Toy Story 4 has bagged screenwriter Stephany Folsom.
After the high-profile exit of Rashida Jones and Will McCormack in November last year, it looks as though Disney-Pixar has finally found a replacement for Toy Story 4 – none other than Stephany Folsom.
But it’s been a tricky time for the upcoming Toy Story sequel.
Especially given the recent allegations against John Lasseter.
John Lasseter faced widespread criticism recently following allegations of over-familiarity with Pixar employees. The iconic studio boss is well-known for hugging employees as well as others in the industry, but allegations have since escalated to “grabbing, kissing, making comments about physical attributes.”
But despite reports that Rashida Jones left the project due to unwanted advances from John Lasseter, she has since denied that’s the case – instead, citing ‘philosophical differences’ with the company at large.
Jones and McCormack claim that their exit from Toy Story 4 was due to the fact that they believed women and people of colour simply do not have “an equal creative voice” at Pixar.
And that’s not exactly encouraging, either.
Still, it looks as though Pixar has found its replacement… and Stephany Folsom is an interesting choice. Folsom recently made the Black List with the script ‘1969: A Space Odyssey Or: How Kubrick Learned To Stop Worrying And Land On The Moon’ – a film about a publicist who convinces Stanley Kubrick to work with NASA to fake the moon landing.
It’s certainly an interesting choice.
Although Folsom made waves with her recent Black List script, she’s not exactly a well-known name. In fact, she has only a 2012 TV series under her belt, as well as another film currently in-production.
That said, it’s encouraging to see Disney-Pixar looking to female filmmakers.
Let’s just hope Toy Story 4 turns out alright in the end.