John Lasseter, Creative Executive VP for Pixar Inc. and director of the Toy Story movies, is on a publicity tour, talking up the chances for Monsters Inc. to win an Academy Award next month. He’s due to appear on NPR’s Fresh Air this evening. I heard him yesterday on WNYC’s New York & Company, when he said something really interesting. At the outset of every movie, there’s always some large piece of the story that they have no idea how to accomplish, some creative challenge that has no clear technological solution. Their approach is to back themselves into a corner and innovate through it. I like that aggressiveness, that willingness to create circumstances that demand innovation.
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