Entourage: Let's Blog It Out

By Mark La Monica

With 22.4 percent of the vote, Jessica Biel won via plurality. (See the full results)

The people have spoken . . . and they've said they want to see a smokin' hot chick on Entourage next season.

Now for the real fun. We've created a few storylines incorporating Biel into the show. It's up to you to pick your favorite and you've got one week to do it. The deadline is noon on Sept. 6.

A quick refresher: I know the "Entourage" creators have read this blog in the past. I know they'll be sitting down in September to write Season 5. I don't know if they'll read this blog then. But who knows? Maybe we'll shape a future episode. Maybe we won't. Either way, at least we can have some fun now as the show goes into hiatus for the next nine months.

Here are the scenarios. Read, then vote.

By Mark La Monica

We here at "Entourage, the blog" have never hidden our enjoyment over seeing Billy Walsh on screen.

However, we here at "Entourage, the blog" realize that we are not the definitive voice on this topic, even though we like to think we are. (We also like to think we're the definitive voice of our generation.)

Ultimately, the final word on crazy director Billy Walsh rests with viewers of the show. In a Walsh-like moment of low self-esteem and self-confidence, I Googled myself. After a few rounds of clicking and clicking and clicking, I stumbled upon an E! Online message board where people bashed Billy Walsh.

Two thoughts popped into my head:

1) These people have an agenda.
2) I wonder what my readers think about Walsh.

So, here's your chance to share your thoughts on Billy Walsh. Use the comments link below. Let's hear it. Blog it out!

P.S. You've got until Thursday at noon to vote for your preferred Season 5 guest star.

By Mark La Monica

This world is getting crazier . . . and smaller . . . by the day.

A few weeks back, I e-wondered aloud how many of these random names in "Entourage" are actually people the writers know. Blog reader Dave gave us the inside scoop back then. This week, he's at it again.

Ari Gold needed a private plane to get him and the boys to Cannes after LAX shut down. (P.S. Blog reader Blastmaster claims you should only fly in to or out of Burbank or Orange County. He works with air traffic controllers, so trust him.)

Ari told Lloyd to call Kenny Dichter and get him a private plane. Blog reader Dave then posted this comment:

"Kenny Dichter - Bellmore Kennedy Class of '86. Starting guard on the basketball team."

I just did some research.

By Mark La Monica

For those who have bought into the hype (deservedly so) of "Entourage, the blog" and watch the show trying to guess what the Best Printable Line will be, you could have turned off your television two minutes into this week's episode.

Ari Gold dropped a bomb early.

The boys meet Ari and Billy Walsh at a bar to celebrate their departure for Cannes. Walsh lets it slip that Ari is bringing is Mrs. Ari with him to Cannes. Vinny is surprised and reminds Ari that this was supposed to be a boys trip.

"Vinny," Ari said, "when you get married, you'll realize a wife is like a herpes sore. She comes and goes when and where she pleases."

Wow.

(The views expressed by Ari Gold are solely that of Ari Gold and do not represent the views of "Entourage, the blog.")

Just a reminder to vote in out "Pick a Guest Star for Season 5" poll. You've got until noon on Thursday (Aug. 30) to cast your ballot.

Vote here

By Mark La Monica

How does Turtle know Kanye West? Who really cares? That scene was hilarious.

Anyone else in that situation would not have been as good. Think of the juxtaposition. On one side, you've got Turtle, a go-fer/driver with no discernible job skills (but we love you anyway, Turtle). On the other, you've got Kanye West, a multi-platinum, Grammy Award-winning rapper and producer.

Just plain funny. And just plain Writer Props.

As always, use the comments below to share your thoughts on how Turtle and Kanye West know each other.

Read this season's Writer Props.

By Mark La Monica

An "Entourage" movie hinted at by Jeremy Piven recently is way off in the distance, if at all.

What is definite is the "Entourage" book. The good folks at Simon & Schuster are stepping up their game with "Entourage: A Lifestyle is a Terrible Thing to Waste."

By Mark La Monica

The creative forces behind "Entourage" should begin scripting Season 5 some time in September.

Now, I know for a fact that they have read this blog. However, I can't confirm that they are regular readers. Either way, with the vast array of networks in this world and the ease with which it takes to cut and paste a URL and send an email, there's little reason to think what I'm about to offer to the public doesn't have a chance at reach Doug Ellin, Rob Weiss and the rest of the crew.

With "Entourage" comes guest stars. With Season 5 comes guest stars we haven't seen yet on the show. Here's your chance to vote for the guest star you'd most like to see.

I've come up with 13 choices below. Click on the link underneath the list to cast your vote. You've got until noon on Aug. 30 to vote. We'll announce the winner at 12:30 p.m. and then generate some potential script scenarios for that person. Then, we'll give you another week to vote. Who knows? Maybe we'll see it come to life next season. As always, use the comments link for write-in candidates.

• Alec Baldwin
• Jessica Biel
• Nick Cannon
• Lauren Conrad
• Leonardo DiCaprio
• Hilary Duff
• Mark Hamill
• Johnny Knoxville
• Matt Leinart
• Lindsay Lohan
• Jennifer Lopez
• Hayden Panettiere
• Will Smith

By Mark La Monica

Already nominated for seven Emmys at next month's award show, here comes more shine for the cast of "Entourage."

Jeremy Piven will be presenting at the 59th annual Emmy Awards on Sept. 16, executive producer Ken Ehrlich announced today. The rest of the cast will also be presenting an award.

No news as to which awards they'll be presenting, though. But let's hope we get a few snarky comments from Piven, sort of like when he crushed Billy Bush on the red carpet two years ago at the Emmys.

By Mark La Monica

We've been big fans of Ari Gold since before he even asked if we wanted to hug it out. Heck, we even named the blog after his famous catchphrase from Season 1.

He's manipulative, condescending, arrogant, smug, conniving, smarmy and slimy. Then he shows signs of compassion. In short, he's brilliant.

And Dana Gordon is slowly growing into the female version of Ari.

By Mark La Monica

Apologies in retrospect for not creating the Joshie Awards until after Season 3.5. Such is life, I suppose.

But isn't there some kind of something that people who think of cool things late in the game say? Something about good things and the time it takes to be able to enjoy them?

Anyway, the Joshies are back!

The Joshies, named after (of course) an Ari Gold moment, salute the best in "Entourage" performance at the end of each season. We pick the categories and the nominees. You vote for the winners.

For those who need a refresher course on that scene and want to relive the last Joshie Awards, click here.

(P.S. Guess who's the happiest man in town since he only has 12 episodes to go through instead of 42 like when he created the inaugural Joshies that incorporated the entire series through the Season 3.5.)

The nominees for the Joshies will be announced at 3 p.m Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2007. You will have one full week to vote as many times as you wish. The polls close at 3 p.m. Sept. 12. The winners of the second Joshie Awards will be announced Friday, Sept. 14 at noon. The red carpet arrivals are at 11 a.m. The afterparty is wherever you want it to be.

And now, here we go with the categories for this year's Joshies:

• Best Episode
• Best Scene
• Best Storyline
• Best Overall Performance by a Character
• Best Random Hot Chick
• Best Location
• Best Ari Gold Moment
• Best Character You Want to See More of
• Best Johnny Drama Moment
• Best Guest Star

By Mark La Monica

Just a a quick note to let my dear readers know what's ahead on Tuesday.

In the morning, we'll be announcing this year's categories for the Joshie Awards.

In the afternoon, we'll have some fun with Dana Gordon.

Sorry about not doing this on Sunday night, but I was at a five-hour Long Island guido fist-pump festival. You may know it better as KTU Beatstock.

Sorry about not doing this on Monday, but I actually took a day off this summer to relax and enjoy golf on Long Island.

By Mark La Monica

If not for her brief dalliance as a potty mouth, Anna Faris would have become the first real-life guest star to take home a Best Printable Line title for that Randy Jackson line.

But alas, no cursing allowed here. Such is life.

So, once we sift through the clean lines, we're left with Ari Gold. And not surprisingly, E was on the receiving end of a Golden zinger.

