Pixar began in 1979 as the Graphics Group, part of the Computer Division of Lucasfilm. George Lucas sold Pixar to Steve Jobs in 1986 shortly after he left Apple Computer. Jobs paid $5 million to George Lucas and put $5 million as capital into the company.

Pixar had a love-hate relationship with Disney for several years: Pixar made amazingly successful films, and Disney made a lot of money.

In 2000, Pixar moved into this location that features an enormous atrium, volleyball courts, pool, and people riding around on Razor scooters. The facility was purchased outright with profits made from Toy Story.

On January 24, 2006, Disney purchased Pixar for $7.4 billion in an all-stock deal. Steve Jobs, who owned 50.1% of the company, gained 7.1% of Disney, making him the largest single shareholder of Disney, and putting him on the board of directors.

Pixar continues to make ground-breaking animated films, and has several slated for future release.

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The Empire State Building is a 102-story landmark skyscraper and American cultural icon in New York City at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and West 34th Street. Construction started in 1929 and finished in 1931.

The 1933 film King Kong depicted the eponymous gargantuan shimmying to the top of this building in stop-motion awesomeness.

A description from the 1998 documentary The Cruise, as presented by Tim "Speed" Levitch:

"1,476 feet of organized granite and limestone. 6400 windows... 7 miles of elevator shafts. A slice of the state of Indiana vaulted on the corner of 34th st and 5th ave. King Kong climbed it."

That guy has a way with words...

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The Tejon Ranch is a 270,000 acre ranch located an hour north of Los Angeles. At 422 square miles, it is the largest contiguous piece of private property in California, and is about 40% the size of the state of Rhode Island. Many films have been shot here, including when Daniel-san is training while Mr. Miyagi fishes.

The Tejon Ranch Co. is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (ticker symbol: TRC).

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Leo Carillo State Beach was used for all of the beach scenes in the 1984 classic The Karate Kid: Daniel playing soccer, the Cobra Kai kids beating Daniel up, and the training sequence where Daniel-san is practicing his crane kick on the pole.

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This filming location from The Karate Kid was featured in the scene where Daniel and his mother are having lunch at The Orient Express Restaurant. The location is now called Express Night Club.

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