Skydance's hiring of John Lasseter has already resulted in one high-profile departure.
Emma Thompson has dropped out of Luck, a Skydance Animation movie she was set to star in, because of Lasseter's hiring, according to The Hollywood Reporter and Deadline. The actress had already started recording her voice performance for the movie, the Reporter adds. The film is currently scheduled for a 2021 release. Thompson worked with Lasseter on Pixar's Brave, BuzzFeed News points out.
Skydance last month announced it would be hiring Lasseter, the former chief creative officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios and co-founder of Pixar, to lead its new animation division. This prompted backlash, as Lasseter had left Disney in light of sexual harassment allegations against him. After announcing his hire, Skydance Media CEO David Ellison said that Lasseter had been "analyzing and improving his workplace behavior" and that he has "given his assurance that he will comport himself in a wholly professional manner."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Since then, Deadline reports that Lasseter apologized to Skydance employees for his past behavior. Ellison also recently promoted Holly Edwards into the role of Skydance Animation president, with a source telling the Reporter this was "no doubt a reaction to the backlash on hiring Lasseter."
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's viewSpeed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talkSpeed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
A long weekend in ZürichThe Week Recommends The vibrant Swiss city is far more than just a banking hub
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposesspeed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
