Sharon Waxman, founder of the Hollywood and media analysis website TheWrap.com, joins us to discuss the latest in the media world, including the $200 million estimated loss for the Disney sci-fi epic John Carter, Apple's $100 billion cash reserve, the ongoing conversation around Kony2012, and the fact or fiction of playwright Mike Daisey's show on the working conditions at Apple supplier factories.
Dr. Conrad Murray, the personal physician of Michael Jackson, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the pop star's death on Monday. Two and a half years after Jackson's death at age 50, a jury found that Murray acted recklessly when giving Jackson propofol, a surgical anesthetic Jackson used to sleep. Sharon Waxman, founder and CEO of TheWrap.com, discusses the trial.
The news that Maria Shriver was leaving her husband, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, earlier this month sent shock waves across the nation. The reason for her seeking a divorce remained just speculation in the media and blogosphere until the Los Angeles Times broke the revelation that Schwarzenegger had a secret love child. Sharon Waxman, founder and CEO of TheWrap.com, and Tracy Weber, senior reporter for ProPublica, talk about what this scandal says about our culture.
"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" opened at 12:01 a.m. today. And the critics are already weighing in—on Twitter. The 140-character reviews are quickly changing the way "word of mouth" works. The Twitterati can tweet their response to a film while sitting in the theater. This is having a dramatic effect on the box office. Sasha Baron Cohen's film Bruno drew $14 million on the day of its release, but was panned on Twitter and sales plummeted 40 percent. Sharon Waxman of The Wrap, and a Takeaway contributor, joins us with a look.
"Word-of-mouth flies so fast and grows so exponentially—because of Twitter particularly—that they can't control the message for three whole days. Now it's basically one day. The veil comes off the movie and they're toast if the movie is not good."
—Sharon Waxman of The Wrap on the Twitter challenge for the movie business
Here's the trailer for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, tweet @thetakeaway with your thoughts: