Sharon Waxman, is the founder, CEO and Editor in Chief of TheWrap. She is an award-winning journalist and best-selling author, and was a Hollywood correspondent for The New York Times. Twitter: @sharonwaxman
Experience:
-
Update: The Onion Speaks
And this just in, from The Onion: "Dying Newspaper Trend Buys Nation’s Newspapers Three More Weeks WASHINGTON—A recent glut of feature stories on the death of the American newspaper has temporarily made the outmoded form of media appealing enough to stave off its inevitable demise for an additional 21 days, sources reported Monday. "People really…
-
The Future of Journalism
I’m at a very lively conference probing the future of journalism and technology, at the headquarters of Yahoo! in Sunnyvale, California, NewsTools 2008. The talk here has been of democracy and widgets, citizen journalism and Twittr, sputtering newspapers and algorithms. At a very popular discussion group the question was: “Who’s gonna pay the journalists?” An…
-
Foreign Levy Update
Here’s good news and bad news. The Directors Guild of America has settled its lawsuit over foreign levies with director William Webb ("Delta Fever"). In announcing the settlement yesterday, the guild agreed to allow an outside accounting firm to conduct an independent audit of its foreign levies program, and to publish information about unpaid levies…
-
Secrets at SAG: Where’s the Money?
Forget the Pellicano trial. The documents emerging in another case in downtown L.A. raise serious questions of dubious dealings between Hollywood’s labor unions and the studios, on the eve of negotiations over a new contract. A lawsuit brought last fall against the Screen Actors Guild by actor Ken Osmond, a member of the guild who…
-
Prius Nation
Yes, I did it. I finally bought a Prius. Nothing makes me happier than buying a car that spews fewer fumes into the air, saves me time while also putting less money in the hands of the already-filthy-rich. Sheer contentment. I’ve been wanting one of these since I first wrote about them for the Washington…
-
Reader reactions
Dear Sharon, We have never spoken but I just finished you book Rebels on the Backlot and felt compelled to write you. I am a producer who has wanted to be one since 5th grade. Six years ago I partnered with Michael Bay to form Platinum Dunes, which specializes in under 20 million dollar horror…
-
Billy Jack, the super-sequel
I just heard from Tom Laughlin, better known as Billy Jack, about his latest efforts to get a new sequel of his franchise off the ground. Both Laughlin and his wife Delores Taylor — who played Jean the pacifist to Billy’s rugged vigilante in the famous 1971 film — are eager to reach a new…
-
RIP Bob Shaye and Michael Lynne
That swinging sword of Damocles has finally dropped. Bob Shaye and Michael Lynne, the co-chairmen of New Line Cinema, are no more; Time-Warner president & CEO Jeff Bewkes has officially folded the independent studio into Warner Brothers, which becomes that much bigger a major studio. Shaye, the founder of the studio, and Lynne, his lawyer-turned-longtime…
-
Oscar Analysis
A blogger-friend asked me the other day for my read on the dismal ratings this year at the Oscars. This is what I wrote him, at www.billlucey.com: "I thought the Oscars were about as good as could be expected with a week to prepare, and a group of movies that most viewers had not seen,…
-
L.A.’s Newest Museum
Los Angeles has a new acronym, and another new artistic mecca — BCAM, The Broad Contemporary Art Museum, a gift to the city by real estate billionaire Eli Broad and his wife. The musem, opening this Saturday, sits just beside the L.A. County Museum of Art, but could not be more different in style and…
-
Rock Stars at the Kodak
HOLLYWOOD – The Kodak Theater, home of the Oscars, was packed to the gills with stars tonight. But for once, the likes of Steven Spielberg, Rob Reiner, Stevie Wonder, Fran Drescher and Brad Whitford showed up to worship someone else. Two someone elses. The debate between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, the final showdown before…
-
And Then There Were Four. 3 1/2?
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library sits nestled at the edge of a breathtaking ridge of verdant mountains in Simi Valley. You can see them through the main hall of the building, where an actual Air Force One Jet occupies the center of the room, on display before a wall of panelled glass. At last night’s…
-
A Stunning Raid
Quick breaking news: a stunning raid by federal agents on four museums — including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art — and one art gallery in California this morning, seeking evidence on suspicion of trafficking in looted art, mainly from Asia. Here is the carefully prepared piece by the L.A. Times that has just…
-
Obama Was Here
In Van Nuys, yesterday. Just a quick image because that’s why I went – to lay eyes on the guy. Obama sat and talked to four entirely non-random citizens of Los Angeles, all of whom were in hock to credit card companies up to their ears. They asked for relief from predatory lending. Obama listened,…
-
There I Go Again
I wrote an op-ed article in today’s Los Angeles Times revisiting one of my favorite causes: cleaning up the Golden Globes. It’s titled, "Hollywood’s Con Job." This year’s cancellation of the show gives NBC what I call "a golden opportunity" to make the Hollywood Foreign Press Association finally open its ranks to the quantity and…