According to Variety, the very successful partnership between Pixar Animation and the Disney Gang looks to continue unabated … as long as everyone can agree to play nicely this time and share profits accordingly.
"There’s been some buzz that Disney might take a stake in Pixar, or even purchase it outright (though the latter seems very unlikely.)
A key point is undoubtedly "Circle 7," the secretive division that Disney formed to make sequels to Pixar films, for which it has rights through next year’s "Cars." (That film is the last under the partners’ current deal.)
Production on "Toy Story 3" is already under way and the division is close to picking a second film to greenlight from several scripts under development — most likely "Finding Nemo 2" or "Monsters, Inc. 2."
Sources indicate the next step — picking a director — is on hold until Disney and Pixar close their deal.
But in a sign of how close the two companies have again become, Disney CEO Bob Iger reportedly is keeping Pixar topper Steve Jobs and creative guru John Lasseter in the loop about developments at Circle 7 — something former Disney topper Michael Eisner rarely did."
