Hug It Out, Volume One

A new feature on "Entourage Show", Hug It Out will chronicle information about the fifth season we may have missed or frankly hadn’t seen. This first addition is sweet but short --

• Kim Kardashian filmed an Entourage cameo.
• I haven't heard a word about this supposed storyline, but apparently the producers are interested in exploring Vince's curiosity in finding his father. Again, I haven't heard a word about this, but this doesn't sound all that bad, and would definitely add the grounded reality Entourage would need this season. The idea sprang from Adrian Grenier's documentary A Shot In The Dark, which is actually about Grenier reuniting with his estranged father.

The next edition will have much more information about the fifth season and unused storylines by the writing crew.

Adrian Grenier And Entourage

A new interview with Adrian Grenier has appeared over at The Guardian. He does have a strong opinion about the character of Vincent Chase, and this is an interview worth reading about the man who sunk his entire bank account into a film dubbed wholly in Spanish, with a crazy director that was allowed final cut.

Click here for that interview.

EW: "The group dynamic is changing."

EW managed to speak with creator Doug Ellin about the fifth season of Entourage, mentioning a few tidbits about the whole season in general:

Wondering how the strike affected fake Hollywood? It'll delay the debut of Entourage's fifth season until September, and the HBO comedy may deliver 12 episodes instead of 14 — though creator Doug Ellin says he's "writing as fast as I can" to reach 14. This season, which starts shooting in late April, will pick up with the fallout from Cannes, where Vince's Medellin tanked. "The group dynamic is changing," hints Ellin. "Eric [Kevin Connolly] is finding success on his own, grabbing other clients, and Vince [Adrian Grenier] is suddenly having a hard time." The boys trek to Mexico and Joshua Tree National Park, where they'll "eat some psychedelic mushrooms and try to find themselves. It's one of my favorite episodes. It's their Into the Wild trip." With a happier ending, we presume.

It shouldn't be a shock to anyone reading this blog often that Vince won't have as easy of a time in Hollywood after the return from Cannes. And Eric managing to nab a few more clients, smoothy transitioning from a manager into a real agent? That's actually a little more shocking, mainly because you'd think he'd spend a little more time on Meddelin, trying to save the "brilliance the film has."

Discuss: Should the group dynamic change?

Weiss Given One More Chance

Rob Weiss may now be able to afford a larger Jacuzzi now - Variety is reporting that Weiss has signed a seven-figure deal with HBO to develop other television ventures as well as other opportunities for the network. Now this is definitely a step up for the man who somewhat contributed to the persona and incredibly insane character we know as Billy Walsh.

Unfortunately, not that much is known about Weiss other then his famous Goodfella’s rip-off: Amongst Friends - that transformed Weiss into becoming an egotistical balloon. Soon after ballooning, Weiss then managed to severely fuck his career over by pissing off the wrong people at the wrong time. After accepting his failure, Doug Ellin hired Weiss to come aboard and write for Entourage, minus the attitude.

This could be good for Weiss - the man has written some truly wonderful episodes of Entourage.

Discuss: Does Weiss deserve this chance from HBO?

Video: Filming, Storylines, Piven!

At this link, MSN has a small, five-minute interview with creator Doug Ellin and everyone’s favorite agent, also tagging along is Rob Weiss, a frequent writer and collaborator on the show. It isn’t much of a discussion, with Doug and Rob maybe hinting that Ari could or could not be around in the next season, or at least not be around to settle a deal for Medellìn as he may be lost in the dessert. I still can't tell if it's a joke.

Also worth a mention, Ellin is on the record stating that they’re still writing, but obviously that doesn’t hold stock as they’re shooting now, recently filming Tobey Maguire’s appearance.

On-Demand -- New Entourage

For anyone who hasn’t caught up on Entourage yet, HBO now has another half of season three on On Demand. This half was a definite improvement over anything coming before on Entourage, and while the first episode can be cut, I still love it.

And for anyone curious, every Saturday two episodes from Season Four re-run on Entourage’s usual channel.

And they are back, starting..

The new season of Entourage is highly anticipated amongst HBO viewers, but to chime in today for some reporting, the show is now scheduled to debut on September 28th of this year. I know the general complaint is that it's too late, and they should film quicker and leaner, but expect some serious activity to take place this season on the show.

As for what Ellin and the crew have in store for us? It's confusing. Dom may be back, they may do more episodes, and Shauna may turn up more often. No one has any clue what they have in store. As for this week on the poll, great work!

Opinion: E! Exclusive!

Having the urge to write about the newest arrival of information was tempting, so I finally mustered up my opinion on the E Online! exclusive:

Dom’s Return: My first reaction to hearing of Doug’s plan to bring back Dom is a negative one. I’m all for a new and fresh story, and something we’ve never seen on Entourage, but bringing back a well hated character is the best way to accomplish this goal? Maybe Entourage has never been about shocking twists, but it has always been about loyalty. I don’t see how Vince could welcome him back after making him lose out on making Medellin with a better, more capable director.

