on world domination and/or destruction.
I still think the majority of them are, though... Just sayin’...
July 24, 2018
Siempre he creído que Pixar trajo una alegría especial al mundo a través de su capacidad de conectarse con la audiencia. Aciertos como "Toy Story" y "Bichos; una aventura en miniatura" fueron pilares de mi infancia y me llevaron a creer en un mundo nuevo en el que todo es posible.
Lawrence Levy toma la magia de Pixar y muestra los detrás de escena de su éxito. Su emocionante historia captura el ciclo de vida de Pixar, ya que va desde una empresa al borde del fracaso hasta la mejor compañía de animación del mundo. Escribe sobre sus experiencias con Steve Jobs, pero no desde el lente tradicional que hemos visto en los últimos años. El papel de Levy en Pixar lo coloca en una posición en la que necesita encontrar un equilibrio entre los deseos de Steve y lo que cree que es mejor para la empresa y sus empleados.
Captura la transición de la compañía con la elegancia de las películas de Pixar. Encontró el equilibrio perfecto de los antecedentes comerciales y una historia cautivadora. Una cosa que respeto mucho sobre el libro es su capacidad de relación con todos. Para aquellos que no tienen una base de conocimiento empresarial, Levy creó la historia con desgloses de algunos de los temas comerciales más importantes.
Pixar tiene una historia increíble que el mundo necesita escuchar, y Levy hace eso.
Lawrence Levy toma la magia de Pixar y muestra los detrás de escena de su éxito. Su emocionante historia captura el ciclo de vida de Pixar, ya que va desde una empresa al borde del fracaso hasta la mejor compañía de animación del mundo. Escribe sobre sus experiencias con Steve Jobs, pero no desde el lente tradicional que hemos visto en los últimos años. El papel de Levy en Pixar lo coloca en una posición en la que necesita encontrar un equilibrio entre los deseos de Steve y lo que cree que es mejor para la empresa y sus empleados.
Captura la transición de la compañía con la elegancia de las películas de Pixar. Encontró el equilibrio perfecto de los antecedentes comerciales y una historia cautivadora. Una cosa que respeto mucho sobre el libro es su capacidad de relación con todos. Para aquellos que no tienen una base de conocimiento empresarial, Levy creó la historia con desgloses de algunos de los temas comerciales más importantes.
Pixar tiene una historia increíble que el mundo necesita escuchar, y Levy hace eso.
November 1, 2016
In my eyes, Pixar brought joy to the world through their ability to connect with the audience. Moves such as “Toy Story” and “A Bug’s Life” were pillars of my childhood, pulling me into a new world where anything is possible.
Lawrence Levy takes the same magic of Pixar and shows you the behind-the-scenes of its success. His thrilling story captures Pixar’s lifecycle as it goes from a company on the brink of failure to arguably the best animation company in the world. He writes of his experiences with Steve Jobs, but not from the traditional lens that we have seen in the last few years. Levy’s role at Pixar (without giving anything away) puts him in a position where he needs to find a balance between Steve’s desires and what he believes is best for the company and its employees.
He captures the transition of the company with the elegance of Pixar movies themselves. It struck the perfect balance of business background and a captivating story. One thing I highly respect about the book is its relatability for everyone. I come from a business background, and bonded with the twists of the IPO. For those who don’t have a business knowledge base, Levy crafted the story with breakdowns of some of the larger business topics.
Pixar has an amazing story the world needs to hear, and Levy does just that. Steve Jobs brings a unique lens to the book, but it really is the whole experience of his journey that makes the it great, from the battle of the IPO, to his transition into the world buddhist meditation at Juniper, and “The Middle Way”.
Pixar captures the essence of storytelling for everyone to understand, bond and connect with. In the same Pixar fashion, Levy has created something that will leave you with moments of pure joy, frustration, sorrow, and excitement. If you are on the edge of buying “To Pixar and Beyond”, take the leap. Buy it, read it, fall in love with the company, and be prepared to watch “Toy Story” when you finish, trust me, you’ll thank me later.
Lawrence Levy takes the same magic of Pixar and shows you the behind-the-scenes of its success. His thrilling story captures Pixar’s lifecycle as it goes from a company on the brink of failure to arguably the best animation company in the world. He writes of his experiences with Steve Jobs, but not from the traditional lens that we have seen in the last few years. Levy’s role at Pixar (without giving anything away) puts him in a position where he needs to find a balance between Steve’s desires and what he believes is best for the company and its employees.
He captures the transition of the company with the elegance of Pixar movies themselves. It struck the perfect balance of business background and a captivating story. One thing I highly respect about the book is its relatability for everyone. I come from a business background, and bonded with the twists of the IPO. For those who don’t have a business knowledge base, Levy crafted the story with breakdowns of some of the larger business topics.
Pixar has an amazing story the world needs to hear, and Levy does just that. Steve Jobs brings a unique lens to the book, but it really is the whole experience of his journey that makes the it great, from the battle of the IPO, to his transition into the world buddhist meditation at Juniper, and “The Middle Way”.
Pixar captures the essence of storytelling for everyone to understand, bond and connect with. In the same Pixar fashion, Levy has created something that will leave you with moments of pure joy, frustration, sorrow, and excitement. If you are on the edge of buying “To Pixar and Beyond”, take the leap. Buy it, read it, fall in love with the company, and be prepared to watch “Toy Story” when you finish, trust me, you’ll thank me later.
December 28, 2016
Levy has a very unique experience with Pixar so of course I wanted to read this. But this is an extremely individualized account and mainly speaks of the finances and the business aspects of Pixar. I am more interested in the creative/movie creation aspect so this bored me a little.
If you want to read an all encompassing book about EVERYTHING Pixar, I recommend The Pixar Touch:the making of a company.
I appreciate this man's experience but the book bored me.
If you want to read an all encompassing book about EVERYTHING Pixar, I recommend The Pixar Touch:the making of a company.
I appreciate this man's experience but the book bored me.
November 14, 2016
4 stars for the first three parts; 2 stars for the last part.
August 29, 2021
For some reason I really enjoy books about small businesses that grow to become hugely successful. This book tells the story of Pixar, the computer animation studio that famously produced the film Toy Story, and later many other award winning films. It starts with the author, a lawyer and business executive, being tempted to join the company, to add to business experience and nous to the existing team. The man inviting Lawrence Levy to join Pixar is Apple co-founder Steve Jobs.
On his first visit to the company’s studio, Levy is blown away by the talent, the invention and the sheer brilliance of the output. But it’s clear that the company is being kept alive only by the input of regular injections of cash from Jobs. There’s currently no business plan in place and Pixar seems to be locked into a long-term deal with Disney that almost guarantees that the company won’t be making any serious money for years to come. But Levy loves the early glimpse of Toy Story he’s seen and is wowed by the leap in technological output it represents. And he likes Jobs too – he’s in.
