Disney/DreamWorks/Apple Capped Employees Salaries In Illegal Cartel!

http://nikkifinke.com/pixar-lucasfilm-dreamworks-animation-wage-fixing-conspiracy/

http://www.cartoonbrew.com/business/disney-and-dreamworks-pixar-lucasfilm-wage-fixing-cartel-101197.html

http://www.cartoonbrew.com/business/pixars-ed-catmull-emerges-as-central-figure-in-the-wage-fixing-scandal-101362.html

This is it. My whole life goals have been corrupted!

On the other hand, I now know that ALL career directions are corrupt, which means they cancel everything out, and I shouldn't worry about it and just keep seeking my goal since they're all the same!

Well, this should clinch all those rumors about how evil Disney is for generations to come.

The one thing I don't get is the ability of Steve Jobs to 'strong arm' other people into joining, like they're trying to make it look like he was able to force people to join in against their will.

I'm not trying to say he didn't have a part in it or that this didn't actually happen, but I'm more inclined to think that anyone who did get in on it probably did so more or less willingly and probably wouldn't have taken more than a 'helpful' nudge.

edited 11th Jul '14 11:10:03 AM by TheSpaceJawa

They were probably worried about preventing bad fortune from past experiences (previous movies literally killing whole animation studios like Titan A. E. or the Final Fantasy movie or the Astro Boy movie, etc) by putting a ceiling over what they spend. Either have movies with a limited budget or no movies at all. I'm not defending them though, because employees need to live- these are adult people with houses, cars, benefits, and families! But if that were true... why hire so many of these people at all!? There have been so many people interested in working in animated movies now that there isn't enough money to satisfy them!

edited 11th Jul '14 11:42:16 AM by kyun

I think the most important thing right now is to wait and see how this plays out and what all the details are right now - what's the full extent of the cartel, who actually was and wasn't involved, and what allegations are actually true and what are just people slinging mud trying to bring down others with them or for revenge.

Odds are that there's a lot of truth to what's coming out here, but for the moment there's likely to also be a lot of heresay and chaos surrounding the magnitude of what's just been reported.

I would like to see a public reaction from one of these high-ranking figures, whether it be Ed Catmull, John Lasseter, et al, on this information leaking out!

edited 11th Jul '14 11:41:35 AM by kyun

I have no idea what the Hell all this is about, so here my Flat "What" to support the discussion.

I back up your Flat "What" with my munching of popcorn.

OP and sources:

edited 11th Jul '14 5:24:28 PM by Grounder

Grounder, I think accusations are a bit much at the moment, but pending more information from credible sources (which is never how I've thought of cartoonbrew) I am somewhat skeptical, even accounting for the usual stupid internet hyperbole machine crap.

It is disheartening that these animation studios would dare do such a thing, made worse by the fact that this scandal was carried on by people who we had thought were good people and trusted to make quality entertainment (Ed Catmull and John Lasseter being the only good people, of course) . It is a shame to hear such bad news, and I hope that all executives involved in this heinous crime are punished. And also, this is proof (aside from the Global Warming thing happening) we're among the last (or next-to-last) groups of generations to live on this Earth before the Deity comes (IMO).

edited 11th Jul '14 7:51:25 PM by Buzzinator

The first part of that was fine, but speaking as a religious man, that second part still makes me go "uhhhhh".

But let's not get into that.

Not sure how to feel about all this until we have substantial facts about who did what.

edited 11th Jul '14 8:00:46 PM by edvedd

Agreed. Let's not start a religious fight. Let's talk about this terrible scandal instead.

Well, this is disappointing. The levels that some people will go just to get rich. It makes me wonder what will become of Pixar, Dreamworks and Lucas Film in the near future because of this scam getting out into the public. I imagine that someone else will take over the companies and do things right, but for now, we will have to wait and see where all this goes in the future.

Ooookay....can someone explain this one to me? I have kind of a hard time to understand it....

