Sunday 29th May 2011

by Scott Ross

For me, life was very different back in the 1990’s.  I was married, had three children that were still, well, children. My hair was brown and my waist was 30″. I was a workaholic, spending at minimum 12 to 14 hours a day at work.

I had left ILM in the Spring of 1992 and had decided to start a competing VFX company because I believed then, as I do now, that VFX and animation are key ingredients to marketing and ultimately selling tickets to films.

My original vision in starting this new company was to create something similar to LucasFilm, a content production company that produced films, TV, new media ( as it was called back then) and videogames.  But I wanted a new kind of LucasFilm, a company fueled by creativity and technology, but with partner/owners that trusted creative collaboration with their employees. I saw the new venture as a new kind of studio. A gathering of exceptionally talented men and women that could create new stories with cutting edge technology. Sort of the same concept that Mssrs. Lassiter and Catmull had at Pixar, but in the live action vain.

Back then, a group of the most senior execs and creatives at ILM were frankly fed up with the way things were going at LucasFilm. Given the zeitgest of the Bay Area and the heady times of Silicon Valley’s IPO mania, it seemed to several of us at ILM, that we should take the burden of LucasArts… Skywalker Sound, ILM, etc. (at the time it was indeed a financial burden) from George and manage this company ourselves…. sort of a management/creative buy out. The only problem was, George didn’t quite see it that way! And try as I may to get to Mr. Lucas and explain what I and his most trusted cadre of creative, technical and business employees wanted to do, I could never get through the impenetrable wall of Lucasfilm’s president Doug Norby.

In fact, Norby and I saw things so differently at times that I found it, towards the end, difficult working for him.

Case in point… As an executive, I wanted the managers that reported to me to be appropriately incentivized in reaching or exceeding the goals of the organization. No brain science needed… a bonus compensation plan needed to be structured. As a CEO of other creative organizations prior to my stint at LucasFilm, it was obvious to me what we needed to do.  Doug Norby on the other hand was a Harvard educated, ex McKinsey employee.  He felt that we needed to hire some consultants to help us structure this simple plan, even though IMHO, LucasFilm had an experienced HR staff that could easily put a plan in place.  After countless meetings and lord knows how much “consulting” money spent, we had our plan.

I explained the plan to my execs… Jim Morris (now of Pixar fame), Ed Jones, Marty Schindler and a few others. We were very focused at exceeding our plan and getting paid our bonuses. At the time we were not compensated like our counterparts at other Bay Area companies and retention of senior execs was critical to the success of ILM. Upon completing our fiscal year, the ILM team,  as the euphemism goes, “hit the ball out of the park”. Unfortunately, Norby’s divisions struck out. And given the over all financial picture, Norby and the Board decided not to pay any bonuses that year. Now, I’m a realist and when there isn’t enough money in the corporate coffers to pay out bonuses, well, then the bonuses should be paid when the company DOES have the money to do so. Sounded fair and reasonable to me.  It didn’t to Norby.

I explained the situation to my execs. They were flabbergasted, to say the least.  They were asked to do the impossible and they did…. and now the bonus that they had been promised was not forthcoming… ever.

I met with Norby and explained the situation.  He told me that it was the Board’s decision ( The Board by the way, was a group comprised mostly of Norby’s friends and associates). I asked to speak to the Board.  I wrote a memo to the Board.

The Board meeting was relatively calm and proper ( which brings up the old joke… ” Why don’t WASP’s have orgies…. too many thank you cards” ). The decision was made… no bonuses this year and the Company did not have any obligation to pay them, ever.

I found this outrageous. Norby said his hands were tied. I decided that I could no longer work for Doug and walked into his office to tender my resignation. Interestingly enough, Norby opened his top desk drawer and handed me my resignation letter! I guess he was a lot smarter than I had given him credit for.

I returned to my office and had told my Assistant, Suzy McLaughlin, what had happened.  She too was shocked.  I packed up my office and stealthily left the Kerner campus late that Friday evening, never to return to LucasFilm again. When the following Monday morning came, it was as if I never existed at ILM ( and interestingly if you see any LFL sponsored documentaries about ILM or read any LucasFilm approved books about ILM, my name never shows up…as if my years at the Company never existed). There are remnants of my tenure however… the transition to digital, some Halloween Parties that are still talked about in hushed tones and… during my six (6) year term there, five (5) Oscars for Best Visual Effects. In fact, after leaving ILM in 1992, they have only won three (3) Oscars in the next eighteen (18) years and one of them was for JURASSIC PARK, a film that was well into production when I left ILM !!! Not a bad record for a guy that never shows up in the history books!