E was missing in action for the first time as the crew went into crisis mode. No one could reach E, who was on an Anna Faris photo shoot in the Hills and has no cell phone reception.

He eventually reaches a reception spot and checks in with Ari, who then spouts out "Wow, it's like finding Jim Morrison alive."

That's quite good, especially in a show that didn't produce too many potential BPLs.

By Mark La Monica

Walsh locking himself in a bathroom with whiskey and a gun came close. But we've come to expect such actions from the director gone mad.

Instead, Writer Props this week salutes the inclusion of Ari Gold locking Dana Gordon out of her boss' office while he pitches the new Walsh script.

It was the perfect move for a slimy, lovable agent.

Read the rest of this season's Writer Props

By Mark La Monica

This is so far off in the planning distance, much less the making stages, but in an interview of MTV.com, Jeremy Piven hints at his interest in making an "Entourage" movie.

Again, fans, you're looking at least three years down the road, seeing how HBO just made the official announcement that "Entourage" will get a fifth season next summer. Of course, you could have inferred that fifth season re-up by reading our interview with executive producer/writer Rob Weiss last week.

Still, it's worth a read.

By Mark La Monica

Aside from writing about "Entourage," one of my other gigs here at Newsday.com is to host ExploreTV.

It's a weekly show online that features different places and things to do for people on Long Island. I'm not much of a self-promoter, well, at least not in this blog, but here's an email I got from Blog It Out reader Deb:

OMG Mark, I just saw you on Explore TV....I'm so excited to put my Entourage man with a face!!!

It was a video with the Bayport Amusement park . . . and the BPL of all time was
"Why am I soaking wet with my guy liner all messed up"!!!

Nice to meet a guy that knows what us women go thru!!!

Keep up the great work!!

Did Blog reader Deb just throw a BPL at me from my own show? Blog reader Deb just threw a BPL at me from my own show!

Amazing! Deb, we gotta hang out.

For those interested in watching me be ridiculous on a weekly basis, click here.

By Mark La Monica

The dude or dudette who invented the nasty cliche about jealousy rearing its ugly head clearly never met Perrey Reeves or saw her as Mrs. Ari/Kendall Scott parading around in her unmentionables.

Seriously, can you blame Ari for not wanting another man getting within 20 feet of her?

But I digress.

By Mark La Monica

Ever notice how, in life, the last friend you get to join you for a potential mass hookup is always a lemon?

Sometimes we get stuck with the lemon and sometimes, and let's be honest here, we ARE the lemon. And if Turtle is comfortable with that scenario, then so should we all.

Why does life deal us an 8 followed by a 3 so we can double-down and smacked in the face with a 4? There are no answers to this question, except to put another green chip in the circle and hope the dealer is feeling nicer the next time around.

By Mark La Monica

Just three episodes left in Season 4 and Drama is right back in the mix for yet another Big Knish Award.

His work in this week's episode pulled the three-time Knish winner within one of co-leaders Ari Gold and Turtle. It's going to be a heated race in the final weeks.

In an episode short on BPL nominees, Drama iced it when Turtle came back from the supermarket with a carload full of food and women.

As Turtle led the three ladies into the new digs, Drama mutters under his breath to Vince: "Looks like someone came home with fresh meat from the market."

He wasn't talking about the food.

Victory!

By Mark La Monica

It's such a basic statement among men that this week's Writer Props likely went unnoticed and unappreciated . . . until now.

Early on in the episode, the guys are hanging outside on the deck of their new home when E comes after getting into a car accident with Anna Faris.

Drama believes E doesn't have a chance to get with her and makes a typical male statement about betting the left side of his package to be proved correct or incorrect. We've all said it. None of us mean it.

Then Turtle responds sarcastically, "Gee, there's a bet I'd love to win."

It was a great, original response to a throwaway line we all use. And it begs the question, what happens if you actually win that bet? Or worse, lose the bet?

Ouch.

Read the rest of this season's Writer Props

By Mark La Monica

Just a quick note for my Sunday night and early Monday morning readers.

