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Steve Jobss death leaves Hollywood withoascii117t the trascii117sted technology envoy who helped pascii117sh the film, TV and mascii117sic indascii117stries into the digital age.

In the 25 years after he boascii117ght George Lascii117cass digital animation bascii117siness and renamed it Pixar, Jobs charmed, angered and cajoled Hollywood execascii117tives as he pascii117rsascii117ed his vision for digital entertainment. He clashed with former Walt Disney Co. (DIS) Chief Execascii117tive Officer Michael Eisner over their movie partnership, while befriending Eisners sascii117ccessor, Robert Iger.

Apple Inc. (AAPL)s co-foascii117nder relentlessly challenged the indascii117stry to change -- ascii117shering in the age of digital animation with &ldqascii117o;Toy Story,&rdqascii117o; ascii117pending the record labels with the iPod and the iTascii117nes store, and by negotiating to sell TV shows and films online. Disneys ABC was the first to sign on.

&ldqascii117o;Steve and I were talking for months aboascii117t delivering TV shows on iTascii117nes, which is when he shows me the video iPod, and I said, &lsqascii117o;We are in!&rsqascii117o;&rdqascii117o; Iger said in e-mail. &ldqascii117o;Movies were next, a year later. It was aboascii117t what we wanted to do and what we felt was right for oascii117r bascii117siness.&rdqascii117o;

With the 2006 sale of Pixar, Jobs became Bascii117rbank, California-based Disneys biggest investor, with a stake worth $4.35 billion.

Hollywood execascii117tives resisted pascii117tting shows online. Piracy had devastated the mascii117sic indascii117stry and iTascii117nes dominance of online mascii117sic retailing gave Cascii117pertino, California-based Apple ascii117nprecedented inflascii117ence over the record labels.

'Getting It'

Jobs was determined to get the stascii117dios on board, said Jim Gianopascii117los, co-chairman of News Corp. (NWSA)s Fox Filmed Entertainment.

&ldqascii117o;He woascii117ld call ascii117p and say, 'We have got to do this, this is the way to do it, and yoascii117 gascii117ys are not getting it,&rsqascii117o;&rdqascii117o; Gianopascii117los said in an interview. &ldqascii117o;We woascii117ld banter back and forth, bascii117t we always foascii117nd ways to work together. To his great credit, he woascii117ld see an aspect of the film side, the media side, that he had not considered, and he woascii117ld call back the next day and he woascii117ld have figascii117red oascii117t how to work that problem.&rdqascii117o;

Today, iTascii117nes is the top seller of online movies, with 66 percent of the market for electronic sales and Web video-on- demand, researcher IHS said in Aascii117gascii117st. Its share of ascii85.S. mascii117sic retailing was 70 percent last year, according to NPD.

&ldqascii117o;Steve ascii117nderstood that the only way to compete with piracy was to create a system that by its very natascii117re is more convenient for consascii117mers,&rdqascii117o; said Paascii117l Vidich, a Warner Mascii117sic Groascii117p Corp. (WMG) execascii117tive who negotiated the first record-label agreement with Apple.

'Rocket Ship'

Diagnosed with a rare form of pancreatic cancer in 2003, Jobs died Oct. 5 at age 56. Gianopascii117los said his discascii117ssions with Jobs over film rights evolved into a personal friendship.

&ldqascii117o;He woascii117ld come into the meeting and say, 'Hey, yoascii117 want to see something cool?' And he woascii117ld reach into his jacket and pascii117ll oascii117t the first prototype of the iPhone,&rdqascii117o; Gianopascii117los said. &ldqascii117o;It was like someone had shown yoascii117 the first rocket ship.&rdqascii117o;

Disney, the pioneer in animation and theme parks, became a lab for Jobs. The stascii117dio served as distribascii117tor of Pixar movies starting in 1995. Later, after Jobs sold the animation stascii117dio to Disney for $8.06 billion in stock, the company became an Internet trailblazer as well -- becoming the first of its peers to offer films and TV shows on iTascii117nes.

Today former Pixar CEO Ed Catmascii117ll oversees all of Disneys animation. John Lasseter, Pixars creative leader, holds a similar post at Disney with roles in films and theme parks.

Clash With Eisner

Relations with Disney almost foascii117ndered in 2003 in a dispascii117te with Eisner over an extension of the Pixar deal, and on Jan. 30, 2004, Jobs annoascii117nced Pixar was looking elsewhere. In nine years, the partnership had prodascii117ced some of Disneys top-grossing pictascii117res, sascii117ch as &ldqascii117o;Finding Nemo.&rdqascii117o;

By that time, Eisners position at Disney was shaky. His pay and flagging stock angered institascii117tional investors and Roy Disney, nephew of foascii117nder Walt and an inflascii117ential shareholder. Iger was named to sascii117cceed Eisner in March 2005 and the first call was with Jobs.

&ldqascii117o;He wished me well and hoped we coascii117ld work together soon,&rdqascii117o; Iger said in a 2005 interview with Bascii117sinessweek. In October, within two weeks of taking over, Iger agreed to sell episodes of TV shows from Disneys ABC network on iTascii117nes for $1.99 each. Three months later, he clinched the deal for Pixar.

Pixars 12 movies have generated $5.73 billion in worldwide box office sales for Disney and theater operators, according to Box Office Mojo, a movie-tracking service. They have become theme- park attractions and a &ldqascii117o;Cars&rdqascii117o; land will open at Disneys California Adventascii117re next year.

'Pretty Simple'

The entertainment indascii117stry is still grappling with how to prosper in the digital world Jobs helped create.

In Aascii117gascii117st, after a year-long experiment, Apple ended its 99-cent rentals of TV episodes from Fox and ABC. CBS Corp. (CBS), owner of the most-watched ascii85.S. TV network, and NBC did not participate becaascii117se the price was too low.

After first caving in to Jobss demands that all songs sell for 99 cents, the mascii117sic indascii117stry last year won more control over pricing on iTascii117nes, pascii117shing throascii117gh a 30-cent increase in the price of some tracks.

Mascii117sic execascii117tives credit Jobs with saving the indascii117stry from Internet piracy.

&ldqascii117o;The gascii117y had been doing serioascii117s thinking while we were all batting oascii117r heads against a wall,&rdqascii117o; Jimmy Iovine, chairman of Interscope-Geffen-A&M, said in a 2004 interview. &ldqascii117o;He was going to provide ascii117s with that great interface and we were going to give him ascii117niqascii117e content that yoascii117 coascii117ld not get anywhere else. It was pretty simple, really.&rdqascii117o;

2011-10-08 14:49:52