The Pixar Deal – A Steep Price For Talent

Just what is Disney getting for its $7.7 billion purchase of Pixar? “Disney executives are assuming that Disney will get back $1 billion from Pixar’s cash and investment portfolio and recoup another $700 million from what Pixar will earn from its share in the past coproductions and from future video, pay-TV, and television sales. If so, the net cost of acquiring John Lasseter’s talents—and employment contract—will be just over $6 billion. The deal memo in fact specifies that Disney can pull out of the acquisition if Lasseter does not agree to provide his services.”

What Did Frey’s Publisher Know And When Did She Know It?

“Nan Talese was in no position to call Frey’s book ‘brutally honest’ in 2004 because that was after her conversation with the Star Tribune [which published a piece questioning the book’s accuracy]. But she didn’t tell Oprah that. Nor did she say she had no idea in 2004 that there were problems with the book, which would be an outright lie. Instead, Talese said, ‘[T]his whole experience is very sad’ and observed that you can’t ‘get inside another person’s mind.’ This last is an especially preposterous non sequitur because by 2004 you didn’t need to ‘get inside’ Frey’s mind to find out that his memoir wasn’t factual.”

The People Without Music

“Research has shown that some people, termed ‘amusic’, can neither produce nor perceive music. It isn’t a problem of the ears – they can understand other sounds perfectly well – but when it comes to music, all tunes sound the same. It’s no surprise, then, that music, which tends to move in small steps, is literally ‘lost’ on them. Though most amusia sufferers find listening to music pointless, some even find it annoying and unpleasant.”

African American Museum To Have A Home On national Mall

A new African American history museum will be built on a site in the capitol’s Mall. “The five-acre site has belonged to the government since 1791 and was endorsed by both the major plans for downtown Washington, the L’Enfant Plan of 1791 and the McMillian Plan of 1901, as an suitable place for a building. It was considered as a location for the State Department and the World War II memorial.”

SF Symphony, Musicians Agree On Contract

The San Francisco Symphony and its musicians have reached an agreement on a new contract. “The 103 musicians have been working without a contract since Nov. 26. Last week the musicians threatened to call off the China tour — the orchestra’s first ever to the mainland — but by week’s end there had been enough progress that they agreed to let the tour go forward as planned.”

Famed Boys Choir To Get The Boot?

This week, the renowned Boys Choir of Harlem might lose its home. “After occupying space in a public school on Madison Avenue and 127th Street rent-free for the last 13 years, the nonprofit is facing eviction Tuesday unless its leaders and city officials come up with a last-minute resolution. The situation has angered and alarmed parents who say their children have thrived in the program, and has deeply upset the young choralists, who have taken to the streets with signs protesting the looming displacement.”

Publisher Pulls Book Before Publication (Kids’ Book Similar To Another)

After discovering that renowned children’s-book author and publisher Harriet Ziefert’s latest book, A Snake Is Totally Tail, is strikingly similar to Judi Barrett’s 1983 book of the same name, publisher Blue Apple has announced that it will not be releasing the version authored by Ziefert, originally set for release in April.