From here there’s a good deal of focus on how the company is work around the restrictions imposed by the Disney deal to bring in more revenue, with the side story being the developing business relationship and friendship between the Jobs and Levy. It’s well presented and even though pretty much everyone knows how this plays out there is still an element of suspense here as Pixar considers its options and takes some significant business risks along the way.
Walter Isaacson’s excellent biography of Jobs provided a telling picture of the man and this books fills in a few gaps. It’s definitely worth catching if you’re interested in the life and achievements of this Silicon Valley legend. Levy too is an interesting character: a dedicated business driver who is to leave Pixar, after helping the company secure its future, to pursue his passion for Buddhist philosophy.
On his first visit to the company’s studio, Levy is blown away by the talent, the invention and the sheer brilliance of the output. But it’s clear that the company is being kept alive only by the input of regular injections of cash from Jobs. There’s currently no business plan in place and Pixar seems to be locked into a long-term deal with Disney that almost guarantees that the company won’t be making any serious money for years to come. But Levy loves the early glimpse of Toy Story he’s seen and is wowed by the leap in technological output it represents. And he likes Jobs too – he’s in.
From here there’s a good deal of focus on how the company is work around the restrictions imposed by the Disney deal to bring in more revenue, with the side story being the developing business relationship and friendship between the Jobs and Levy. It’s well presented and even though pretty much everyone knows how this plays out there is still an element of suspense here as Pixar considers its options and takes some significant business risks along the way.
Walter Isaacson’s excellent biography of Jobs provided a telling picture of the man and this books fills in a few gaps. It’s definitely worth catching if you’re interested in the life and achievements of this Silicon Valley legend. Levy too is an interesting character: a dedicated business driver who is to leave Pixar, after helping the company secure its future, to pursue his passion for Buddhist philosophy.
November 6, 2016
I was surprised how much I enjoyed this book. I am not typically interested in business or finance at all, but the writing was high quality and the mix of story levels was just enough. Not too much business stuff to bog down but enough that I could understand and follow along. It was also a really nice mix of personal and big picture, so that I felt like I was getting to know the people involved without being invasive or snooping. My only complaint, and it is a minor one, is the last few chapters (Part IV). I completely understand why they were included, and I don't have a complaint about the theoretical reason for doing so, but, mostly because of the drastic change in tone and seeming need to get through that section quickly, for me the "story" ended with the sale of Pixar, and I didn't really gain anything from following the author's journey after that point. It may have been the "why" of writing the book, but it was both not deep enough to be truly meaningful and too deep to appeal to the same audience as the rest of the book. Part IV gets a poor rating as a result - it just wasn't as developed as the rest of the book and felt disconnected. Part I through III were, on the other hand, "addictive" and very much worth reading.
November 27, 2016
I read a lot of business books and I often walk away from the book feeling like the business leader was kind of stupid. You won't feel like that with this book. He is the smartest person in the room, but has a gift for explaining complex issues with clarity and understanding that many issues are complicated and not easily wrapped in tidy bows. He is a good writer, it's a great story and the only reason it doesn't get five stars is the end of the book, where it gets too new age for me. Don't let that stop you; its a great read.
October 29, 2016
This books reads like a detective story, as Lawrence Levy races against time to discover what ails Pixar and how to make a viable company out of it. Now I admit, I am totally biased, because I worked with Lawrence on the book, but biased or not, I'm not lying--this is a thoughtful, informative, rewarding book. But don't take my word for it; read what the New York Times had to say: ``Mr. Levy’s ability to remain calm and clear-eyed in the face of singular personalities and business challenges translates into a crisp, even elegant, narrative. When tackling complex or controversial topics, he manages to illuminate the core concepts without oversimplification. In Mr. Levy’s hands, the enigmatic and sometimes ruthless Mr. Jobs emerges as a surprisingly sympathetic character, even as the deep tensions with Pixar’s staff are explored.'' Read the book--thank me later.
August 4, 2016
*3.5 stars*
If Ed Catmull's Creativity Inc was the heart story of Pixar, this is the head story. A fast-paced, nuts-and-bolts business story about how CFO Lawrence Levy signed on to a company struggling to find its way to infinity and beyond.
Oh, and there's some rather reasonable Steve Jobs in here.
If Ed Catmull's Creativity Inc was the heart story of Pixar, this is the head story. A fast-paced, nuts-and-bolts business story about how CFO Lawrence Levy signed on to a company struggling to find its way to infinity and beyond.
Oh, and there's some rather reasonable Steve Jobs in here.
February 13, 2020
I loved it! Lawrence Levy was hired by Steve Jobs as CFO of Pixar when it was a bustling house with plenty of creative talent and not much of an idea how to make a viable business out of it. The story is how that collection of creative geniuses was allowed to thrive and deliver some of the most iconic animation movies all the while Pixar evolved from a company in a deadlock to an unlikely IPO, to being acquired by Disney for 7bn.
I loved the storytelling. It's a business case study / thriller / drama. Levy isn't stingy on personal details - those are well placed and they do complement the story. His recollections of brainstorms, arguments with Steve Jobs were a dessert for me. Levy managed to draw a likeable personality out of Jobs which was rather odd, yet in a strange way satisfying for me.
For a better perspective how Disney side approached the Pixar acquisition deal, their problematics and aspirations you might also want to check out the book by Robert Iger, CEO of Disney - Ride of a lifetime. Iger's perspective truly enriches this story.
I loved the storytelling. It's a business case study / thriller / drama. Levy isn't stingy on personal details - those are well placed and they do complement the story. His recollections of brainstorms, arguments with Steve Jobs were a dessert for me. Levy managed to draw a likeable personality out of Jobs which was rather odd, yet in a strange way satisfying for me.
For a better perspective how Disney side approached the Pixar acquisition deal, their problematics and aspirations you might also want to check out the book by Robert Iger, CEO of Disney - Ride of a lifetime. Iger's perspective truly enriches this story.
December 27, 2019
This is the story of how the little company that made the world fall in love with toys, bugs, fish, monsters, cars, superheroes, chefs, robots, ad emotions emerged from the forces at work beneath it. It is about the choices and the absurd bets and risks that made it possible. It is about the tension between creative integrity and real-world necessities, and how that tension shaped those involved with it -- Steve Jobs; Pixar's creative, technical, and production teams; and me (Lawrence Levy). It is a story about what it means to put the creative impulse first, and why that is so very hard to do.
This book is classified as a business book. I am so happy that I was not aware of this before picking this book up to read as I think that may have deterred me. I do not read business books but I would argue that this book is so much more than that.
I love everything that Pixar has come out with so this book was such a treat to read. It was so fun to go down memory lane and reminisce about the early movies of Pixar. It is incredible to think what a revolutionary cinematic masterpiece Toy Story was when it first came out. The following passage from the book outlines just how complex the animation process was.
