Pixar is known for its homegrown “Brain Trust” made up of animators like John Lasseter, Lee Unkrich, Andrew Stanton and Pete Docter. But the Pixar team, as insular as they may seem, is not above bringing in an outsider to help. Michael Arndt, Oscar-winner for LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE, was brought in to script TOY STORY 3. And if Steve Jobs had his way, another Oscar-winning writer would’ve had a chance to write for Pixar.
Aaron Sorkin wrote a brief “In Memorium” piece for Newsweek magazine, chronicle his brief phone friendship with the late Steve Jobs. One of the interesting details, was the last phone call Jobs made to Sorkin before he died. Jobs called asking Sorkin to please write a movie for Pixar.
Sorkin says he immediately passed on the offer, not because he didn’t like Pixar (he calls them “small miracles”) but because he had a young daughter who loves Pixar and didn’t want to be the writer who screwed up Pixar’s streak of genius.
Undeterred, Jobs pressed saying, “Jeez … write about THAT!” He invited Sorkin to fly to Pixar headquarters and tour the facilities and would only accept his final decision until he had done so. Jobs died before he could make that happen but Sorkin says, “I still keep thinking about that Pixar movie…”
And hey, who knows if that might be yet another part of Jobs’ legacy somewhere down the line…
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