The latest 'Hollywood buzz' has Apple CEO Steve Jobs in line for a position on the board of Walt Disney Co.
According to the New York Post, the company is looking for a new second-in-command after the acrimonious departure of the founder's nephew Roy Disney.
Of course it's not Jobs' computer pedigree that appeals, but his lucrative sideline as the boss of animation studio Pixar, whose box office hits have included both Toy Story films and Finding Nemo.
The Post reports that, 'As far as the entertainment industry and Wall Street would be concerned, the most welcome second-in-charge and nominal successor to [current chairman Michael] Eisner could be none other than Steven Paul Jobs...the guy who currently has Disney over one massive barrel.'
Pixar has made Disney a great deal of money of late with Finding Nemo and the companies are currently in negotiation over another production deal. What's more, other studios are believed to be interested in luring Pixar away. Disney, on the other hand, seems to have completely lost the magic that made it the most famous and most successful animation studio in the world.
However there is one big problem - Eisner and Jobs have harboured a dislike for each other ever since March 2002, when the Disney boss attacked computer hardware and software manufacturers for promoting music and film copying.
'The "killer" app for the computer industry is piracy,' Eisner said. 'They think their short-term growth is predicated on pirated content.' He even singled out Apple's 'Rip.Mix.Burn' campaign to promote the then new iTunes for particular criticism.
News source: PC Pro