It did not take long for me to observe the enormous complexity involved in computer animation. I would sit by the animators and watch the painstaking way they brought to life the inert, wireframe computer models of each character in Toy Story. It took an almost mind-numbing attention to detail for the animators to move each part of a character frame by frame, twenty-four frames per second. Imagine how many movements our own bodies have to make to walk, eat, talk, or play even for one second -- each body part moving through time and space in unison. Animators have to breathe life into their characters in just this way. I watched their artistry with amazement. By adding a simple flourish to the movement of the eyes or the mouth, they could change the emotional tone of a scene entirely.
We learn about the rocky years at Pixar when their future was anything but guaranteed. I was interested in learning more about Steve Job's role in the early years of Pixar. I was surprised by how much money he invested in the company. There was a point where Pixar was running on a month-to-month budget where at the end of the month, they would go to Steve with the shortfall. He would then write a personal cheque to make up the funds.
The complicated relationship between Pixar and Disney was revelatory as well. Disney now owns Pixar but there was quite a bit of tension between the two during the early years of their relationship. It is interesting to see what goes on behind the closed door of big corporations.
I highly recommend To Pixar and Beyond!
This book is classified as a business book. I am so happy that I was not aware of this before picking this book up to read as I think that may have deterred me. I do not read business books but I would argue that this book is so much more than that.
I love everything that Pixar has come out with so this book was such a treat to read. It was so fun to go down memory lane and reminisce about the early movies of Pixar. It is incredible to think what a revolutionary cinematic masterpiece Toy Story was when it first came out. The following passage from the book outlines just how complex the animation process was.
It did not take long for me to observe the enormous complexity involved in computer animation. I would sit by the animators and watch the painstaking way they brought to life the inert, wireframe computer models of each character in Toy Story. It took an almost mind-numbing attention to detail for the animators to move each part of a character frame by frame, twenty-four frames per second. Imagine how many movements our own bodies have to make to walk, eat, talk, or play even for one second -- each body part moving through time and space in unison. Animators have to breathe life into their characters in just this way. I watched their artistry with amazement. By adding a simple flourish to the movement of the eyes or the mouth, they could change the emotional tone of a scene entirely.
We learn about the rocky years at Pixar when their future was anything but guaranteed. I was interested in learning more about Steve Job's role in the early years of Pixar. I was surprised by how much money he invested in the company. There was a point where Pixar was running on a month-to-month budget where at the end of the month, they would go to Steve with the shortfall. He would then write a personal cheque to make up the funds.
The complicated relationship between Pixar and Disney was revelatory as well. Disney now owns Pixar but there was quite a bit of tension between the two during the early years of their relationship. It is interesting to see what goes on behind the closed door of big corporations.
I highly recommend To Pixar and Beyond!
November 21, 2024
Interesting. I didn’t know much about Pixar and their history. At some point I just started noticing the “jumping lamp” before every good cartoon and thought that they were not just good, but also successful. The book reveals the story of their success, finding their own path and how they made a technological breakthrough in animation, their relationship with Steve Jobs and Disney, and more.
So overall it was an interesting read, except for the last part (where the author addresses religion, which I don’t think is very relevant to this book). There is a lot to learn about the industry and the process. But it doesn’t seem to be much about running a company/business. This makes it more of an inspirational memoir than a business book. Still interesting though.
So overall it was an interesting read, except for the last part (where the author addresses religion, which I don’t think is very relevant to this book). There is a lot to learn about the industry and the process. But it doesn’t seem to be much about running a company/business. This makes it more of an inspirational memoir than a business book. Still interesting though.
October 1, 2019
Jedna z najkrajších kníh, ktorú som čítala. Pixar ma skutočne nevšedný príbeh, v knihe nájdete nielen fakty ale aj pohľad do mysle dvoch významných ľudí, ktorí ju pomohli budovať. A akým výzvam čelili, medzi čím sa museli rozhodovať. Je vyrozprávaná formou príbehu, čo to celé ešte umocnili. Pre mňa je Levy veľká inšpirácia. Ten záver ... oplatí sa prečítať. Krásna kniha.
September 28, 2018
Книгу рекомендовали как пособие по сторителлингу. Догм и секретов здесь нет, но история настолько захватывающая, что я наконец посмотрел a bug’s life - мультик про муравьев 1998 года.
January 28, 2024
“El problema del éxito, aunque sea un éxito pequeño, es que nos cambia. Dejamos de caminar a lo largo del precipicio que nos llevó a hacer un gran trabajo antes que nada. Ahora tenemos algo que defender: una reputación, dinero en el banco, una marca, las expectativas del público. El éxito puede embotar el ingenio”
📖: De Pixar al cielo
✏️: Lawrence Levy
⭐️: 𝟱
𝐋𝐨 𝐪𝐮𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐝𝐫𝐚́𝐬 𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞
☁️ Autobiografía
☁️ No ficción
☁️ Crecimiento empresarial
☁️ Inicios de Pixar Animation Studio
☁️ Steve Jobs
☁️ Animación por ordenador
☁️ Contrato con Disney
☁️ Toy Story: su primer largometraje
☁️ Creatividad, estrategias comerciales y finanzas
☁️ Retos
☁️ Búsqueda de inversores
☁️ Banca de inversión
¿Cómo Pixar pasó de ser una empresa gráfica con pérdidas a unos estudios de cine con un valor de miles de millones de dólares?
Inicié este libro con cero expectativas, incluso pensé que me iba a aburrir pero todo lo contrario. Me pareció un libro súper interesante y entretenido. Fácil de leer y entendible.
En 1994, Pixar ya llevaba casi 10 años como empresa pero casi nadie la conocía. El dueño y el único inversor era Steve Jobs.
Él creo esta empresa con fines tecnológicos pero no funcionó, así que Pixar se concentró en la parte de animación por ordenador. Steve no estaba muy contento con ello pero los dejó seguir con lo que querían. Sin embargo, 10 años después, la empresa no surgía y para ese tiempo, ya Steve había invertido 50 millones de dólares en Pixar y casi nada de ganancias.
Así que en 1994, Jobs hace una llamada a Lawrence Levy, autor de este libro, para que lo ayudara con los asuntos financieros e hiciera que Pixar saliera a bolsa.
Nos encontramos con la historia de todo ese viaje que tuvo Pixar para llegar a lo que es ahora. Todos los retos, miedos, experiencias de Lawrence al trabajar en Pixar y con Jobs. Que este último, en ese tiempo no tenía una buena reputación ya que cada vez que emprendía en algo, siempre fracasaba. Además, en ese entonces, la junta directiva lo había echado de Apple.
Nos cuentan sobre la parte financiera, creativa y estratégica para lograr que Pixar fuera un empresa exitosa y que todo el mundo la conociera.
Viene un poco sobre el contrato que tenían con Disney y como estos últimos se llevaban mayores beneficios que Pixar hasta que lograron renegociar un mejor contrato después de que saliera Toy Story en cines. ¡Todo un éxito taquillero!
También lograron que Pixar saliera a bolsa con esa película y fue gracias a ella, que Steve Jobs se convirtió en multimillonario.
