Martha Stewart

Does she need an introduction? Martha Stewart, lifestyle queen of television, magazines, books and just plain living, has prepared for the future. She's hit the Internet, video-on-demand, bought Emeril Lagasse's TV and cookbook franchise and is providing a food line through Costco. "The Martha Stewart Show" will air its 500th episode Thursday. We talked to her -- she was on speakerphone in her offices -- just after yoga. How's your day? It's on its way. Partially over. So how is yoga going after last year's hip surgery?

Mel Gibson's new movie, "Get the Gringo," rolled into a handful of theaters Wednesday night for what is certain to be the shortest theatrical run in the actor's history: one night. That's because Gibson's latest self-financed film, a $20-million, south-of-the-border crime drama set in a Mexican prison, won't appear in theaters beyond Wednesday's premiere in Austin, Texas, which was simulcast into a few auditoriums around the country. Instead, "Get the Gringo" will skip a theatrical run and become available on the satellite service DirecTV on May 1 in one of the boldest bets on video-on-demand programming.

Martha Stewart, guilty or innocent ["Stewart Still Firmly Planted," June 13]? It's too early to tell, but it surely is interesting that really big bucks were made in questionable manner by literally dozens of men and they scarcely received the attention she is getting. Sour grapes at her success? Gender bias? She photographs better? All of the above? Martha K. Harris Santa Paula

Department store giant Macy'sis going to court to block Martha Stewart Living's new deal with rivalJ.C. Penney. In a suit filed Monday in New York State Supreme Court, Macy's alleged that the deal, which will bring Martha Stewart products to Penney stores by early next year, violates a previous agreement handingMacy'sexclusive rights to sell certain branded products in its stores, Bloomberg reported. J.C. Penneyspent $38.5 million last December acquiring a 16.6% share of the company founded by lifestyle guru Martha Stewart.

"Martha Stewart Living" lives! Even as the blond media icon faces allegations of insider trading, her nationally syndicated daily television program will enter its 11th season next fall, according to distributor King World. The Securities and Exchange Commission as well as the Justice Department are examining her sale of stock in ImClone Systems Inc. the day before the drug maker announced a damaging ruling from the Food and Drug Administration on its key cancer drug.

Martha Stewart, the founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc., has sold 75,000 shares and plans to sell an additional 425,000 shares to pay for expenses tied to her obstruction of justice trial, a spokeswoman said Friday. The sale represents less than 2% of her ownership position in Martha Stewart Living, spokeswoman Brooke Morganstein said. The transactions would bring proceeds of $4.7 million based on Thursday's closing price of $9.33 a share.

The House panel probing Martha Stewart's sale of ImClone Systems Inc. stock has issued a subpoena for her broker's home and cell phone records from last December. The broker, Peter Bacanovic, was placed on leave last month by Merrill Lynch & Co. The House Energy and Commerce Committee is investigating whether Stewart had inside information when she sold her ImClone shares a day before federal regulators said they would not review the company's cancer drug Erbitux.

The article on Martha Stewart, "Humility, Done to Perfection," Feb. 26, had me gagging on my Cheerios. It was one of the most ridiculous stories I've ever read in The Times. Yeah, so she went to prison -- I mean, she was found guilty, correct? But to say, as her lawyer is quoted, that she can now "be seen as someone who can come back from some very tough places" is patently absurd. Five months in a cushy "club fed" hardly rates as a tough place. Her "comeback" really means she can come back to enjoy her millions.

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. said Wednesday that its second-quarter loss widened, weighed down by charges associated with its upcoming daytime TV show. But the company scored its first revenue gain in 10 quarters, boosted by advertisers returning to its flagship magazine as the founder puts her personal legal woes behind her.

Martha Stewart, whose bid for a new trial was denied last week by a federal judge, is scheduled to be sentenced Friday, along with her former stockbroker, Peter Bacanovic. Stewart was found guilty March 5 of conspiring with Bacanovic, who worked for Merrill Lynch & Co., to hide the reason behind her sale of shares in biotech company ImClone Systems Inc. on Dec. 27, 2001.

Martha Stewart is headed for J.C. Penney. The company started by the lifestyle maven has made a 10-year deal with J.C. Penney Co. that will bring her products to the department store chain beginning in February 2013. Penney spent $38.5 million, or $3.50 a share, buying a 16.6% share in Stewart's Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc., according to a news release put out by the two companies. Penney will also have a presence on Martha Stewart Living's board. The Stewart products will be showcased in distinct retail spaces in the stores, the companies said.

This is not an easy day for Martha Stewart. Sitting in her Manhattan office, surrounded by sparkling walls of ribbons, puff-paints, glitters and decorative hole punches, all carefully arranged by color and size, she has a very serious look on her face, which has been freshly repowdered after a midday yoga session. FOR THE RECORD: Martha Stewart: A Dec. 5 Calendar article about Martha Stewart reported that her jail time cost her company $1 billion. That figure is not an annual financial loss for the publicly traded Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. but an estimate from Stewart based on possible damage to her brand name and loss of future business deals.

Hallmark Channels, reeling over the lackluster ratings of its recently launched Martha Stewart programming block, forced out a key executive who had been hired just four months ago to work closely with the lifestyle maven. Laura Sillars, a former HGTV programming executive, joined Hallmark in June as senior vice president for lifestyle programming. On Friday, her tenure with the Studio City company ended abruptly. "We mutually decided to go in different ways," said Bill Abbott, chief executive of Hallmark Channels.

Martha Stewart has a knack for transforming dated rooms into design showpieces. Now she's undertaking another major renovation: the Hallmark Channel. Beginning Monday, Stewart will provide eight hours of programming each weekday as part of an ambitious revamp of the Hallmark Channel. After pinning its fortunes on the broad appeal of sentimental made-for-TV movies and reruns of such classic shows as "The Golden Girls" and "Little House on the Prairie," Hallmark plans to focus on home and lifestyle improvement and cooking shows.

— It's a reality show that sounds tailor-made for a buzzy cable network like Bravo: A hip gay couple from Manhattan tries to make a go at organic farming in upstate New York. But "The Fabulous Beekman Boys" is premiering Wednesday on Planet Green, a young eco-channel seeking to rev up its reputation with a prime-time schedule built more around high-drama characters than how-to environmentalism. With a new slate that includes programs about chefs, a fashion designer and a boutique owner, the channel's theme of sustainability is being stretched to include not only global warming and recycling, but also selling vintage clothes.

The Early Show Tom Selleck ; Bobby Flay; Corinne Bailey Rae performs. (N) 7 a.m. KCBS Today Author Laura Bush ; author Beth Ostrosky Stern; author Chely Wright; author Damon Wayans . (N) 7 a.m. KNBC Good Morning America Bill O'Reilly; Queen Latifah ; Scarlett Johansson . (N) 7 a.m. KABC Regis and Kelly Tom Selleck; Joanna Philbin. (N) 9 a.m. KABC The View Judy Sheindlin; Court Yard Hounds perform. (N) 10 a.m. KABC The Doctors Dangers at the nail salon.

A roundup of this morning's arts and entertainment headlines: "Community" creator Dan Harmon disses Steven Spielberg and apologizes for "Monster House." (New York Times) Jon "Napoleon Dynamite" Heder drops out of a Will Ferrell-produced Comedy Central sitcom. (Entertainment Weekly) She's had enough! Sandra Bullock allegedly decides to get divorced from Jesse James. (RadarOnline) AMC gets zombie fever -- picks up "The Walking Dead" series. (Los Angeles Times)