Former Disney Executive John Lasseter is Talking Meetings in Hollywood, Looking For Work, and Interested in Podcasting
After Disney and Pixar animation head John Lasseter was accused by several employees of inappropriate sexual misconduct he left to take a six month leave of absence. During that time, Disney made the decision on to let him come back.
Lasseter is said to have had "a reputation for touching women inappropriately in the office, including rubbing their legs and kissing them on the lips. Lasseter was also reprimanded for making out with a subordinate at an Oscar party in 2010."
Disney issued a statement saying that Lasseter will be a consultant for the company until December 31st, 2018 and that time is coming up. Now Lasseter is making the rounds in Hollywood and taking meetings in hopes to land a new gig.
In a recent report from The Washington Post that focus on the changes that are taking place in the animation industry, they mention what Lasseter has been up to saying, “The executive has been looking to reenter the entertainment business just months after his ouster, according to two people with knowledge of his thought process.”
It’s said that he has met with officials from the talent agency, WME Entertainment, “where in a two-hour meeting at the firm’s Beverly Hills headquarters, he gave his side of the accusations and outlined his hopes for his next act, according to a person who was at the meeting but not authorized to speak about it.”
Cartoon Brew has also pointed out that Lasseter has met with Jeremy Zag, the founder and CEO of Paris and Glendale-based company Zag, who are the creators of Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir. He went to this meeting with Skip Brittenham, “a power attorney in Hollywood who has served on Pixar’s board, suggesting that there could be more to this meeting between Zag and Lasseter.”
Here’s a photo from that meeting along with a statement from Zag sharing how big of a fan he is of Lasseter:
Zag has is said to have recently partnered with Skydance Media for live-action features based on Miraculous. Maybe Lasseter is looking at helping out with the projects.
It’s also said that Lasseter has expressed interest in podcasting, but there are no other details give about what that might entail.
Lasseter’s reputation has certainly been tarnished in the entertainment industry. Disney won’t work with him, but that that doesn’t mean someone else won’t. Regardless of Lasseter’s disturbing misconduct, he is a talented individual and as Cartoon Brew says, “there’s plenty of Disney competitors that would be thrilled to have him on their team.”
I don’t think Lasseter will have any problems landing another job, but I doubt that nothing he gets will be as good or as big as his gig at Disney.
Hopefully he’s learned from his mistakes and won’t make them again as he tries to move forward with his life and career.