That whole talk is a gem of the first order. Don't skip over it thinking it's JUST about iteration. The segment on what it means to keep your crises small is especially good. It's also the single best explanation I've seen as to why Pixar has never released a dud.
Meanwhile, their less enlightened, less capable, and frankly less humble competition just assumes that most movies will end up losing money, and that what REALLY matters is getting a handful of hits that can offset endemic failure.
> Meanwhile, their less enlightened, less capable, and frankly less humble competition just assumes that most movies will end up losing money, and that what REALLY matters is getting a handful of hits that can offset endemic failure.
Without having watched the talk, isn't that the fail early, fail often startup mantra?
A finished movie is a large and costly project. Fail early would be to scrap a movie project based on an early draft or storyboard. But his point is that every project starts out crappy, and then is gradually improved through the process. His story about Toy Story 2 is about how a failed project turned into a great project.
So I don't think he actually agrees with that mantra.
Meanwhile, their less enlightened, less capable, and frankly less humble competition just assumes that most movies will end up losing money, and that what REALLY matters is getting a handful of hits that can offset endemic failure.