How does a celebrity famous as a domestic diva restore her reputation after four felony convictions and prison time for lying to the U.S. government?
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If you're Martha Stewart, the answer may involve a little help from a self-described "good friend": reality TV superproducer Mark Burnett.
In an interview with the New York Daily News, Burnett said that he would love to produce a show to put Martha back on the air in 2005, after her five-month prison term and subsequent five-month house arrest is over. The show would succeed Martha's now-cancelled Martha Stewart Living, which was produced by Martha's publicly-traded company, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc.
Burnett described himself as "very interested in reinventing [Martha's] show." Although Burnett's idea would be a reality show, the focus would be similar to the axed Martha Stewart Living. Said Burnett, "There's other ways of looking at the same thing. We may be presenting the information in different ways."
Don't look to the potential new show for any insights about Martha's insider trading or prison time, though -- to Burnett, that would introduce more "reality" than Martha's fans would enjoy. Instead, the show "has to be about Martha helping people - cooking, lifestyles, that kind of thing."
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Since Martha Stewart is now scheduled to report for prison in less than three weeks -- by October 8, 2004 -- we doubt that her "comeback vehicle" is at the top of her list of concerns right now.
Then again, considering that Martha is famous for being driven and obsessive, her port-prison return to the top may already be a part of her current plans. And we note that stock of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia rose over 9% merely on the news of Mark Burnett's interest in her comeback show ... which would draw the attention of even a soon-to-be-imprisoned domestic diva.