Apostaron por la creatividad y las buenas historias. Tuvieron una racha increíble de 10 años seguidos de éxitos pero por miedo a algún fallo que hicieran, donde Pixar podría perder la mitad de su valor de la noche a la mañana (y Steve perdiera la mitad de su riqueza), en 2006 deciden vender la empresa a Disney Company por 7.600 millones de dólares.
Steve Jobs poseía la mayoría de las acciones de Pixar por lo que lo había convertido en uno de los hombres más ricos del mundo, además de pasar a ser el mayor accionista de Disney.
Recomendado si te gusta leer autobiografías del crecimiento de una empresa como Pixar.
¿Lo leerías? ¿Cual es tu película favorita de Pixar?
📖: De Pixar al cielo
✏️: Lawrence Levy
⭐️: 𝟱
𝐋𝐨 𝐪𝐮𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐝𝐫𝐚́𝐬 𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞
☁️ Autobiografía
☁️ No ficción
☁️ Crecimiento empresarial
☁️ Inicios de Pixar Animation Studio
☁️ Steve Jobs
☁️ Animación por ordenador
☁️ Contrato con Disney
☁️ Toy Story: su primer largometraje
☁️ Creatividad, estrategias comerciales y finanzas
☁️ Retos
☁️ Búsqueda de inversores
☁️ Banca de inversión
¿Cómo Pixar pasó de ser una empresa gráfica con pérdidas a unos estudios de cine con un valor de miles de millones de dólares?
Inicié este libro con cero expectativas, incluso pensé que me iba a aburrir pero todo lo contrario. Me pareció un libro súper interesante y entretenido. Fácil de leer y entendible.
En 1994, Pixar ya llevaba casi 10 años como empresa pero casi nadie la conocía. El dueño y el único inversor era Steve Jobs.
Él creo esta empresa con fines tecnológicos pero no funcionó, así que Pixar se concentró en la parte de animación por ordenador. Steve no estaba muy contento con ello pero los dejó seguir con lo que querían. Sin embargo, 10 años después, la empresa no surgía y para ese tiempo, ya Steve había invertido 50 millones de dólares en Pixar y casi nada de ganancias.
Así que en 1994, Jobs hace una llamada a Lawrence Levy, autor de este libro, para que lo ayudara con los asuntos financieros e hiciera que Pixar saliera a bolsa.
Nos encontramos con la historia de todo ese viaje que tuvo Pixar para llegar a lo que es ahora. Todos los retos, miedos, experiencias de Lawrence al trabajar en Pixar y con Jobs. Que este último, en ese tiempo no tenía una buena reputación ya que cada vez que emprendía en algo, siempre fracasaba. Además, en ese entonces, la junta directiva lo había echado de Apple.
Nos cuentan sobre la parte financiera, creativa y estratégica para lograr que Pixar fuera un empresa exitosa y que todo el mundo la conociera.
Viene un poco sobre el contrato que tenían con Disney y como estos últimos se llevaban mayores beneficios que Pixar hasta que lograron renegociar un mejor contrato después de que saliera Toy Story en cines. ¡Todo un éxito taquillero!
También lograron que Pixar saliera a bolsa con esa película y fue gracias a ella, que Steve Jobs se convirtió en multimillonario.
Apostaron por la creatividad y las buenas historias. Tuvieron una racha increíble de 10 años seguidos de éxitos pero por miedo a algún fallo que hicieran, donde Pixar podría perder la mitad de su valor de la noche a la mañana (y Steve perdiera la mitad de su riqueza), en 2006 deciden vender la empresa a Disney Company por 7.600 millones de dólares.
Steve Jobs poseía la mayoría de las acciones de Pixar por lo que lo había convertido en uno de los hombres más ricos del mundo, además de pasar a ser el mayor accionista de Disney.
Recomendado si te gusta leer autobiografías del crecimiento de una empresa como Pixar.
¿Lo leerías? ¿Cual es tu película favorita de Pixar?
October 23, 2022
Jump in time - Backwards or Forwards?
One person you would like to meet in your lifetime?
I have answer to these kind of questions, more strongly after this book. Jump backwards, and meet Steve Jobs!
This book wasn’t about Steve Jobs, but about the transformation journey of the company which revolutionised Animation. But Pixar wouldn’t exist if not for Steve Jobs and his belief in the technology. One thing missing was his belief in stories, and telling stories - which Pixar stood for, but I still credit Steve Jobs for Pixar then, and Pixar now, and for the amazing beautiful animation characters that stood a chance to be in our lives because he kept supporting the operations.
This is one of the best business books I have read. How different parts of organisations are essential to create magic, how each needs to believe in the power of their people and product, and respect and completely trust the creative geniuses! Steve Jobs brought Lawrence to Pixar, affirming that a true leader is the person who chooses right people for right job!
Wonderfully written! A must must must read!
One person you would like to meet in your lifetime?
I have answer to these kind of questions, more strongly after this book. Jump backwards, and meet Steve Jobs!
This book wasn’t about Steve Jobs, but about the transformation journey of the company which revolutionised Animation. But Pixar wouldn’t exist if not for Steve Jobs and his belief in the technology. One thing missing was his belief in stories, and telling stories - which Pixar stood for, but I still credit Steve Jobs for Pixar then, and Pixar now, and for the amazing beautiful animation characters that stood a chance to be in our lives because he kept supporting the operations.
This is one of the best business books I have read. How different parts of organisations are essential to create magic, how each needs to believe in the power of their people and product, and respect and completely trust the creative geniuses! Steve Jobs brought Lawrence to Pixar, affirming that a true leader is the person who chooses right people for right job!
Wonderfully written! A must must must read!
October 22, 2023
Обожнюю цю книгу!
Читаю її вдруге, і як вперше відкриваю для себе цікаві деталі!
Затишна, наповнена захопленням, любовʼю до своєї справи, і вірою в найкраще.
Легко читається і занурює в історію створення компанії Pixar.
Читаю її вдруге, і як вперше відкриваю для себе цікаві деталі!
Затишна, наповнена захопленням, любовʼю до своєї справи, і вірою в найкраще.
Легко читається і занурює в історію створення компанії Pixar.
December 13, 2016
Pixar's story has captivated me ever since I saw Toy Story in the theater. Over the years I've learned a lot about Pixar's creative culture, but until now I never knew the gigantic role a man named Lawrence Levy played in its strategic success. This book is a fascinating (and, like Pixar's movies, heartwarming) look into how Steve Jobs recruited Lawrence to become Pixar's CFO at a time when Toy Story was still in production. Together (along with a cast of entertainment lawyers, investment bankers, and the creative culture at Pixar) they led the company from $50mm in losses to an unprecedented IPO that cemented Steve Jobs' comeback to the eventual $7.4 billion sale to Disney. Entertainment history was made again and again along a winding road of incredible longshots, near misses, and opportunities seized and smashed out of the park. It is quite the adventure story and a very quick and engaging read.
March 22, 2024
To Pixar and Beyond is the kind of book that hits differently if you encounter it after 2020.