First of all, who revealed the story?

Second, did I get this right that Pixar, Dream Works and Lucas film started it and then Disney got in on the action when they took over Pixar (and I guess, Lucas film)? Or where they involved earlier, too?

How many animation companies are actually involved?

Also (I am not trying to defend anyone, I just wonder) a non-poaching agreement kind of makes sense to me, especially between two smaller companies who intend to take on Disney (that was apparently the situation when the agreement was started), it is mostly the "keeping the salaries low" aspect which makes me wonder, because so far I always thought that Disney has a practice of giving their employees a lot of extra-money when they have a hit.

edited 12th Jul '14 1:28:10 AM by swanpride

Pando.com, a technological news site, revealed this story; Cartoon Brew was also essential in revealing this storey.

Again, WTF would Disney want with the fucking drug cartel? Besides money.

I dont think you know what cartel means.

See, here's the thing - when you have a cartel like that, even when it involves little guys, it's a very bad thing. While I'm probably more inclined to defend companies than most people on this thread, I'm also very much of the mindset that employees should be absolutely free to pursue their best option when it comes to employment and careers.

If that includes a larger studio being able to 'poach' the best animators by offering them a better paycheck and better opportunities, than yes, the smaller company might suffer, but bear in mind that in doing so it also creates a new job opportunity for another potential up-and-coming animator who might in turn eventually show their worth enough to in turn earn the option to go to a bigger studio where they might get paid better.

Granted, if an animator is in the middle of a project it should be expected that they'll actually finish whatever commitment they have to that project first and then go on to bigger and better things. But even that's something that's negotiable if the project is an absolute mess or it's being extended indefinitely for whatever reason or other such situations.

And as someone who's not inclined to think pleasantly about unions and guilds these days - to the point of being proud to have never been part of one - when you have a reported cartel like this that actively coordinates to keep employees salaries low like that, it gives those unions and guilds a very valid argument in their favor.

So no, even when it 'only' involves smaller studios as part of an effort to compete with larger studios, it shouldn't make sense because it's undermining the system by which they should be competing - this is, in fact, a case of the 'little guy', the employees, getting hurt in a very bad way.

edited 13th Jul '14 1:39:31 AM by TheSpaceJawa

I don't disagree there...I think it depends on the nature of such an agreement. I can imagine that two rising companies in the middle of a personal war aggressively trying to get the best animators in business might lead to the end of the business for both of them.

What I mean that I can imagine that a silent agreement along the lines of "we have a healthy competition, but we don't use dumping prices to force the small companies out of business" can work for the benefit of everyone....until it becomes "let's talk about how high we can push the prices if we are in agreement".....

Not sure if I explain that well. I just would like to know what this poaching agreement exactly entails (don't poach at all, don't poach in the middle of a project, don't poach without asking first?), who was involved, who discovered how, and what was the impact on the salaries. This is all too vague for my taste.

I can most certainly agree that we don't have all the details yet, and that it will be important to wait until we do before we start making final judgements.

Regardless, however, I can't say that I can see any situation where a cartel like this is a good thing in any way. Even if it is 'initially' designed like you're stating - and I don't agree that even that's a good thing - how long does it take for the temptation of going bigger with it to take hold?

You can try to explain it better if you'd like, but I'm not inclined to change my mind from the opinion that there's not a way to have a cartel like this and have it be a good thing.

edited 13th Jul '14 8:11:44 AM by TheSpaceJawa

I think I kind of get where this is going. And I have to agree, the effect does sound a lot like they want to start a monopoly hidden from the corporations, if i'm not mistaken.

That's exactly what it is... And that's the kind of crap citizens from anywhere... Especially America (where the threat looms constantly due to corruption everywhere!), that needs to be stood united against.

It's a shame such good movies came from such manufactured evil. Simply disgusting...

So, what does this mean for the future of Disney and others?

I don't think anyone can do anything more than speculate at this point.