Jim Morris left his post as Lucasfilm Digital President in November looking for a shift in his career. He had served at Lucasfilm’s Industrial Light & Magic for 17 years, working on amazing computer animation and special effects shots like the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park, the pseudopod in The Abyss, and the CGI worlds of the Star Wars prequels. But because he wanted to continue his earlier career of producing movies, he stepped down from Lucasfilm. Now he has landed in the only other major film company in the San Francisco area. It comes to no surprise that Jim Morris will begin working on Pixar’s new projects on February 14.
This acquisition comes at a crucial time for Pixar. With their Disney partnership ceasing after 2006’s Cars, Pixar will be on its own with no external funding. Morris will be working on Pixar’s first projects as an independent company, and crucial projects they will be. But make no mistake: after February 14th, Pixar will be even more of a force to be reckoned with.
