Senior Pixar Producer Galyn Susman Reportedly Fired
Producer Who Rescued 'Toy Story 2' from Crisis
Pixar Studio Known for Diversity and Creativity
Will Corporate Culture Change Amid Cost-Cutting Drive?
As part of cost-cutting measures, Disney, which has launched a massive workforce reduction, reportedly also fired Pixar producer Galen Susman. Susman is known as the person who saved the once-stranded 'Toy Story 2' and is recognized as a key figure involved in all of Pixar's major projects.
Susman's story dates back to 1998. At that time, Pixar was in the final stages of production for its latest work, 'Toy Story 2.' One day, while an employee was organizing the video data files for Toy Story 2, they accidentally entered a command to delete the files.
Galyn Susman, the Pixar producer who saved Toy Story 2 from the brink of cancellation. [Image source=YouTube]
The computer executed the command instantly, and the footage that Pixar had spent $90 million (approximately 118 billion KRW) producing over several years began to disappear rapidly. Witnessing this, Pixar's then Chief Technology Officer, Oren Jacob, urgently contacted the IT team and instructed them to "turn off the computer," which stopped the deletion process. However, when the computer was turned back on to check the remaining video files, it was found that 90% of the entire work was already lost forever.
To make matters worse, the backup files prepared to prevent emergencies also encountered problems and became unusable. It was also discovered that it would take more than a year just to recover the deleted files by piecing them together. At this rate, the film project, which had cost over 100 billion KRW, was at risk of being ruined by a single mistake.
However, the production team soon remembered that senior technician Susman was working from home after childbirth. At that time, Susman was working by copying and saving all the video files onto a computer at home before proceeding with the work. The undamaged backup files were at Susman's house.
Eight Pixar employees immediately went to Susman's house and wrapped the large computer containing the files in blankets to transport it back to the studio. Thanks to these files, Pixar was able to complete the recovery work safely and successfully launched 'Toy Story 2' the following year in 1999.
'Toy Story 2' earned revenue equivalent to 500 billion KRW at the time and elevated Pixar to the ranks of major studios. Susman, who emerged as Pixar's savior, continued to participate in key Pixar projects and grew into a veteran producer.
Diversity Was Pixar's Strength... Will Restructuring Bring Change?
Susman's story provided an important lesson to Pixar. Allowing various work styles, including remote work, can serve as 'risk diversification' to reduce corporate risk factors. Thanks to this, Pixar was able to establish an inclusive work culture under Disney's system and produce various masterpiece animated films.
However, Disney's recent cost-cutting plans are expected to impact this corporate culture at Pixar. In March, Disney drastically reduced in-house remote work and additionally decided to restructure 7,000 employees. Bob Iger, Disney's CEO, aims to cut $5.5 billion (approximately 7.205 trillion KRW) in operating costs this year.
As a result, not only Susman but also Michael Agulnek, Vice President in charge of Pixar's global public relations since 2015, reportedly appeared on the layoff list.
Disney, which is accumulating operating losses approaching 1 trillion KRW each quarter in its streaming business 'Disney Plus,' is currently in desperate need of cost-cutting measures. However, in this process, it seems difficult to avoid criticism that Disney is losing star producers who were the source of its 'creativity.'
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