“Cars” director John Lasseter hired by Skydance Animation

Former Pixar Animation chief John Lasseter, director of the Route 66-inspired “Cars” film in 2006, recently was hired as chief of Skydance Animation.

Lasseter — along with the film’s vision of the fictional Route 66 town of Radiator Springs — is the figure most responsible for the Mother Road’s continued renaissance except perhaps Michael Wallis (a technical adviser and voice of the Sheriff in the film) and his best-selling book “Route 66: The Mother Road.”

Lasseter and other Pixar animators conducted field research on Route 66 in 2001 and 2002 before starting on “Cars.” More about the real-life places and people on or near Route 66 who inspired Pixar’s “Cars” may be found here. It remains the most popular story ever on Route 66 News.

The first “Cars” movie grossed more than $460 million worldwide, spurred more than $8 billion in merchandise sales and boosted Route 66 tourism.

Lasseter’s work for the Mother Road was so esteemed, he received the 2006 Will Rogers Award. Lasseter wasn’t there, but Rock Cafe owner Dawn Welch, who was the inspiration to Sally Carrera in the film, accepted it on his behalf.

Lasseter eventually was ousted from Pixar and its parent company, Disney, after allegations surfaced in late 2017 of sexual harassment amid the #MeToo movement.

Variety reported Wednesday:

Pixar staffers who worked with Lasseter told Variety that the animation chief had rubbed their legs and kissed them on the lips and was reprimanded for making out with a subordinate at an Oscar party in 2010. In a memo at the time of his leave of absence, Lasseter stopped short of addressing allegations in detail, but he said he was sorry for giving staffers “unwanted hugs.” As the leave of absence stretched on, Disney ultimately decided to part ways with Lasseter, believing that keeping him employed would be untenable at a time when Hollywood was going through a sexual harassment reckoning.

David Ellison, Skydance’s CEO, stated in a news release about the Lasseter hire via Laughing Place:

I know many of you are aware of John’s admitted mistakes in his prior role helming those studios. John has been forthright in taking ownership of his behavior, apologized for his actions and has spent the past year on sabbatical analyzing and improving his workplace behavior.

Third, we employed outside counsel to thoroughly investigate the allegations, which we considered serious and have warranted our full attention as we made this important decision. The senior leadership team and I have all carefully evaluated the findings of this extensive investigation.

Let me be clear: we have not entered into this decision lightly.

While we would never minimize anyone’s subjective views on behavior, we are confident after many substantive conversations with John, and as the investigation has affirmed, that his mistakes have been recognized. We are certain that John has learned valuable lessons and is ready to prove his capabilities as a leader and a colleague. And he has given his assurance that he will comport himself in a wholly professional manner that is the expectation of every Skydance colleague and partner.

Lasseter stated in the Skydance release:

“I’m grateful to David and the Skydance team and know that I have been entrusted with an enormous responsibility. It is a distinct privilege that I will relish. I have spent the last year away from the industry in deep reflection, learning how my actions unintentionally made colleagues uncomfortable, which I deeply regret and apologize for. It has been humbling, but I believe it will make me a better leader. I want nothing more than the opportunity to return to my creative and entrepreneurial roots, to build and invent again. I join Skydance with the same enthusiasm that drove me to help build Pixar, with a firm desire to tell original and diverse stories for audiences everywhere. With what I have learned and how I have grown in the past year, I am resolute in my commitment to build an animation studio upon a foundation of quality, safety, trust and mutual respect.”

It won’t be an easy job. Several media outlets and women’s-rights groups are calling for Lasseter’s head (here’s one example of the former), and Skydance hasn’t even released one animated film. In essence, a besieged Lasseter will have to build a cartoon studio from scratch.

One should remember dozens of Pixar employees and actors contributed to the success of “Cars” and not one person. The film stands on its own and shouldn’t detract from what it’s given and will continue to give to Route 66.

(Image of John Lasseter in January 2017 by Dave Pinter via Flickr)