Entourage: Let's Blog It Out

IFC debuted this series called "Framed" on Dec. 14, but I just got around to watching the first episode.

The show pairs an athlete with a celebrity. The athlete becomes the actor and the celebrity becomes the first-time director for a short film. Neat concept.

Emmanuelle Chriqui, aka Sloan, was first up with Baron Davis of the Golden State Warriors. Together, they produced a pretty funky little short. However, IFC's site doesn't have the video available and YouTube searching only resulted in this clip from the half-hour show.

Still, check it out, and look IFC's Web site for future airings. She did a pretty good job with the story pitch.

The nominations for this year's Screen Actors Guild Awards were released this morning and "Entourage" scored twice.

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series
Alec Baldwin,"30 Rock"
Steve Carell, "The Office"
Ricky Gervais, "Extras"
Jeremy Piven, "Entourage"
Tony Shaloub, "Monk"

Some seriously stiff comp for Piven, but at least it's not a nomination for Supporting Actor as has occurred in the past with other award shows. Baldwin has to be considered the favorite, but let's hope Ari can dig into his bag of tricks and pull this one out.

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
"30 Rock"
"Desperate Housewives"
"Entourage"
"The Office"
"Ugly Betty"

Perhaps even stiffer comp here. "30 Rock" is brilliant, even though only 4.2 million Americans are smart enough to watch it. Still, that number is slightly higher than the Entourage ratings, for those who care about that stuff.

I wonder if now the calf implant doctor will take Drama's SAG insurance.

The SAG Awards will be given out Jan. 27 at the Shrine Exposition Hall and can be watched on both TNT and TBS.

By Mark La Monica

Kevin Connolly returned home to Long Island to join with Mike Bossy and the Islanders in helping out local kids for the holidays.

Intrepid videographer friend Bobby was on the scene to do some video (8 a.m. was just way too early for me). As a thanks to Bobby, give a click to his new boxing blog, The Neutral Corner.

By Mark La Monica

* For all my Arizona readers -- or for anyone moving to or traveling to the Scottsdale area next year -- Cox Cable is about to hook you up with video-on-demand. That means Turtle in a bunny suit anytime you want.

* Jeremy Piven loved his bar mitzvah suit but not his mullet.

* Lauren London, Rufus' daughter and the girl who nearly tricked Turtle into giving up his first name, is reportedly engaged to Lil Wayne, for those who care about that stuff.

* Ari Emanuel, the inspiration behind Ari Gold, was No. 4 on Entertainment Weekly's smartest people in Hollywood list.

The boys scored three Golden Globe nominations of note this morning.

* Best Series, Comedy or Musical (stiff comp from "30 Rock")
* Jeremy Piven for Supporting actor in a series, mini-series or movie
* Kevin Dillon for Supporting actor in a series, mini-series or movie

We'll deal more with these in the coming days. Right now, it's Mitchell Report, Mitchell Report, Mitchell Report the rest of the way for me at work.

By Mark La Monica

Walked into work this morning . . . saw my boss at his desk wearing a suit . . . a rare occurence.

Naturally, this was the perfect opportunity for a little Billy Walsh start to my day.

"What's up, suit?" I said.

And yes, I later emailed him the "Suits Suck" t-shirt.

Some days, it's good to be in the office.

By Mark La Monica

For those of you still in search of gifts to put on your Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa lists, or for those searching for gifts to get your peoples, let me lend you a helping hand. I mean, it is the season for giving, right?

I can't sit here (actually, I'm lying down) and set your personal style, so don't look for $1,500 watches, $6,000 suits or $300,000 cars. Try Esquire or GQ for that stuff.

Instead, I've compiled a small group of Entourage items available across the Web that you might want to consider this holiday season

Entourage Season 2 DVD
Sure, Seasons 3 and 3.5 are already out on DVD, but just in case you don't already own the show's finest season on DVD, this is a reminder that you should start functioning like a normal human.

Suits Suck t-shirt
It's the shirt Billy Walsh wore after he thought E leaked the "Medellin" trailer on YouTube. Need we say more?

"Hug It Out" pet tee
Brilliant marketing here. Take the show's catchphrase and put it on a shirt for dogs. Genius!

Ari-ism No. 6 shirt
We all know and love the way the writers write for Ari Gold and the way Jeremy Piven plays him. This shirt lets everyone else know. It features the Ari quote, ""$4,000 a month? That's what I pay my dog walker" Now, can you remember the scene?

Entourage eco-friendly mouse pad
I'm not really sure how a mouse pad can or cannot be environmentally friendly, but what the heck? Everyone is going green lately, so we'll support the cause.

"Hug it out" onesie
For the really, really young Entouragers out there. Hmmm, I knew a few people expecting kiddies next year. Hmmm, it looks like the HBO Entourage store just made a few bucks.

Ladies camo tank top
Ladies are nice. Ladies who appreciate "Entourage" are nice. Ladies who wear tank tops are nice. Add it all up and we can't wait to get turned down by them.

"I Bench More Than Drama" t-shirt
It's just such a good idea for a T-shirt. We recommend the long-sleeve edition because you can wear a sleeveless shirt over it and actually look like you do bench more than Drama. Even though you don't (and really, who does?), it's OK to look the part.

Gold/LLoyd in '08 bumper sticker
Bumper stickers may be extremely tacky, but at least this one is funny, too.

The Bob Ryan BBQ apron
What's a gift guide for the fellas without something barbecue-related? I'll kowtow to typical stereotypes and include this, but only because of what it says on the front of this apron: "Is that something you might be interested in?" Yes, I believe so.