Part of being the successful Pixar is that we will take risks on teams and ideas, and some of them won’t work out. We only lose from this if we don’t respond to the failures. If we respond, and we think it through and figure out how to move ahead, then we’re learning from it. That’s what Pixar is. Edwin Catmull Read Quote
The Braintrust developed organically out of the rare working relationship among the five men who led and edited the production of ‘Toy Story’ – John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter, Lee Unkrich, and Joe Ranft. Edwin Catmull Read Quote
Communication needs to be between anybody at any time, which means it needs to happen out of the structure and out of order. Edwin Catmull Read Quote
I’ve really thought a lot about why other companies fail or succeed. I had to be a student of failure and find out why things went off the rails. I did that at a fairly deep level, and it’s still something I do. Edwin Catmull Read Quote
The desire to avoid meltdowns actually is one of the things that screws up live-action films. Edwin Catmull Read Quote
It doesn’t even matter how successful a movie like ‘Up’ is: you’ll never sell a lot of toy walkers. But that’s the way we spread out the risk. Edwin Catmull Read Quote
My best advice came by examples. A supportive environment at home, school, and grad school. Support at the New York Institute of Technology, then George Lucas, Steve Jobs, and Bob Iger. The examples meant that I should support other people, even when things aren’t going well. It will pay off. Edwin Catmull Read Quote
I’ve always been surprised at the number of people who think we’ve got it all figured out. It’s incorrect, and it’s a real problem. Edwin Catmull Read Quote
I have received a great deal of benefit from the simple yet difficult practice of learning to stop the internal voice in my head. I learned that the voice isn’t me, and I don’t need to keep rethinking events of the past nor overthink plans for the future. This skill has helped me both to focus and to pause before responding to unexpected events. Edwin Catmull Read Quote