I know, it’s Haggis, and he isn’t well liked because he saturates his audience with sappy dialogue, but I have no doubt that in Entourage’s world, the he should have directed Medellin and it would have been spectacular. I’m struggling to keep on topic here, because honestly, I’ll embrace Dom’s return as long as Doug and the writing team make a reasonable excuse for him being on the show, not just him being a good friend of the creator.

Give Me More: More episodes then a minimal twelve? I’m all for it. I have a feeling Ellin added the comment about HBO wanting more because of Dom, and how he may have a larger role in the overall scenario. Frankly, I can’t see him being involved. This season should be about business and selling Medellin and finding out what‘s up with Siloh, not the return of an old friend who destroyed Medellin.


Damnit, Strike: I hated the strike as much as everyone else, but I supported each and every writer who gave up critical work to stand up for what they believed in. They didn’t make the best deal, but they settled, and Hollywood is now slowly churning back to life in a grand fashion. However, that doesn’t mean I didn’t want to see Entourage’s take on the strike.

Who wouldn’t kill to hear what Drama has to say about past strikes?

I’m Not Your Fucking Publicist: Debi Mazar is a highlight for watching Entourage. She can become a bit annoying, but overall she’s another worthy addition to the strong cast of Entourage. Did Vince dump her? Probably not, but I’m sure she has many other clients besides Aquaman. I mean, come on, if she managed to snag Vince, why couldn’t she grab another famous star?


Year Eight: Fuck. Yes. Entourage running until an eight season? Man, that’s a highlight of this year. For me, at least. Entourage clearly has longevity as a show, and since it’s chronicling the life of someone in Hollywood, there’s no non-fiction end.

YouTube Channel -- Entourage!

Expect Entourage to have a formal YouTube channel. This' slashing any hope of this blog's channel being launched, which was set to formally makes its debut along with the forum. Nonetheless, I can't wait to see what the channel will be about. My best guess?

Behind the scenes video, as well as promotional trailers and whatever else can reach out to their core audience.

E! Online had the best coverage, and I had the worst.

Spider-Man is swinging wherever we can.

Tobey Maguire himself swung by the set of Entourage to film a cameo-like role for the fifth season. I've been told he's in the show for about five minutes, and there's a little conversation that between Vince and Tobey about Spider-Man 3 and Aquaman II. Perez Hilton even has a picture from his visit, and disregard the comment:

Season Five Look!

I apologize for not leaping on this sooner. E! Online has the definitive look at the fifth season of Entourage! Copy and pasted below:

Episodes Made to Order: You may have noticed that while season three ran 20 episodes, season four was just 12. So, what’s on tap for the boys’ fifth go-round? Ellin says they currently intend to produce 12 half-hour eps. But in the event that HBO decides to order more at the last minute, Ellin is up for it, saying they don’t cement storylines or story arcs ahead of time. They just go with the flow: “Each episode is written, we see [how it plays out] and then figure out what would naturally happen next.” Consider Entourage the anti-Lost.

Strike That: Sure, the show often mimics what goes on in Hollywood, but the writers' tentative plan to satirize the strike has been scrapped. Ellin feels that most people are over the whole debacle and would prefer to deal with different material, so that’s what they’re doing. Sadly, the three-month work stoppage will still make its mark on year five, postponing its scheduled June premiere until September.

Dom and Gloom: Ellin says Dom (whom Vince had to oust from the crew after he stole that shockingly important Shrek doll) will likely return. Domenick Lombardozzi, the actor who plays Dom, is one of Doug Ellin’s close friends, and Ellin wrote him in intending for Dom to be a permanent fixture of the entourage. Unfortunately, he didn’t anticipate the audience’s negative reaction to the character, which ultimately led to Lombardozzi’s early exit. Ellin has a personal goal to bring Dom back, but this time he’ll have a storyline we can empathize with. Giving him terminal cancer is one idea they're considering.

Did Vince Dump Debi Mazar? Publicist Shauna’s sporadic appearances on the show are not a sign of Ari-esque troubles ahead. Mazar is considered a series regular, but she isn't in every episode simply because so much of what Shauna does is handled by Mr. Gold. Still, Ellin insists they love having her on whenever possible, and he shares that Mazar appears in three of the four [upcoming] episodes already shot.

Don't Stop Believin': It’s no surprise that Vince and the boys will be romancing their fair share of females come September. What else is in store for the future? A trek out to Joshua Tree, where something a little, um, trippy goes down. Ellin says he has four more seasons of scandalous behavior in reserve, insisting that Entourage will probably run through year eight. How does he envision the show coming to its final end? “I see all four guys getting shot up in a diner.” Genius.

What do I think of all this? I'm not exactly over the moon about Dom returning, even if he does have a semi-okay storyline to boot.

Johnny Chase doesn't have an assistant edition - Poll #3

Another week of polling to keep us all busy. Alas, this poll didn’t manage to fair as well as it’s predecessors, but well enough to constitute some discussion. Speaking of discussion, the blog will have an all out Entourage forum coming near the middle of April. Hopefully it will be the definitive perch of all Entourage fans.

This week on the poll we asked all our readers about the much hyped Meddelin trailer. The consensus at the moment is that the film is horribly long and unworthy of selling, and obviously the poll agreed. The poll this week is a bit more in tune with personal opinion.