On that very Monday after my hasty exit, there was a commercial ready to shoot… a Miller Lite spot that was to be directed by a friend of mine. In fact, it might have been the only commercial he has, or has ever since, directed. Miller Beer wanted a special director for this spot where people morphed and aged. I called my then buddy, and asked him if he would consider directing a TV spot for us. After several rather heated discussions with his agent, Jeff Berg of ICM  (why do agents have to be so…. difficult ?), we came to an agreement and closed the deal.  Miller was thrilled. The agency was thrilled. And the ILM crew was excited to be working with this genius filmmaker once again. But when Jim Cameron showed up on Monday morning looking for me…. well there was “some ‘splainin’ to do”.

Miller Lite Commercial Director James Cameron

Word travelled quickly. Scott had indeed left the building. And no one (except Diane Holland) knew where he went or why he left. At the time there were about 350 ILM’ers, and as its General Manager, I had the good fortune to know and have a relationship with most of them.  My disappearance, aided by Jim Cameron’s appearance was being discussed everywhere within the ILM Kerner facility. Norby must have heard the rumblings all the way over at SkyWalker Ranch (some 10 miles away) because he called for a Company meeting to be held on the ILM stage.

According to many ( I was not there, so I can’t validate this as fact), the stage was packed by ILM staff.  Norby, cardigan sweater, hushpuppies and all took to the podium. He had explained that Scott had decided to leave LucasFilm to “pursue other ventures”. The crowd was agitated.  Someone screamed for Norby’s resignation, others called him a liar and still others demanded the truth about where I had gone and why I had left. The Company Meeting had not gone well. The SF Examiner had gotten leaks that things were coming apart at LucasFilm and that key people were leaving the Company . The next day the headlines screamed in the business section of the SF Examiner ” EarthWars in LucasFilm”.

That night the Academy Awards were being telecast and George, who had not personally ever won an Academy Award, was being feted as the recipient of the Irving Thalberg Award.  Now, I’m not sure what GWL knew about the goings on at ILM that day, but I can only hope that the news of the turmoil at his company did not ruin his special and well deserved Oscar.

A few weeks later, my family and I were trying to sort out what we would next do… I had no job, and had just started looking for possible investors and partners for the new incarnation of this new VFX company ( the ILM folks were not interested in leaving the Marin area and possibly moving to SoCal). The future seemed scary. I had 3 kids, a stay at home wife and no visible means of supporting them. I decided that I would splurge and take them out to a local San Rafael Mexican eatery. We walked into the establishment and there sitting at a table with his young daughter, was none other than George himself.

In the years I worked at LucasFilm, I only spoke to George a handful of times. But seeing him there eating his enchilada with Amanda, I just had to come over and say something.  After all, my over all experiences at ILM and LFL were great and if it wasn’t for George, my world, and indeed the world, would not have been the same.  So…I cautiously approached.  He looked up at me, and I said ” Thanks George for all that you and ILM have done for me and my family”, and George looked at me, with a blank stare and said ” Sure….    by the way, what’s your name?”

 

 

 

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12 Responses to “Lord of the Ring ( part 1 )”

  1. Scott Ross says:

    the only solution, IMHO, is for the VFX facilities to form a trade association.

  2. Ian says:

    Thanks for the reply Scott, very interesting. I should say that when I talk about unions I am coming at this from an open shop perspective since this is what we have in the UK. I’ve taken the view of a vfx union as positive in the past as they seem about the only way the average artist might have some way to effect change.

    The way you put things it seems an impossible situation. Unionise and drive work overseas or leave it to the studio owners to sort things out which I would imagine will never happen. It seems the only people with any potential power to flex in favour of the vfx studios are certain directors and your blog leaves me little faith in them haha.

  3. the buckaroo says:

    …if it can be unionized & does not require a hands on presence…it will be off-shored by necessity, period. When people are speaking, regardless of the subject, they are talking “money”.

    Money talks, bullshit walks & people whisper. I believe Scott having been a roadie lends a hint as to his leanings for the cause of the those without a voice.

    A few commenteers believe the sour grapes approach…get a life & move on. To this I say…history repeats itself if not examined, warts and all. Go get ’em , Scott. Turning the other cheek is religious voodoo, fool me twice kinda stuff.

    peace & cookies…jph

  4. Scott Ross says:

    Ian, I fully empathize with all VFX workers… from the PA’s to the supervisor. The problem here is that it seems you want to try to cure Heroin with Methadone. It doesn’t work. As much as a bleeding hert liberal that I am ( and I am), in business there is only one thing that REALLY matters, profit. Profit with morality for those of us left of center, and lately it seems profit without any shame for those of us on the other side of the aisle.

