Entourage finally takes it bow on this side of the pond this Friday (read our review here ), delighting fans of the t.v. show no end. For th...
Entourage finally takes it bow on this side of the pond this Friday (read our review here), delighting fans of the t.v. show no end. For those not familiar, Entourage pulls the curtain back and gives us an entertaining and as close to true life as it can get look at the ins and outs of Hollywood, with Adrian Grenier’s on the rise actor Vince Chase (said to based on a combination of the shows producer Mark Wahlberg, Leonardo Di Caprio, and Tobey Maguire) and named after the legendary Hollywood acting teacher of the same name) as our focus. Over the course of the series, Chase has had quite a few movies under his belt, so lets take a look through his fictional filmography.
A Walk To Remember (2002)
Let’s star a bit meta, with Chase having a small role in 2002’s A Walk to Remember. This would feed into a storyline in the second season of the show, with the reveal of him having an on-set relationship with the films star Mandy Moore, one that didn’t end well for Vince.
Head-On (2004)
The starting point of the show, Head-On was Vince’s breakout success, a crime thriller/mystery that saw take the lead role alongside Jessica Alba. This puts the actor on Hollywood’s radar, and he is offered the lead in action movie Matterhorn, which he turns down. The Matterhorn gig is offered to Colin Farrell, but the movie never makes it to production.
Queen’s Boulevard (2005)
The movie Vince choose over Matterhorn, Queen’s Boulevard is a black and white independent feature which sees him star opposite Ethan Suplee, Zooey Deschanel, and Robert Duvall as a man running from the law in New York City. It became a hit at Sundance, and because of Chase's performance, would lead to the biggest role of his career at that point. With Vince’s star on the rise, the movie was picked up for a national release to capitalise on his popularity, but he and director Billy Walsh blocked it because they were displeased with the neon re-colourisation that was applied to the film. It would later go straight to DVD.
Aquaman (2006)
That’s right, ten years before Jason Mamoa would play DC Comics' King of Atlantis in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (and twelve years before a solo Aquaman movie), Vince Chase did it. Impressed by his turn in Queen’s Boulevard, director James Cameron would offer him the lead role as the under sea dwelling super hero. The movie would go onto be a massive success, beating Spider-Man’s opening box-office by grossing $116 million, and going on to becoming the highest grossing movie of all time. Well, at that time at least. I wonder if we’ll see life imitate art in 2018.
Of course, Aquaman’s success led to a sequel, scripted by Kevin Smith and directed by Michael Bay, but Vince did not return. Instead, he was replaced by Jake Gyllenhaal (a nice dig at rumours that Gyllenhaal was set to replace Tobey Maguire as Spider-Man at one point). We didn’t find out how well it did, but considering Bay directed it and he can’t help but be a success with big budget, CGI heavy actioners not matter your opinion of him, it’s safe to assume it made a good chunk of change.
Medillín (2007)
A biopic of drug dealer Pablo Escobar, Medillín was a movie discovered by Vince, and one he wanted to do before he got the Aquaman gig. Watching its journey from page to screen on the show was a lesson in what can go wrong in Hollywood, and it’s quite similar to real life attempts to get this story made (both Oliver Stone and Joe Carnahan have failed to get a Pablo Escobar movie made). It’s starts off complicated when Vince is offered the role, and drops out of Aquaman 2, only to be left jobless when Benicio Del Toro turns out to be the studio’s pick. The role then comes up again, but negotiation disputes see the project being dropped altogether.
Being his dream project, Vince purchases the script himself (but only after selling his home), and sets to make the biopic with his friend and manager Eric ‘E’ Murphy, who signs on as producer, re-teaming with Billy Walsh as director, who decides that the movie needs a new ending on the first day of filming. Beset with problems, Medillin get made. The movie is submitted to Cannes, and a trailer leak on Youtube sees an insane amount of hype grow for it, with the movie attracting multi-million dollar offers from studios before it is even shown. Unfortunately, Medillín’s screening is met with an extremely negative response, and the offers dry up. It ultimately gets bought for a dollar, goes straight to DVD, is savaged by critics, and Vince receives a Razzie nomination for his leading role. This failure sees Vince’s star fall, and he vows that his career won’t go out on a box office bomb.
Gatsby (2009)
Four years before Baz Luhrmann brought The Great Gatsby and the roaring twenties to the big screen, Entourage imagined a modern day version of the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel. After his comeback movie, Smoke Jumpers (which saw Vince star alongside Ed Norton and Jason Patric as fire fighters battling a massive forest blaze), was cancelled half way through production due to budget issues, and Vince’s heated confrontations with the director, the scenes that the actor shot caught the attention of Gatsby’s director Martin Scorsese, who offered him the lead role of Nick Carraway. The movie opened at number in the U.S. box office, grossing $37 million in its opening weekend, and announced the return of Vince Chase to the big time.
Ferrari (2010)
Now back in Hollywood’s good books, Vince teams up with director Frank Darabont for the biopic of race car driver turned manufacturer Enzo Ferrari, which filmed in Italy after been delayed for three months.
The Takeover (2011)
Directed by Nick Cassavetes, action movie The Take Over do his own stunts, leading to his almost being killed by a driving stunt gone wrong. This near death experience led to a downward spiral for the actor after he clawed his way back to the big time, developing a cocaine addiction, and a horrible new attitude that led to him being beaten up by Eminem, and been jailed. He was court order to undergo 90 days of rehab, which he completed.
Hyde (2012)
The first movie Vince’s former agent Ari Gold was named head of a major film studio, Hyde sees Vince step behind the camera for the first time, as well as starring as a modern day Jeckyll and Hyde. To see how this next step in Vince’s career pans out, you’ll have to go see Entourage when it opens in Irish cinemas on Friday.
