Editing Edwin Catmull (section)

==Career==
===Early career===
In 1974, Catmull earned his doctorate in [[computer science]],<ref name="catmullphd">{{cite thesis|degree=PhD|first=Edwin Earl|last=Catmull|title=A subdivision algorithm for computer display of curved surfaces|publisher=University of Utah|date=1974|url=https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6zan6df|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200926123743/https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a004968.pdf#page=3|url-status=live|archive-date=September 26, 2020}}</ref> and was hired by a company called [[Applicon]]. By November of that year, he had been contacted by [[Alexander Schure]], the founder of the [[New York Institute of Technology]], who offered him the position as the director of the institute's new [[New York Institute of Technology Computer Graphics Lab|Computer Graphics Lab]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://queue.acm.org/detail.cfm?id=1883592|title=A Conversation with Ed Catmull|last=Hanrahan|first=Pat|date=November 13, 2010|website=queue.acm.org|access-date=June 27, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.computer.org/profiles/edwin-catmull|title=Edwin Catmull|date=2008|language=en-US|access-date=June 27, 2019}}</ref> In that position, in 1977, he invented Tween, software for 2D animation that automatically produced frames of motion in between two frames.{{sfn|Catmull|Wallace|p=24|ps=none}}

However, Catmull's team lacked the ability to tell a story effectively via film, harming the effort to produce a motion picture via a computer.{{sfn|Catmull|Wallace|p=25|ps=none}} Catmull and his partner, [[Alvy Ray Smith]], attempted to reach out to studios to alleviate this issue, but were generally unsuccessful until they attracted the attention of [[George Lucas]] at [[Lucasfilm]].{{sfn|Catmull|Wallace|pp=25–27|ps=none}}

===Lucasfilm===
Lucas approached Catmull in 1979 and asked him to lead a group to bring computer graphics, video editing, and digital audio into the entertainment field.
Lucas had already made a deal with a computer company called [[Information International, Inc.|Triple-I]], and asked them to create a digital model of an [[X-wing fighter]] from ''[[Star Wars]]'', which they did. In 1979, Catmull became the Vice President at [[Lucasfilm]], set up to launch a "computer division" inside the company. By 1980 he had established three projects and recruited experts to lead them: the graphics group lead by [[Alvy Ray Smith]]; the audio project lead by [[Andy Moorer]]; the nonlinear editing project, led by [[Ralph Guggenheim]].<ref name="dm">{{Cite book |last=Rubin |first=Michael |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/60856108 |title=Droidmaker : George Lucas and the digital revolution |date=2006 |publisher=Triad Pub. Co |isbn=0-937404-67-5 |location=Gainesville, Fla. |oclc=60856108}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://lowendmac.com/orchard/06/pixar-story-lucas-disney.html|title=The Pixar Story: Dick Shoup, Alex Schure, George Lucas, Steve Jobs, and Disney|date=August 14, 2013}}</ref>

===Pixar===
In 1986, [[Steve Jobs]] bought Lucasfilm's digital division and founded [[Pixar]], where Catmull would work.{{sfn|Catmull|Wallace|pp=42–43|ps=none}} Pixar would be acquired by Disney in 2006.{{sfn|Catmull|Wallace|p=145|ps=none}}
 
In June 2007, Catmull and long-time Pixar digital animator and director [[John Lasseter]] were given control of [[Disneytoon Studios]], a division of [[Disney Animation Studio|Disney Animation]] housed in a separate facility in Glendale. As president and chief creative officer, respectively, they have supervised three separate studios for Disney, each with its own production pipeline: Pixar, Disney Animation, and Disneytoon. While Disney Animation and Disneytoon are located in the Los Angeles area, Pixar is located over 350 miles (563 kilometers) northwest in the [[San Francisco Bay Area]], where Catmull and Lasseter both live. Accordingly, they appointed a general manager for each studio to handle day-to-day affairs on their behalf, then began regularly commuting each week to both Pixar and Disney Animation and spending at least two days per week (usually Tuesdays and Wednesdays) at Disney Animation.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Lev-Ram|first1=Michal|title=A candid conversation with Pixar's philosopher-king, Ed Catmull|url=http://fortune.com/2014/12/31/pixar-head-ed-catmull/|access-date=January 11, 2015|work=Fortune|publisher=Time Inc.|date=December 31, 2014}}</ref>

