Entourage: Let's Blog It Out

By Mark La Monica

So maybe we are just a few days late here with the weekly Entourage hot stove report, but Thursday was Thanksgiving, so we accept and admit no blame in the delay.

Now that we're back on course, let's burn up the hot stove!

* Ordinarily, TMZ video of celebs leaving restaurants are pointless, stupid and woefully unnecessary. However, our boy Kevin Connolly made one worth watching . . . and not for doing something scandalous. Watch the entire 1:26 video and you'll see.

* Rufus' daughter, Lauren London, gets her star turn in "This Christmas."

* The movie version of "Tony and Tina's Wedding," which includes Adrian Grenier in its cast, opens this week in a limited release. Check your local listings.

* Saigon, who has gotten more pub from his scenes in "Entourage" than from his music, is pulling a Ma$e and a Jay-Z and quitting the rap game. And, per the rules of rappers quitting, his new album "Greatest Story Never Told" will be in stores soon.

* For all you "Entouragers" in the Baltimore area, E is in town with Scarlett Jo and Jennifer Connolly, among others, filming scenes for the upcoming film "He's Just Not That Into You." The Baltimore media outlets have been all aflutter that these big celebs have come to their town.

* The UK is beginning to feel our pain here in the States. Take this quote from Inthenews.co.uk, which tells its Brit readership that there's a new release of "Entourage" on DVD:

And the first part of the third season of HBO's fantastic Entourage begins its DVD release this week (can't they just release the whole series in one go?)

Welcome to our world, England. Now you can have David Beckham back. We'll keep Posh, though.

By Mark La Monica

You know how we do every Thursday. Time for the Entourage hot stove report. (Note: We're off next Thursday for Thanksgiving, as should you. No hot stove report until all the Stove Top stuffing is gone.)

* Look for Jeremy Piven to appear in AARP's new campaign for U.S. healthcare and financial security.

* "Entourage" scored a Producer's Guild Award nomination for episodic TV comedy. It's got some tough comp: "Extras" (HBO), "The Office" (NBC), "30 Rock" (NBC) and "Ugly Betty" (ABC).

* Johnny Drama, er, Kevin Dillon, is set to play Lisa Kudrow's husband in "Hotel for Dogs," a family film based on a children's book about two orphaned teenagers who secretly house nine stray dogs in an abandoned hotel. I wonder if Arnold will be one of those canines.

* Adrian Grenier scored the No. 12 spot on this year's People Magazine "Sexiest Men Alive" list.

* Just as he did for Kristin, E bought some jewels for Julianne Hough, for those of you care about that kinda thing.

* Our favorite Emmanuelle Chriqui co-hosts an exclusive screening of Reebok's "Framed" with Baron Davis on the 19th at Tribeca Cinemas.

* Eight-minute clips of "Entourage" on your phone? It could happen soon. HBO Mobile has something going on to make your train rides that more tolerable.

* First is was Jeff Johnson. Now it's Johnny Drama. This getting by on name recognition is something we all need to try to inflate our bank accounts.

* "Pierce Brosnan has the Spanish roof." And Johnny Drama talks golf at Badgolfer.com.

* Is Kevin Connolly dating Julianne Hough? Who knows? Who cares? Let everyone have their fun in life.

* Entourage is big in England nowadays, and Vodkat is sponsoring it.

* Word around town is that "Entourage" has been known to throw some shin-digs at Clockwork in Manhattan.

* Escobar season has returned. Is a real "Medellin" going to be made?

By Mark La Monica

Upon possession of "Entourage: A Lifestyle is a Terrible Thing to Waste," the new book about the show, the first thing you need to do is flip to page 49 and laugh.

If you don't laugh at the classic photo of Drama, please return the book and use the money to purchase a self-help book because you clearly have some issues to work out. One (or more) of those Deepak Chopra or Joel Osteen books should do the trick.

The "Entourage" book is a clever repackaging of things we already knew and photos we've already seen mixed in with things we didn't know and photos we've never seen. For example, there's really no reason to read the recaps of every episode since we've all seen them at least 12 times. However, what prevents you from skipping over those pages are the P.S. notes at the end of several episodes of the each season that take you behind the scenes and advance the story a bit.

The first rule of writing reviews is to give the reader a taste of the topic without giving it all away. So, we'll just throw one nugget out there to elaborate on the P.S. stuff mentioned above: The episode recap for "Busey and the Beach" (my all-time favorite episode) includes a note that Busey didn't paint the "Emotional Dyslexia" artwork, but it now hangs in his house.

Here are some more thoughts from the book:

By Mark La Monica

This may be rather short notice, and really only affects readers living in New York City, but such is life.

Cast members will be in Manhattan today (Monday) to sign copies of the new book "Entourage: A Lifestyle is a Terrible Thing to Waste."

10.30am, HBO Shop
42nd & 6th Ave, 212-512-SHOP

1 pm, Borders Books
10 Columbus Circle (Time Warner Center)

I finished the book Sunday night and am working on the review now. It will hit the site by noon.

By Mark La Monica

Don't fret, dear readers, you're still in the right place. The blog just got a makeover.

What does this mean for you? Bigger photos and direct access to our videos.

Have a grand weekend. I'll be reading the new Entourage book and prepping for the Monday afternoon review of it so you know what you're in store for on Tuesday when you leave work early to buy it on opening day.