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Walt Disney’s Pixar Animation Eliminates 75 Positions

(L-R) Actors Mamoudou Athie, Leah Lewis, Pixar CCO Pete Docter, producer Denise Ream, director Peter Sohn, actors Vincent Lacoste, Adele Exarchopoulos, and a guest attend the photocall for Pixar's “Elemental” during the 76th annual Cannes Film Festival, in Cannes, France, 26 May 2023. (EPA)
(L-R) Actors Mamoudou Athie, Leah Lewis, Pixar CCO Pete Docter, producer Denise Ream, director Peter Sohn, actors Vincent Lacoste, Adele Exarchopoulos, and a guest attend the photocall for Pixar's “Elemental” during the 76th annual Cannes Film Festival, in Cannes, France, 26 May 2023. (EPA)
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Walt Disney’s Pixar Animation Eliminates 75 Positions

(L-R) Actors Mamoudou Athie, Leah Lewis, Pixar CCO Pete Docter, producer Denise Ream, director Peter Sohn, actors Vincent Lacoste, Adele Exarchopoulos, and a guest attend the photocall for Pixar's “Elemental” during the 76th annual Cannes Film Festival, in Cannes, France, 26 May 2023. (EPA)
(L-R) Actors Mamoudou Athie, Leah Lewis, Pixar CCO Pete Docter, producer Denise Ream, director Peter Sohn, actors Vincent Lacoste, Adele Exarchopoulos, and a guest attend the photocall for Pixar's “Elemental” during the 76th annual Cannes Film Festival, in Cannes, France, 26 May 2023. (EPA)

Walt Disney's Pixar Animation Studios has eliminated 75 positions including those of two executives behind box office disappointment “Lightyear,” sources said on Saturday, the first significant job cuts at the studio in a decade.

The cuts included "Lightyear" director Angus MacLane, a 26-year animator who was part of the senior creative team on such acclaimed films as “Toy Story 4” and “Coco.” Galyn Susman, producer of "Lightyear," also departed. Susman had been at Pixar since the release of the original “Toy Story” movie in 1995.

MacLane and Susman could not be reached for comment.

The cuts, which took place May 23, are part of Walt Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger’s previously announced plan to eliminate 7,000 jobs and slash $5.5 billion in costs. That restructuring combined the film and television groups into a single Disney Entertainment unit and eliminated a division charged with distribution.

The layoffs at Pixar are significant because the studio is a creative force generating franchises and characters that drive revenue across Disney.

Pixar is famous for cinematic franchises including “Toy Story,” “The Incredibles” and “Cars.” But “Lightyear,” released a year ago with a reported budget of $200 million, brought in a modest $226.7 million in worldwide ticket sales and received a mixed critical reception.

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British Actor Maggie Smith Dies Aged 89

Actress Dame Maggie Smith arrives at the Royal Film Performance and World Premiere of the film, "The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel", at Leicester Square, London February 17, 2015. (Reuters)
Actress Dame Maggie Smith arrives at the Royal Film Performance and World Premiere of the film, "The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel", at Leicester Square, London February 17, 2015. (Reuters)
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British Actor Maggie Smith Dies Aged 89

Actress Dame Maggie Smith arrives at the Royal Film Performance and World Premiere of the film, "The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel", at Leicester Square, London February 17, 2015. (Reuters)
Actress Dame Maggie Smith arrives at the Royal Film Performance and World Premiere of the film, "The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel", at Leicester Square, London February 17, 2015. (Reuters)

Britain's Maggie Smith, one of the most acclaimed actors of her generation with a career ranging from Shakespeare to Harry Potter and Downton Abbey, has died aged 89, her family said on Friday.

Smith was one of a select few to win the treble of an Oscar, Emmy and Tony during seven decades on stage and screen, becoming a star known for her sharp intelligence and waspish wit.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Smith "introduced us to new worlds with the countless stories she acted over her long career".

"She was beloved by so many for her great talent, becoming a true national treasure whose work will be cherished for generations to come," he said.

After starting on stage in the 1950s, Smith became a fixture at Britain's new National Theatre in the 1960s, working alongside Laurence Olivier, before winning her first Oscar at the end of the decade.

But for many younger fans in the 21st century, she was best-known as Professor McGonagall in all seven "Harry Potter" movies, and the Dowager Countess in the hit TV series "Downton Abbey," a role that seemed tailor-made for an actor known for purse-lipped asides and malicious cracks.

She died in hospital in London early on Friday, her sons Chris Larkin and Toby Stephens said.

"An intensely private person, she was with friends and family at the end," they said in a statement.

Smith's first Academy Award nomination was for her turn playing Desdemona opposite Laurence Olivier's "Othello" in 1965, before winning the Oscar for her role as an Edinburgh schoolmistress in 1969's "“The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie."

She won her second Oscar for her supporting role in the 1978 comedy "“California Suite".

Other critically acclaimed roles included Lady Bracknell in Oscar Wilde's “"The Importance of Being Earnest" on the West End stage, a 92-year-old bitterly fighting senility in Edward Albee's play "“Three Tall Women," and her part in 2001 black comedy movie "Gosford Park."

In 1990 Smith was knighted by Queen Elizabeth and became a Dame.