    The reality is this… (IMHO)…. Union workers cost more money than non union workers, it’s just a fact. The VFX industry, because of technology advances, globalization, etc. has become the mainstay and the largest budget item of major motion pictures. Because of VFX incredible costs ( don’t get me started on why), the buyers (the studios) are looking for lower cost alternatives. The work has been , for the last 5 years or so, split into two camps, the hard work and the “easy” work. At present the “hi end” work cannot be done at low cost providers, though certain government subsidiaries have falsely created hi end low cost providers ( London). “Easy Work” has been migrating to low cost providers, India and China. This will continue and eventually these low cost providers will provide hi end work as well.

    The “lower end” jobs in countries like the US will just plain go away. The hi end jobs will eventually start to as well, as this globalization continues. A Union just exacerbates the situation and IMHO accelerates the process. Unions cost money…. VFX studios don’t have the money to pay US labor without unions and that is why they are opening facilities overseas. US VFX w unions will get crushed. Lower end work will be done in China, there are no unions there.

    I don’t believe Unions will help, I believe they will hurt. What will help is if the VFX industry gets it together and stops giving into their fears. Start charging for work in a way that allows VFX facilities to make a profit. Keep VFX facilities healthy, profitable and strong. The worker will be treated well, they are the reason VFX studios are in business, they are the product, and should be fairly compensated and dealt with like human beings.

  5. Ian says:

    Interesting to read your effort concerning a union Scott, the recent VES announcement was what I referred to in my earlier post. I have read negative comments regarding unions by very talented professionals on certain cgtalk threads and don’t understand that position.

    I do wonder if part of it may be that when you’re good enough to skip some of the lower end jobs into a role at one of the big facilities you might not have the experiences to empathise with what happens to those nearer the bottom of the food chain.

  6. P. Roman says:

    I’m not involved in your industry just interested in the story. But I was a a a senior executive at a company who was terminated over differences in direction. They wanted to use that BS line “left to pursue other interests” with me but I refused to let them. I told them I wasn’t embarrassed by my performance or my positions and that if they wanted to fire me then call it what it was not use that BS euphemism. Just venting I guess but interesting stuff Mr. Ross.

  7. Caleb Howard says:

    Hey Scott. Thanks for taking the time to put this down. Having been at DD at the start was (as I’ve said) a singular stroke of fortune for me, and my family. I’d known some of the broad strokes, but it’s nice to read history in the first person, especially when one is a part of that history. I’m glad to note that – even though I had left well before it was published – the authors of the Digital Domain book were kind enough to get my name in there. I owe you a lot. Thanks for spelling it out. 😉

  8. Scott Ross says:

    Thank you for the considerable time and effort, Mr. Vfxlabor, that you put into your entry. Some of your thoughts and positions, I agree with, while some of your thoughts are born from not having sufficient information.

    Firstly, I wholeheartedly concur with you regarding the need for a Trade Association and the terrible plight that the VFX workers and yes, the VFX facility finds itself in. I have for the last 21 years been a supporter of a trade association for our industry. As early as 1990, when I was the GM of ILM, I had tried to start an organization called AVEC ( Association of Visual Effects Creators). This group was the precursor to the VES, but its charter was very different. I realized early on, that without profitability, our industry, like all businesses, was doomed. My intention was to build an understanding between Boss Films, DreamQuest Images, Apogee, PDI, and ILM that we were not enemies and that we shared common issues. Unfortunately, paranoia ran amuck, and there were but two meetings of AVEC before the group disbanded. Over the years, I have consistently called for a trade association. In fact, I quit the VES in the mid 1990’s and withdraw DD from the supporting companies of the VES because I felt that the VES was too busy throwing parties and “celebrating the art and science of VFX” and not focusing on the key issues of the VFX industry, its impending financial doom. Even today, I have been a champion for a trade association. Just recently, I tried to spearhead an international trade association yet I was shot down by most every major VFX studio.

    As for my running companies to just win Academy Awards and not paying attention to the bottom line, you couldn’t be further off the mark. While I am really proud of the eight Oscars and 15 nominations for Best VFX that the companies I was at the head of garnered over my two plus decades, I was ferociously focused on the bottom line. Though I can’t go into details because of confidentiality issues, suffice it to say that under my leadership and without the interference of certain powerful directors, both ILM and DD were, at times, profitable. You also don’t seem to know my style. I was, and some might say to a fault, an organization and structure freak. DD and ILM (after my tenure) were run like businesses. Unfortunately businesses that for various reasons ( some of which are the fact that many other shops were not run as such) could not be very profitable.

