"When it comes to Davis-Bacon and project labor agreements, that's what puts food on our table, " said Jack Kittley, the political director for District Council 9 of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades.

WSJ: Unions Find a GOP Ally

"After the film there was a groundswell, " says Jack Schwefel, chief executive of retailer Sur La Table, which expects 2013 juicer sales to rise 60%.

WSJ: Home Juicing Guide: Vitamix, Hurom and Breville All Offer Advantages

Some reports have cast the breakdown of the talks as mutual, while others have said it was the Beast and its backer, Barry Diller, that left the table first, possibly at the urging of former GE chairman Jack Welch.

FORBES: Tina Brown on Newsweek Talks and Jack Welch's Role