On one hand, it's a book about the business machinations, largely driven by Lawrence Levy's partnership with Steve Jobs, required to turn Pixar from a lowly upstart in 1995 into the animation juggernaut brand it is now.
Levy does a good job of describing the jumble of conflicting business ideas he inherited, his slow focus on feature-length pictures and the lengths he, Jobs, and the team went to so that Pixar would momentarily escape Disney's long arm to make an armload of movies.
Their track record speaks for itself:
- Toy Story / Toy Story 2 / Toy Story 3 / Toy Story 4
- A Bug's Life
- Wall-e
- Brave
- Inside Out
- The Incredibles / The Incredibles 2
- Finding Nemo / Dory
- Up
- Monsters, Inc.
- Ratatouille
- Cars (I refuse to acknowledge the sequels)
Levy is, by any capitalist measure, a raging success. His kids all end up with Ivy-league educations, and he leverages his personal fortune into studying Buddhist ideals to bring meditation to Silicon Valley types at the close of the book.
I do want to note that his sections about his friendship with Jobs, which continued until Jobs died in 2011, run throughout the book and are moving and interesting.
At the same time, that Levy's account completely ignores John Lasseter's history of egregious sexual assault during his run at Pixar will probably not surprise you.
I was more disappointed that the book does not contend at all with the human economics of what the Pixar model helped to create.
If you follow chatter about entertainment, the animation, or special effects industries, you already know that demand for ever-increasing and expensive animation, visual affects, and computer-generated effects across the entertainment industry (film, TV, anime, video games) has effectively ruined working conditions for this field.
Burning people out under insane conditions is the business model, followed by massive layoffs.
People like Levy, in their pursuit of increasingly creative ways to satisfy shareholders and make another Steve Jobs (who became a billionaire when Pixar went public), are part of the source code for this pattern.
At no point does the book ask, "What would be enough?"
Endless growth is the point, and the price.
Levy rightly celebrates the creative and financial achievements of his team (they had some tremendously steep odds), but in a retrospective book, I would have preferred more reflection about the field rather than the meditation heel-turn.
I am sure Levy means well, and that his personal studies are greatly meaningful to him, but it comes across as a bit out of touch.
The book is well narrated by Bronson Pinchot, who I only know from his long-ago role on Perfect Strangers. If you're interested in the story of Pixar or the backrooms of IPOs, I'd recommend it.
On one hand, it's a book about the business machinations, largely driven by Lawrence Levy's partnership with Steve Jobs, required to turn Pixar from a lowly upstart in 1995 into the animation juggernaut brand it is now.
Levy does a good job of describing the jumble of conflicting business ideas he inherited, his slow focus on feature-length pictures and the lengths he, Jobs, and the team went to so that Pixar would momentarily escape Disney's long arm to make an armload of movies.
Their track record speaks for itself:
- Toy Story / Toy Story 2 / Toy Story 3 / Toy Story 4
- A Bug's Life
- Wall-e
- Brave
- Inside Out
- The Incredibles / The Incredibles 2
- Finding Nemo / Dory
- Up
- Monsters, Inc.
- Ratatouille
- Cars (I refuse to acknowledge the sequels)
Levy is, by any capitalist measure, a raging success. His kids all end up with Ivy-league educations, and he leverages his personal fortune into studying Buddhist ideals to bring meditation to Silicon Valley types at the close of the book.
I do want to note that his sections about his friendship with Jobs, which continued until Jobs died in 2011, run throughout the book and are moving and interesting.
At the same time, that Levy's account completely ignores John Lasseter's history of egregious sexual assault during his run at Pixar will probably not surprise you.
I was more disappointed that the book does not contend at all with the human economics of what the Pixar model helped to create.
If you follow chatter about entertainment, the animation, or special effects industries, you already know that demand for ever-increasing and expensive animation, visual affects, and computer-generated effects across the entertainment industry (film, TV, anime, video games) has effectively ruined working conditions for this field.
Burning people out under insane conditions is the business model, followed by massive layoffs.
People like Levy, in their pursuit of increasingly creative ways to satisfy shareholders and make another Steve Jobs (who became a billionaire when Pixar went public), are part of the source code for this pattern.
At no point does the book ask, "What would be enough?"
Endless growth is the point, and the price.
Levy rightly celebrates the creative and financial achievements of his team (they had some tremendously steep odds), but in a retrospective book, I would have preferred more reflection about the field rather than the meditation heel-turn.
I am sure Levy means well, and that his personal studies are greatly meaningful to him, but it comes across as a bit out of touch.
The book is well narrated by Bronson Pinchot, who I only know from his long-ago role on Perfect Strangers. If you're interested in the story of Pixar or the backrooms of IPOs, I'd recommend it.
November 25, 2018
Executive Summary: An interesting story, but probably not the one I'd have preferred about Pixar. I also could have done without the last few chapters. 3.5 Stars.
Audiobook: This isn't the first book I've listened to that's been narrated by Bronson Pinchot, but I still always think of him as the wacky guy from Perfect Strangers. He really is an excellent narrator however. He reads with a good voice and doesn't get in the way of the book, which is what I always want most when listening to non-fiction.
Full Review
I got this book in a Humble Bundle titled: "Hackers, Gamers and Geeks", so naturally I assumed it was going to be about the technology behind Pixar. I had no idea who Lawrence Levy was, and for good reason. I turns out his was Pixar's CFO.
That said, I still found the book to be well written and interesting. It mostly focuses on the financial side of things, including how Levy helped save the Pixar by helping Steve Jobs to its IPO, working to renegotiate a terrible deal Pixar had signed with Disney, and the eventual sale of the company to them.
There are a lot of interesting inside stories and some behind the scenes stuff on the early films, in particular Toy Story. There is very little on the creative aspect of the company however and even less on the technology side.
I probably wouldn't have bought this book on my own, especially if I knew it was about the financial side of Pixar's success, but I'm glad I read it. My only real complaint is he tries to tie everything together with the post Pixar career involving some kind of spiritualism or something. I don't know, I was only half paying attention by that point. It felt totally unrelated to the book, even though he said the philosophy is part of what made Pixar so successful. He would know better than I do, I just didn't find it very interesting.
Overall this was a good, but not great look at Pixar's rise to success. It has be revisiting some of my favorite Pixar films, and itching to find a book that covers the technology, or possibly the creative side of Pixar at some point in the future.
Audiobook: This isn't the first book I've listened to that's been narrated by Bronson Pinchot, but I still always think of him as the wacky guy from Perfect Strangers. He really is an excellent narrator however. He reads with a good voice and doesn't get in the way of the book, which is what I always want most when listening to non-fiction.
Full Review
I got this book in a Humble Bundle titled: "Hackers, Gamers and Geeks", so naturally I assumed it was going to be about the technology behind Pixar. I had no idea who Lawrence Levy was, and for good reason. I turns out his was Pixar's CFO.