While at Pixar, Catmull was implicated in the [[High-Tech Employee Antitrust Litigation|High-Tech Employee Antitrust]] scandal, in which Bay Area technology companies allegedly agreed, among other things, not to cold-call recruit from one another.<ref name="Johnson Variety settlement">{{cite web |last1=Johnson |first1=Ted |title=Animation Workers Reach $100 Million Settlement With Disney in Wage-Fixing Suit |url=https://variety.com/2017/biz/news/disney-settlement-wage-fixing-anti-poaching-animation-1201975084/ |website=Variety |date=February 2017 |access-date=21 March 2020}}</ref><ref name="Amidi">{{cite web |last1=Amidi |first1=Amid |author-link=Amid Amidi |title=Pixar's Ed Catmull Emerges As Central Figure In The Wage-Fixing Scandal |url=https://www.cartoonbrew.com/business/pixars-ed-catmull-emerges-as-central-figure-in-the-wage-fixing-scandal-101362.html |website=Cartoon Brew |date=July 11, 2014 |access-date=21 March 2020}}</ref><ref name="Ames Pando">{{cite web |last1=Ames |first1=Mark |title=REVEALED: Emails, court docs show how Sony stood up to Steve Jobs' and Pixar's wage-fixing cartel |url=https://pando.com/2014/07/10/revealed-emails-court-docs-show-how-sony-stood-up-to-steve-jobs-and-pixars-wage-fixing-cartel/ |website=[[PandoDaily|Pando]] |access-date=21 March 2020 |archive-date=March 21, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200321221215/https://pando.com/2014/07/10/revealed-emails-court-docs-show-how-sony-stood-up-to-steve-jobs-and-pixars-wage-fixing-cartel/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> Catmull defended his actions in a [[Deposition (law)|deposition]], saying: "While I have responsibility for the payroll, I have responsibility for the long term also."<ref name="Rosenblatt Independent">{{cite web |last1=Rosenblatt |first1=Joel |title=A conspiracy or a lawsuit all about money? |url=https://www.independent.ie/business/technology/a-conspiracy-or-a-lawsuit-all-about-money-30758874.html |website=[[independent.ie]] |date=November 20, 2014 |access-date=21 March 2020}}</ref><ref name="Cano">{{cite web |last1=Cano |first1=Georgia |title=Op-Ed: Why I Filed The Wage-Theft Lawsuit Against Major Animation Studios |date=February 2019 |url=https://www.cartoonbrew.com/ideas-commentary/op-ed-why-i-filed-the-wage-theft-lawsuit-against-major-animation-studios-169774.html |publisher=Cartoon Brew |access-date=21 March 2020}}</ref> Disney and its subsidiaries, including Pixar, ultimately paid $100 million in settlement compensation.<ref name="Johnson Variety settlement" /><ref name="Amidi" />

In November 2014, the general managers of Disney Animation and Pixar were both promoted to president, but both continued to report to Catmull, who retained the title of president of Walt Disney and Pixar.<ref name="Graser">{{cite news|last1=Graser|first1=Marc|title=Walt Disney Animation, Pixar Promote Andrew Millstein, Jim Morris to President|url=https://variety.com/2014/film/news/walt-disney-animation-pixar-promote-andrew-millstein-jim-morris-to-president-1201359728/|access-date=November 18, 2014|work=Variety|publisher=Variety Media, LLC|date=November 18, 2014}}</ref> On October 23, 2018, Catmull announced his plans to retire from Pixar and Disney Animation, staying on as an adviser through July 2019.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/pixar-founder-ed-catmull-retire-1154569|title=Pixar Co-Founder Ed Catmull to Retire|work=The Hollywood Reporter|access-date=October 23, 2018|language=en}}</ref>

=== Thatgamecompany ===
In March 2022, [[Thatgamecompany]] announced the addition of Catmull as principal adviser on creative culture and strategic growth.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-03-03 |title=Sky and Journey maker Thatgamecompany raises $160M |url=https://venturebeat.com/games/sky-and-journey-maker-thatgamecompany-raises-160m/ |access-date=2023-03-17 |website=VentureBeat |language=en-US}}</ref>