The Blog It Out satellite office is experiencing technical difficulties with its Internet connection, so it looks as if we'll be posting the BPL, Writer Props and thoughts on tonight's episode Monday morning around 10:30 a.m.

We regret the delay but appreciate the reminder that we are all at the mercy of wires running across this land of ours.

In the meantime, rewatch the episode on your DVRs and TiVos. Or just read my Q&A with "Entourage" executive producer and writer Rob Weiss below.

By Mark La Monica

He gave us Turtle Bunny.

He gave us Dom.

He gave us many of the Best Printable Lines we champion each week here (and quite a few of the best quotes that we can't reprint here.)

He's Rob Weiss, an executive producer and writer on "Entourage."

Weiss, who grew up on Long Island before moving out to Los Angeles, dialed into our "Entourage, the blog" offices this week for an interview. I asked him a bunch of questions. Some of those questions were mine, some were the ones you emailed me. He answered them all.

By Mark La Monica

I've got an interview scheduled for 5 p.m. EST Wednesday with "Entourage" writer Rob Weiss. He's the man who brought us Turtle Bunny and more than a few BPLs.

If you have any questions you'd like me to ask him, email them to me at mark.lamonica@newsday.com. I'm a full-service blog, people (which is why you should vote for me!)

No guarantees, but I'll do my best to get a few of them in there. I can't promise I'll be able to write his quotes down once I hear him describe the Turtle Bunny scenario. Again, I'll do my best. I'm still laughing at those visuals.

Oh yeah, you can read the interview here on Thursday.

By Mark La Monica

Just a handful of episodes left in Season 4 of Entourage, and we've got ourselves a tie at the top of the Best Printable Line Standings.

After Episode 8's performance, Turtle moved into a deadlock with Ari Gold for the Big Knish Award, given to the character the most BPLs each season.

Turtle's work went like this:

By Mark La Monica

If old-school WWF announcer Gorilla Monsoon were doing play-by-play of this blog, this is where he would utter his famous phrase of "The irresistable force meets the immovable object."

And really, when Best Printable Line and Writer Props come this close to converging, it's about as earth-shattering as King Kong Bundy going up against Andre the Giant in "The Colossal Jostle" at Madison Square Garden in September of 1985.

By Mark La Monica

I normally don't get involved with the coming attractions for next week's show (I have media access to future episode info, but I refuse to read them).

However, if anyone would like to discuss Mrs. Ari in lingerie, I'm all ears.

D.G.

Dangerously. Gorgeous.

Dear. God.

I'm going to need a few more minutes than normal before sifting through the episode for Best Printable Line and Writer Props. My mind is not operating at full capacity after those scenes.

By Mark La Monica

To answer your biggest question from last week, Heather the British chick that hooks up with E was played by Emma Lung.

She's an Australian actress who won the Graham Kennedy Award For Most Outstanding New Talent at the 2007 Logie Awards.

I have no idea what any of that means. However, peep the Emma Lung IMDB profile here.

By Mark La Monica

In light of recent events here at Entourage, the blog, I figured it's time to beg, plead, pander and beg, plead and pander for your votes.

We set an Entourage blog record with 67,513 hits in July. Woo hoo! Now, I'm asking for your help in sending me to Las Vegas. Don't worry, it won't cost you any money at all. Or frequent flyer miles.

By Mark La Monica

You guys and gals rock! As if you didn't already know that.

And as if you didn't already know this Entourage blog kicks some serious patoot (damn those BPL rules!), July 2007 will go down as a glorious month on our calendar.

With 67,513 hits to the blog last month, we set a new "Entourage, the blog" record.

I promise to keep rocking and rolling if you promise to keep reading. Let's go for 80,000 next month. Tell your friends. Tell your parents. Heck, read my stuff every day, again and again. Really, I don't mind.

Victory!

By Mark La Monica

After watching Drama drop a "Judy Galipnick" on Turtle outside the furry's house, I wondered aloud in this blog how many of these random names we hear on "Entourage" aren't so random. How many are people the show creators know somehow?

Blog reader Dave L. from D.C. injected some truth serum into my random tought. Here's his blog post about it. Pretty funny stuff.

I love it when I'm right.