That said, I still found the book to be well written and interesting. It mostly focuses on the financial side of things, including how Levy helped save the Pixar by helping Steve Jobs to its IPO, working to renegotiate a terrible deal Pixar had signed with Disney, and the eventual sale of the company to them.
There are a lot of interesting inside stories and some behind the scenes stuff on the early films, in particular Toy Story. There is very little on the creative aspect of the company however and even less on the technology side.
I probably wouldn't have bought this book on my own, especially if I knew it was about the financial side of Pixar's success, but I'm glad I read it. My only real complaint is he tries to tie everything together with the post Pixar career involving some kind of spiritualism or something. I don't know, I was only half paying attention by that point. It felt totally unrelated to the book, even though he said the philosophy is part of what made Pixar so successful. He would know better than I do, I just didn't find it very interesting.
Overall this was a good, but not great look at Pixar's rise to success. It has be revisiting some of my favorite Pixar films, and itching to find a book that covers the technology, or possibly the creative side of Pixar at some point in the future.
December 31, 2024
Category: Business / Biography
Review: 4/5
This was my first book I used Chat GPT to find! I fed a lot of the books I have read and enjoyed into it and chatted with it for a few minutes to find this book! GPT did so well and found this book, which I read over Christmas break in the last 3 days to get to my 1B goal of 12 books.
I really enjoyed this read about the beginning of Pixar and how much was needed to go correctly in order for Pixar to succeed.
A couple of key bullets:
- Lawrence was called randomly one day by Steve Jobs, saying he had been watching him from afar (they had never talked) and wanted him to work for Pixar. You never know who's watching!
- Pixar was around for 10 years prior to the launch of toy story (their first film) in '95. Steve Jobs wrote a personal check each month to cover expenses for a decade.
- They timed their IPO with the launch of Toy Story. If Toy Story flopped, their IPO would have been in the $12-$14 range, but due to the success it IPO'd at $30+ - making Steve a billionaire.
- It never hurts to ask. Lawrence did some crazy asks of Steve, Disney, Pixar execs. expecting to be told "no" and often got a surprise "yes" just because he asked!
- Most of Steve's wealth came from Pixar, not Apple. That first IPO made him a billionaire and the disney acquisition made him a multi-billionaire.
- A lot of Pixar (and Apple's) problems were solved on walk and talks by Lawrence and Steve. They lived in the same neighborhood and would go on long walks multiple times a week. Even the busiest people made time for walks and dropins visits.
- Pixars first 5 films were Toy Story, Bugs Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters Inc, and Finding Nemo. Followed by the Incredibles and Cars. What an insane starting run. This success set up the acquistion by Disney.
I learned a ton of really interesting history and got a totally different perspective of Steve Jobs from my readings on Apple which I really enjoyed. Pixar was Steve's success back into the world, and allowed him to take Apple into the tech AND entertainment space in the early 2000s then.
Review: 4/5
This was my first book I used Chat GPT to find! I fed a lot of the books I have read and enjoyed into it and chatted with it for a few minutes to find this book! GPT did so well and found this book, which I read over Christmas break in the last 3 days to get to my 1B goal of 12 books.
I really enjoyed this read about the beginning of Pixar and how much was needed to go correctly in order for Pixar to succeed.
A couple of key bullets:
- Lawrence was called randomly one day by Steve Jobs, saying he had been watching him from afar (they had never talked) and wanted him to work for Pixar. You never know who's watching!
- Pixar was around for 10 years prior to the launch of toy story (their first film) in '95. Steve Jobs wrote a personal check each month to cover expenses for a decade.
- They timed their IPO with the launch of Toy Story. If Toy Story flopped, their IPO would have been in the $12-$14 range, but due to the success it IPO'd at $30+ - making Steve a billionaire.
- It never hurts to ask. Lawrence did some crazy asks of Steve, Disney, Pixar execs. expecting to be told "no" and often got a surprise "yes" just because he asked!
- Most of Steve's wealth came from Pixar, not Apple. That first IPO made him a billionaire and the disney acquisition made him a multi-billionaire.
- A lot of Pixar (and Apple's) problems were solved on walk and talks by Lawrence and Steve. They lived in the same neighborhood and would go on long walks multiple times a week. Even the busiest people made time for walks and dropins visits.
- Pixars first 5 films were Toy Story, Bugs Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters Inc, and Finding Nemo. Followed by the Incredibles and Cars. What an insane starting run. This success set up the acquistion by Disney.
I learned a ton of really interesting history and got a totally different perspective of Steve Jobs from my readings on Apple which I really enjoyed. Pixar was Steve's success back into the world, and allowed him to take Apple into the tech AND entertainment space in the early 2000s then.
April 9, 2018
4/5 Estrellas. (Decidí bajar la puntuación a 4 estrellas por razones que explico más abajo.)
"Reaparecer después de un gran éxito es un reto muy espinoso. El problema del éxito, aunque sea un éxito pequeño, es que nos cambia. Dejamos de caminar a lo largo del precipicio que nos llevo a hacer un gran trabajo antes que nada. Ahora tenemos algo que defender: una reputación, dinero en el banco, una marca, las expectativas del publico. El éxito puede embotar el ingenio."
Este libro me llamo muchísimo la atención por dos razones principales:
1. Es sobre Pixar.
2. Habla sobre la situación financiera de Pixar y como llegaron a tal éxito.
En este libro podemos encontrar la historia completa de Pixar, no solo en temas financieros, sino también en el sentido creativo.
Este es un libro sobre el proceso del éxito de Pixar desde el punto de ´vista del autor (Lawrence Levy), ex director ejecutivo financiero de Pixar.
Sabia que este libro se centraría mas en la parte financiera de Pixar que en el resto, pero aun así disfrute mucho mas las partes sobre el proceso creativo que las financieras.
Fue muy interesante ver la ideología que tenia Steve Jobs, los objetivos y como pensaba cumplirlos.
Si les llama la atención el tema financiero, este libro les va a encantar. Muestra absolutamente todo el proceso financiero de la empresa, y en lo personal, fue muy interesante ver como Pixar pasaba de ser una empresa prácticamente en la quiebra a tener el éxito que tiene hoy en día.
La escritura del autor me gusto bastante, no es muy técnica lo que hace la lectura menos aburrida, pero en algunas partes del libro sentí que la escritura era muy simple y básica que incluso me cuestione si o que estaba leyendo era real o ficción. En lo personal disfrute muchísimo mas las partes de proceso creativo. Empaticé bastante con el autor al punto de sentir la misma emoción que el expresaba por Pixar y cada película.
La razón por la que no le di 5 estrellas es porque la lectura me pareció aburrida en algunas partes debido a la gran cantidad de contenido extra que este contiene. También en las ultimas paginas del libro me parecieron innecesarias donde el autor expresaba su experiencia en la empresa pero incluso llego a algo que me pareció muy personal e innecesario para la historia.
En conclusión, este es un libro totalmente recomendado si están buscando un libro de no ficción en donde se toquen temas empresariales.