    And as for ILM… they produce wonderful work and yes they have a great facility and a day care center, all paid for by their owner, the creator of some of the most profitable motion picture franchises of all time. Please rest assured that the ILM Presidio facility and all of its percs are not funded by the bottom line of a VFX studio (neither are the campuses of WETA nor Sony Pictures Imageworks, which are funded by their owners as well).

    I would be happy to talk further with you, either in a private or a public forum about the industry and my take on what’s needed to turn this around. I am assuming from your comments and your handle (Vfxlabor), that you might be a union guy, and as I was a member of the board of trustees of IATSE, I have some thoughts about unions and the new globalization of VFX that I would be thrilled to talk about with you in a public forum ( so that workers could get perspective).

    Again, thank you for your interest and insights. I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

  9. Vfxartist says:

    I appreciate you sharing this, Mr. Ross, but like all stories, there are two sides. What you stated happened at ILM I have seen in other companies like Disney, Cinesite and even your old company Digital Domain. In the final analysis, you wanted academy awards, George Lucas and pals wanted a profitable company. Your track record at Digital Domain is one that set the stage for the expectation for Vfx in features to not make money. Oscars, yes, but not money. The limited time I spent at digital domain on the show “day after tomorrow” demonstrated a reckless leadership born from that pursuit of awards at the cost of sound production economy; which is what’s needed to deliver a show of that complexity. Instead it was mosh pit of egos that paralyzed the productivity of the subordinate artist. While it was great to share a beer with your sups, in the end you need leadership.

    My concern is that I don’t see a change in your posts. You are making public past beefs you had with your former bosses. I’m not saying that you don’t have your reasons, but I don’t see the point. I see more of the same lack of compromises, not to mention name calling, that allowed the studios to divide and conquer the Vfx vendors. While each of you were spinning off your own utopian Vfx shops,, what grew was contempt for each other, not competition. Instead, you guys should have formed a trade organization, understanding that Vfx was a hot growth area, and establish minimums to help build wealth in our industry. Instead we got the Vfx society. More awards. And now that the more senior guys are hitting a glass ceiling (read: aren’t directors yet with their own production companies), now….NOW… The VES wants to start talking about grown up stuff like trade organizations and unions.

    Like I said, I appreciate the candor of your post Mr. Ross, I just don’t see the point. It reads like you are trying to feed into the libertarian streak thats popular with Vfx artist today… Read libertarian as not liking anyone telling you what to do like trade organizations or unions. It reads like you want to fan the flames of artist thinking they don’t need structure or organizations, especially those who wear cardigan sweaters and hush puppies. There are graveyards of companies who thought this way: Banned from the ranch is one. Esc Vfx was born out of artist from Manex fx that believed that they didn’t need “managers” and have an artist driven Vfx shop. Boy Wonder FX tried to build a commission based model for the artist, when they weren’t plain ripping off artist. Vfx “pirates”, the lot of them. And yet, ILM is still around, working on top content, with a great facility with a day care center. Not bad for a bunch of hush puppies and Cardigans.

    Again, I appreciate your candor, Mr. Ross, and I wish you luck with whatever you pursue. I just hope you take a moment to reflect on what I said. I want Vfx to succeed. I tell the artist I know to fight for the return of the 8 hour day at a higher hourly so that they don’t become slaves that HAVE to work 12 hour days to pay the mortgage. This is good for business because you have rested and alert workers, instead of the current model that tries to get 1.5 days out of each worker per day. Vfx companies HAVE to organize. What I see is the ego festival of this blog and companies like Hydralx that want to enter a high speculation game of content creation vs creating a sound industry. One that’s organized and can have some pull in Washington to throw refreshing sunlight on the middle class butchering NAFTA that killed so much industry in this country. Bigger picture guys.

  10. Scott Ross says:

    Ian…. the future is not bright… unless you live in India or China.

  11. Ian says:

    Thanks for these posts Scott. Having long been interested in VFX history and that of ILM in particular you are providing some fascinating insight. I truly hope that the industry is on the verge of some serious change and that employees will begin to be more often treated with the respect they deserve.

  12. Rich Cave says:

    To a lot of starry eyed wannabees working at ILM is Shangra La, a utopia of dream jobs and creating fantasies and spell binding art. This blog post should be required reading by a lot of potential VFX artists. This is a great reality check and sounds exactly like a lot of firms I have worked for. Thank you for posting this, Scott I would like to know how things faired out for you since. The creative industry is in a state of flux with sweatshop mentality of some studios. I long to work where anything goes, and creativity is encouraged. Looks like we are on a plateau of creativity.

    It is a real shame that GWL did not know who you are, prehaps might have even embarrassed him into doing something about it.

    I have read all the authorised bios of ILM and will re read them with a pinch of salt.

    Looking forward to reading more, Rich

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