Disney-Pixar Deal Blows!

Here's my first, true, Hollywood thought:

The Pixar deal blows.

Mark my words: it will soon go down as the worst Hollywood mega-merger deal since Time Warner/ AOL.

Here's another prediction: Bob Iger 'aint long for the biggest, most padded chair in the Board of Directors room. I predict that Steve Jobs will be staging a coup for that seat sometime in the next two years.

To some observers it appears that Steve Jobs fancies himself as the next Walt Disney. To borrow a phrase, he is no Walt Disney (funny how most of Walt's successors have thought they were the second coming; must be something about taking that corner office).

Again, I digress.

OK, here's my real beef on the deal:

SEVEN BILLION DOLLARS.

For what??!!??

Used computers? Ratty old Ikea office furniture?

From what I've seen the Pixar digs are cool-- but seven BILLION dollars worth of cool? No way. Perhaps the real estate and what's on it is worth seven MILLION dollars... but Iger over paid. By a lot.

OK, maybe you're saying, "Hey, that seven billion also buys you a valuable film library."

Nice try... but wrong.

Disney already owns "Toy Story," and "Finding Nemo" and all the other Disney/ Pixar releases.

So, again, I ask: "What the hell did they pay seven billion for???"

One answer: John Lasseter.

He's the guy (along with his key creative personnel) that are behind the creation of all those great films and their animated characters.

God help Iger if he didn't sign Lasseter to a LONG and VERY BINDING contract when he signed the dotted line of this week's Pixar deal. As of the moment, it appears Lasseter is only signed through 2009. Uh-oh.

I, for one, will be at the next share holder meeting (March 15th at the Arrowhead Pond) requesting Iger's head if he didn't do the RIGHT DEAL and sign Lasseter.

Bottom Line: Why the hell didn't Iger just steal Lasseter away from Pixar and set him up in his own shop? I guarantee it would have been a lot cheaper.

(A portion of this column appeared in the LA Times)