"Reaparecer después de un gran éxito es un reto muy espinoso. El problema del éxito, aunque sea un éxito pequeño, es que nos cambia. Dejamos de caminar a lo largo del precipicio que nos llevo a hacer un gran trabajo antes que nada. Ahora tenemos algo que defender: una reputación, dinero en el banco, una marca, las expectativas del publico. El éxito puede embotar el ingenio."
Este libro me llamo muchísimo la atención por dos razones principales:
1. Es sobre Pixar.
2. Habla sobre la situación financiera de Pixar y como llegaron a tal éxito.
En este libro podemos encontrar la historia completa de Pixar, no solo en temas financieros, sino también en el sentido creativo.
Este es un libro sobre el proceso del éxito de Pixar desde el punto de ´vista del autor (Lawrence Levy), ex director ejecutivo financiero de Pixar.
Sabia que este libro se centraría mas en la parte financiera de Pixar que en el resto, pero aun así disfrute mucho mas las partes sobre el proceso creativo que las financieras.
Fue muy interesante ver la ideología que tenia Steve Jobs, los objetivos y como pensaba cumplirlos.
Si les llama la atención el tema financiero, este libro les va a encantar. Muestra absolutamente todo el proceso financiero de la empresa, y en lo personal, fue muy interesante ver como Pixar pasaba de ser una empresa prácticamente en la quiebra a tener el éxito que tiene hoy en día.
La escritura del autor me gusto bastante, no es muy técnica lo que hace la lectura menos aburrida, pero en algunas partes del libro sentí que la escritura era muy simple y básica que incluso me cuestione si o que estaba leyendo era real o ficción. En lo personal disfrute muchísimo mas las partes de proceso creativo. Empaticé bastante con el autor al punto de sentir la misma emoción que el expresaba por Pixar y cada película.
La razón por la que no le di 5 estrellas es porque la lectura me pareció aburrida en algunas partes debido a la gran cantidad de contenido extra que este contiene. También en las ultimas paginas del libro me parecieron innecesarias donde el autor expresaba su experiencia en la empresa pero incluso llego a algo que me pareció muy personal e innecesario para la historia.
En conclusión, este es un libro totalmente recomendado si están buscando un libro de no ficción en donde se toquen temas empresariales.
August 28, 2020
Pixar nejspíš znáte. Tohle legendární studio vytvořilo první počítačem animovaný film (Toy Story) a jeho filmy i dnes patří k těm nejočekávanějším. 💞 Chcete vědět víc? Pak sáhněte po Příběhu Pixaru. Jen pozor, nejspíš dostanete něco jiného, než čekáte.
Tohle není kniha o Pixaru jako o studiu. Neřeší vznik oblíbených filmů, ukrytá Pizza Planet auta nebo jednotlivé režiséry a scénáristy. Tohle je kniha o byznysu a Pixar tu figuruje čistě jako produkt. 💵 Trochu mě to zarazilo, ale hele – informací o studiu je plnej internet, zato k finančním věcem se člověk jen tak nedostane.🤷🏻♂️ Autor Lawrence Levy nastupuje v roce 1994 do Pixaru s jediným zadáním: udělat z něj veřejně obchodovatelnou společnost. A nemá to vůbec lehké – firma prodělává, o její produkty není zájem, zaměstnanci svého šéfa Stevea Jobse příliš nemusí a samotnej Levy ví o filmovým byznysu těžký kulový.
Tenhle typ knížek příliš nečtu, Příběh Pixaru mě ale sakra bavil. Levy se tu potýká s nevýhodnou smlouvou u Disneyho, řeší IPO a hádá se s Jobsem o akciích pro zaměstnance – přesto jsem to zhltl za 2 dny a dost mě překvapilo, co všechno musí studia řešit. Už jen sehnat banku je pomalu nadliskej úkol. Knížka je přes spoustu finančních termínů fakt čtivá, jen to chce mít už nějaké byznysové znalosti. Pokud je vám 14 a máte rádi pixarovský animáky, tohle vás bavit nebude.
Vadila mě ale jedna věc – samotnej Levy je podle příběhu manažerskej/finanční bůh a vyřešil úplně cokoliv. Příběh Pixaru je vyprávěn jako příběh outsidera a dost částí probíhá stylem: objeví se problém – Levy je na nervy, pobaví se s Jobsem – problém úspěšně vyřeší. Možná měli vážně takovou kliku, ale v celé knížce snad není jediná chyba. Všechno zázračně vychází (až na jednání s bankou) a to mi k tvrdému světu hollywoodského byznysu úplně nesedí.
3,5*
Tohle není kniha o Pixaru jako o studiu. Neřeší vznik oblíbených filmů, ukrytá Pizza Planet auta nebo jednotlivé režiséry a scénáristy. Tohle je kniha o byznysu a Pixar tu figuruje čistě jako produkt. 💵 Trochu mě to zarazilo, ale hele – informací o studiu je plnej internet, zato k finančním věcem se člověk jen tak nedostane.🤷🏻♂️ Autor Lawrence Levy nastupuje v roce 1994 do Pixaru s jediným zadáním: udělat z něj veřejně obchodovatelnou společnost. A nemá to vůbec lehké – firma prodělává, o její produkty není zájem, zaměstnanci svého šéfa Stevea Jobse příliš nemusí a samotnej Levy ví o filmovým byznysu těžký kulový.
Tenhle typ knížek příliš nečtu, Příběh Pixaru mě ale sakra bavil. Levy se tu potýká s nevýhodnou smlouvou u Disneyho, řeší IPO a hádá se s Jobsem o akciích pro zaměstnance – přesto jsem to zhltl za 2 dny a dost mě překvapilo, co všechno musí studia řešit. Už jen sehnat banku je pomalu nadliskej úkol. Knížka je přes spoustu finančních termínů fakt čtivá, jen to chce mít už nějaké byznysové znalosti. Pokud je vám 14 a máte rádi pixarovský animáky, tohle vás bavit nebude.
Vadila mě ale jedna věc – samotnej Levy je podle příběhu manažerskej/finanční bůh a vyřešil úplně cokoliv. Příběh Pixaru je vyprávěn jako příběh outsidera a dost částí probíhá stylem: objeví se problém – Levy je na nervy, pobaví se s Jobsem – problém úspěšně vyřeší. Možná měli vážně takovou kliku, ale v celé knížce snad není jediná chyba. Všechno zázračně vychází (až na jednání s bankou) a to mi k tvrdému světu hollywoodského byznysu úplně nesedí.
3,5*
January 25, 2022
This covers the story of Pixar's IPO, weaving other sub-stories in as a bonus. I really enjoyed this book, it walked me through the steps they took when taking the company public, the rationale behind their decisions and the methods they've used to reach those decisions.
We also get to know more about the culture of Pixar, Steve Jobs' approach to business, and the other products the company worked on. This is a great read, not only if you want to sharpen your business-skills, but also if you want to learn more about the creative process of other people.
