The Front Page: April 14, 2008

By Randee Dawn

The reality genre -- or, better, the "reality" genre -- is a well that never runs dry. Of course, some of the ideas that come out are genius ("American Idol," "Survivor") and some are about as low as you can go ("Paradise Island," please). Some hover in the middle of trashy yet completely enthralling (yes, I did watch the season finale of "Rock of Love 2" last night). And then some ... are evil genius. James Hibberd reports that Mark Burnett (who has placed shows in all categories) now has a new show prepping for CBS: "Jingles." He writes: "The one-hour competition will feature contestants writing and performing product jingles before a panel of judges. The serenaded item can range from groceries to clothing to writing a theme song for a TV show. Viewers will pick the winning jingle each week, and the tune later will be used in a commercial."

I mean, you can't beat that. For years folks have been wondering how to fully meld ads into programming. Burnett is skipping right over the product placement -- and branding, feh! That's for amateurs. No, this time, the ads are the content -- and the prize is to write the songs that push the product! Never mind that jingles have been on the way out for years, substituted by classic rock songs. This can't not be huge. Eeeeevil ... but genius.

Today's issue features a major feature on Meryl Streep, written by Stephen Galloway. Streep will receive an honor at Film Society of Lincoln Center tonight, and Galloway takes a look back at her career, with plenty of love from her admirers: "There would not be a director on earth who would not say they loved her. She is a director's dream," notes Stephen Daldry. "She is just very human, very warm, and very calm and down-to-earth," adds Ed Harris. And I'm just once again reminded of the time I interviewed Ms. Streep as a freelancer. There was virtually no movie star in between BS; I just called her people and a half hour later she was on the phone with me -- calling all by herself, no intermediary, no one listening in. Midway through our conversation she called out to someone else, and explained a neighbor had just walked by. So I have this eternal picture of one of our greatest modern movie stars standing on her front porch, portable phone to ear, waving at the people passing by. That's star quality, right there.

And, genius.