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:
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Producers Strike Accord With Casting Directors
The organization representing Hollywood studios and production companies – the Association of Motion Picture and Televison Producers — has reached a tenative agreement for a new contract with casting directors, the AMPTP announced today. Presumably the announcement is meant to highlight the fact that the companies have yet to make any progress at all with…
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Hollywood East: Abu Dhabi Finances Do-Good Movies
We should start calling it Hollywood East. The Abu Dhabi Media Company announced yet another major film fund today, this one a $250 million partnership with Jeff Skoll’s Participant Productions Media to make 15 to 18 feature films over the next five years, according to the release. The deal was announced today in Toronto at…
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Soderbergh’s “Che” Bought by IFC
Steven Soderbergh’s epic biography of the revolutionary Che Guevara, titled "Che," has been acquired by IFC Films for distribution in North America, the company announced. It is currently screening at the Toronto Film Festival. This is undoubtedly a welcome relief for the director and producers — his star Benicio del Toro with producer Laura Bickford…
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A Director for the Met: A Young European
After 31 years of the leadership of the legendary Philippe de Montebello, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York went in-house, and young, and British. Thomas Campbell, a 46-year-old curator in the department of European sculpture and decorative arts, was the talent behind the Met’s quiet blockbuster in 2002, "Tapestry in the Renaissance," and…
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MSNBC to Olbermann: We Love You! We Hate You! We Love You!
An identity crisis reigns at MSNBC. The network was sure it had found a niche when the ratings finally climbed out of the 25,000 viewer range this year. Who was the savior? None other than that master of the elegant put-down, host Keith Olbermann, combined with the pit bull interrogations of Hardball-man, Chris Matthews. In…
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‘The Wrestler’ Wins Venice; Hotter at Toronto
I had heard strong buzz about this film in Toronto, and apparently there’s good cause for it. Darren Aronofsky’s "The Wrestler," with Mickey Rourke in the title role, just won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. The film is about a retired wrestler making his way through the independent circuit, hoping to make…
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Update: Box Office is Bluer than Blue
Sunday Update: Not only is this the worst earning weekend of the year, it’s the worst-earning weekend since 2003. The top 12 pictures in release took in a total of $51.6 million, according to Media By Numbers, worse than every year in recent memory except 2003, "Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star" ruled the box office.…
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Wagner gone, UA Gets Moving, Buys Bestseller: the Backstory
Within weeks of Paula Wagner’s exit of United Artists, the studio appears to have gotten some get-up-and-go, buying the option rights to the best-selling thriller by Douglas Preston, "The Monster of Florence" for a six-figure sum. Coincidence? We think not. Here’s the backstory: screenwriter Chris McQuarrie, who wrote "Valkyrie" for United Artists, has had an…
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Toronto Opens: Acquisitions Already
The 33rd Toronto International Film Festival opens tonight in the Canadian metropolis, with the dollar at dismal near-parity with her Canadian facismile. Yours truly is not there, being tied to her desk and ever so busy building The Wrap News. The festival, the unofficial opening of the serious movie season, will last until September 13.…
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Voir Dire for Anand Jon
UPDATE 9/6/08: Jury selection was completed on Friday. Opening statements are scheduled for next Friday, Sept. 12. PREVIOUSLY: The trial of Anand Jon has begun in Los Angeles Superior Court downtown. As promised, I will be posting updates on the case. Yesterday and today lawyers dealt with procedural matters and arguments over whose and how…
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Shelby White Objets Returned to Greece
Update: My colleague David Gill writes in to observe that Greece has not, in fact, ruled out legal action against Shelby White, despite the return of these pieces. See his link in Comments on the reconstruction of the fragmented tombstone. (Photo is a composite of the two pieces, with thanks to Gill.) Earlier: Shelby White,…
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The Washington Post Tips Reader to “Loot”
From today’s Washington Post, a nod to "Loot" as a book to watch for this fall: BY Marie Arana | AUGUST 31, 2008 There is special pleasure in pawing through books before they publish and imagining the insights they’ll bring. Consider the years of work and accumulated wisdom that have gone into producing the 116…
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“Juno” Director Says: Don’t Judge the Palins
Mac MacGuff: And this, of course, is Juno.Mark Loring: Like the city in Alaska?Juno MacGuff: No. — from "Juno," directed by Jason Reitman Honest to Blog. What were the odds that commie-leftie-Obama-loving Hollywood would create the real-life template for the shenanigans playing out at the Republican Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota? We’re talking about the…
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New Money: Abu Dhabi Goes Hollywood
From Abu Dhabi we hear news of the cash float Hollywood has been waiting for: a $1 billion filmmaking fund, financed by the tiny, cash-rich emirate. This is government money, (I feel the need to repeat this: Government. Money.) earmarked to make up to eight films per year over the next five years, a fund…
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SAG’s taking a poll
Still without a contract, the Screen Actors Guild has sent a 12-page mailer to its members, arriving in mailboxes today, with a poll attached. It lets members choose one of two options regarding the $250 million offer from Hollywood studios and producers, the AMPTP: Continue negotiating with the AMPTP to secure a fair TV/movie theatrical…