We also get to know more about the culture of Pixar, Steve Jobs' approach to business, and the other products the company worked on. This is a great read, not only if you want to sharpen your business-skills, but also if you want to learn more about the creative process of other people.
January 19, 2021
Як сторітеллер, давно цікавлюся історією Pixar. У цьому випадку про сторітелінг не було практично нічого, але багато було про умови, в яких створювалася та працювала компанія ще за життя Стіва Джобса.
З цією книгою я поговорив про бізнес, у ній немає надто розумних чи зарозумілих речей, але є багато про наполегливість та професійність. А ще є історія в простому щирому викладі, з деталями та приватними розмовами. Під час читання часом думав: з якою кількістю юристів треба було поспілкуватися автору, щоб опублікувати цей текст?
Автор невишено розповідає про складні процеси – IPO, ВАТ, ЗАТ, фондові біржі, інвестиційні банки, послуговуючись простими прикладами. Я в цих питаннях мало що розумів, але тепер відчуваю, що підтягнувся.
Окрема вдячність за світло поміж рядків. Автор здався мені людиною унікальною, що поєднала в собі глибоке розуміння бізнесу та душевну простоту й щирість.
PIXAR створює унікальні історії, бо не заганяє творчість в сталеві лещата бізнесу. Це, мабуть, найважливіше, що я провідчував у цьому тексті. Але багато іншого в ньому також є. Дякую, хочу ще.
З цією книгою я поговорив про бізнес, у ній немає надто розумних чи зарозумілих речей, але є багато про наполегливість та професійність. А ще є історія в простому щирому викладі, з деталями та приватними розмовами. Під час читання часом думав: з якою кількістю юристів треба було поспілкуватися автору, щоб опублікувати цей текст?
Автор невишено розповідає про складні процеси – IPO, ВАТ, ЗАТ, фондові біржі, інвестиційні банки, послуговуючись простими прикладами. Я в цих питаннях мало що розумів, але тепер відчуваю, що підтягнувся.
Окрема вдячність за світло поміж рядків. Автор здався мені людиною унікальною, що поєднала в собі глибоке розуміння бізнесу та душевну простоту й щирість.
PIXAR створює унікальні історії, бо не заганяє творчість в сталеві лещата бізнесу. Це, мабуть, найважливіше, що я провідчував у цьому тексті. Але багато іншого в ньому також є. Дякую, хочу ще.
February 13, 2019
Замечательная книга! Фильмы Pixar уже давно стали частью современной культуры, герои картин этой студии сошли с экранов и оказались в компьютерных играх, майках, стали детскими игрушками. Pixar сейчас воплощение успеха, креативности и образец успешной бизнес модели. Но было так не всегда. О пути изначально убыточной компании к вершине успеха, преодолении трудностей и о Выборе эта замечательная книга. Рекомендую!
April 17, 2021
Interesting
Last chapters were jarring
Seemed a bit light on details of how Pixar actually achieved viable financial success outside of the fact they make amazing movies
Last chapters were jarring
Seemed a bit light on details of how Pixar actually achieved viable financial success outside of the fact they make amazing movies
January 5, 2019
Якщо я й навчився чогось у Pixar, то це того, що історія - завжди на першому місці. Креативний директор Pixar Джон Лассетер, бувало, казав: "Чудова графіка послужить розвагою на кілька хвилин, а прикипіти до місць нас змусить лише історія".
Для того, щоб Pixar стала повноцінною частиною світу індустрії розваг, знадобилося майже 10 років - важких, сповнених сумнівів, втрат шалених сум (50 мільйонів доларів "на вітер" - нічогенько, так?), довгих роздумів і науки, як важливо припинати власну гордість (привіт, Стів Джобс), не боятися висловлювати бажання та ідеї і рухатися увесь час вперед.
Лоуренс Леві показує зовсім іншу сторону протистояння Disney та Pixar, ніж ми звикли бачити на екранах. Бо, зрештою, що показують нам? Картинку та історії. За лаштунками залишаються угоди, опціони, акції, переговори, боротьба за владу, розподіл відповідальності.
Я довго бралася до книжки, хоча й прочитала її заледве за день: причина полягає в тому, що розпещена чудовою ted-лекцією від Деніель Фейнберг "Магічний інгредієнт, який оживляє фільми Pixar", я сподівалася побачити створення мультиків, викладене на папері.
Прочитане різниться, але захоплює не менше:
- тут вам і Pixar як студія митців-інноваторів, надзвичайно захоплених своєю справою, які буквально самотужки створюють унікальні технології, вигадують ті зворушливі історії, працюючи задля задоволення та результату, а не грошей;
- історія про Стіва Джобса, який пережив розчарування з NeXT та Apple і намагається хоч десь вставити якщо не своє "я", то поступитися гордості і по-справжньому вклинитися у справу;
- суперечливі контракти від Disney, які не залишали Pixar ні волі, ні простору для дій і довга дорога до їх змін: буквально від нуля до прориву "Історії іграшок" та космічної на ті часи угоди про купівлю Disney Pixar за 7,4 млр доларів.
- і, зрештою, розповідь про головний складник будь-якої справи - людей, відданих справі, захоплених нею, зачарованих і сповнених віри у себе. І це вражає!
Для того, щоб Pixar стала повноцінною частиною світу індустрії розваг, знадобилося майже 10 років - важких, сповнених сумнівів, втрат шалених сум (50 мільйонів доларів "на вітер" - нічогенько, так?), довгих роздумів і науки, як важливо припинати власну гордість (привіт, Стів Джобс), не боятися висловлювати бажання та ідеї і рухатися увесь час вперед.
Лоуренс Леві показує зовсім іншу сторону протистояння Disney та Pixar, ніж ми звикли бачити на екранах. Бо, зрештою, що показують нам? Картинку та історії. За лаштунками залишаються угоди, опціони, акції, переговори, боротьба за владу, розподіл відповідальності.
Я довго бралася до книжки, хоча й прочитала її заледве за день: причина полягає в тому, що розпещена чудовою ted-лекцією від Деніель Фейнберг "Магічний інгредієнт, який оживляє фільми Pixar", я сподівалася побачити створення мультиків, викладене на папері.
Прочитане різниться, але захоплює не менше:
- тут вам і Pixar як студія митців-інноваторів, надзвичайно захоплених своєю справою, які буквально самотужки створюють унікальні технології, вигадують ті зворушливі історії, працюючи задля задоволення та результату, а не грошей;
- історія про Стіва Джобса, який пережив розчарування з NeXT та Apple і намагається хоч десь вставити якщо не своє "я", то поступитися гордості і по-справжньому вклинитися у справу;
- суперечливі контракти від Disney, які не залишали Pixar ні волі, ні простору для дій і довга дорога до їх змін: буквально від нуля до прориву "Історії іграшок" та космічної на ті часи угоди про купівлю Disney Pixar за 7,4 млр доларів.
- і, зрештою, розповідь про головний складник будь-якої справи - людей, відданих справі, захоплених нею, зачарованих і сповнених віри у себе. І це вражає!
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