Entourage (Pilot)
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"Entourage" is the
pilot episode A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie) in United Kingdom and United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television netwo ...
of the American
comedy-drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...
television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...
of the same name. Written by
Doug Ellin Douglas Reed Ellin (born ) is an American screenwriter and film and TV director, known best for creating the HBO television series '' Entourage''. Ellin also served as executive producer, director, head writer and supporting actor for the seri ...
, and directed by
David Frankel David Frankel (born April 2, 1959) is an American filmmaker. He directed '' The Devil Wears Prada'' (2006), '' Marley & Me'' (2008), '' Hope Springs'' (2012), '' Jerry & Marge Go Large'' (2022), and the first and fourth episodes of the Netflix mi ...
, it originally aired on
HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...
in the United States on July 18, 2004. It received positive reviews and was nominated for the
Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Owned and operated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the P ...
for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series.


Plot

The episode opens with Turtle walking into a restaurant, greeting every female by name as he goes. When he meets up with the group, he tells Vince to sign a poster for ''Head On'' (Vince's new movie co-starring
Jessica Alba Jessica Marie Alba ( ; born April 28, 1981) is an American actress and businesswoman. She began her acting career at age 13 in ''Camp Nowhere'', followed up by ''The Secret World of Alex Mack'' (both 1994), and rose to prominence at age 19 as ...
). When asked why, Turtle explains that it's for the girl who hooks the group up with all of their Nike shoes. The group then engages in a discussion of how bad promo photos can sink an actor's career, until two extremely attractive females walk by and Turtle starts to harass them. After the girls leave, the group discusses whether or not they should attend their high school reunion back in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, and their disapproval of Eric's on again / off again girlfriend Kristen. Next the guys head to the premiere of ''Head On'', where Johnny "Drama" tries to get out of the limo before Vince. As the guys walk up the red carpet and comment on the girls in attendance, Eric tells Turtle to go and make sure that Ali Larter is not sitting within ten rows of Vince. When Vince has a reporter take his picture with his brother Drama, the photographer can't place where he knows Drama from. When Eric tells Vince to go take a picture with Alan, Vince is unsure of who that is, and Eric has to remind him that Alan is the man who financed ''Head On''. While Vince takes the pictures, Ari starts harassing Eric to get Vince to read the script for ''Matterhorn'', a buddy cop type movie set in
Disneyland Disneyland is a amusement park, theme park at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It was the first theme park opened by the Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney, ...
. Ari promises court side
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tickets if Eric gets Vince to read the script. While they are talking, Turtle interrupts to tell "E" that he's lined up a "revenge fuck" who looks just like his ex, Kristen, and who's apparently told Turtle that she "puts out". As Turtle describes the girl, Ali Larter comes over and looks very annoyed, and then proceeds to aggressively quiz Eric on Vince's whereabouts. We are left to assume that there was a relationship that went sour between Vince and Ali. After the premiere the guys head back to their house with some girls in tow for a pool party. The guys spend time trying to get with each girl. The next morning Drama and Turtle pester Eric with tales of how the girls they ended up with the night before performed in bed, and try to get Eric to talk about how his was. When Vince comes down, Eric asks Vince if he's read the script for ''Matterhorn'' yet. Vince says no, and asks E what he thought of it. When Eric says he thought it sucked, Vince says "OK. I trust you", then explains how he never read the script for ''Head On'' and didn't know who the killer was until he saw the film the night before. The guys then take a trip to the
Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...
studio to meet with the director for ''Matterhorn''. On the way, Turtle tells the guys about Arnold the rottweiler he is getting for Vince from Black Hack. As they walk into the studio, we learn that Drama is Vince's half-brother and that Vince and Turtle originally moved to
Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...
to follow Johnny around. Just before they walk in, the guys exchange greetings with
Mark Wahlberg Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg (born June 5, 1971), formerly known by his stage name Marky Mark, is an American actor, producer, and former rapper. Mark Wahlberg filmography, His work as a leading actor, leading man spans the Comedy film, come ...
. When the guys get back home, they discuss the meeting with the director, and Ari calls to tell Vince that the director loved him and wants to sign him to do ''Matterhorn'' for $4 million. Vince asks Eric what he thinks, and E tells him he thinks it's time Vince read the script. While Vince struggles to read the script, the guys hit golf balls into the neighborhood, trying to hit the homes of other actors, such as
Pierce Brosnan Pierce Brendan Brosnan (born 16 May 1953) is an Irish actor and film producer. He was the fifth actor to play the fictional secret agent Portrayal of James Bond in film, James Bond in the List of James Bond films, James Bond film series, starri ...
. After a while the guys switch from golf to basketball while Vince finishes reading the script. After reading it, he still has the same opinion, that is Eric was right and the script sucks but the $4 million would be sweet. When Ari calls, Vince tells him what Eric thinks of the script but Ari doesn't care. Vince, however, values Eric's opinion and tells Ari to talk to E about it (even though E wants to talk to Ari even less than Ari wants to talk to E). Ari decides to have dinner with Eric to discuss Vince's future. Vince likes this as now he won't always have to "be in the middle of things". The dog arrives but the guys are too afraid to take it out of the cage so they have Turtle dress up in full hockey gear as they open the cage from the second story of the house via a draw string. At dinner Eric and Ari spar with verbal insults and discuss why Eric doesn't think that Vince should do ''Matterhorn''. Eric threatens to slap Ari if he ever insults him again and we learn that two years prior Vince couldn't get a call back from Ari. After dinner Eric passes out watching ''
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'', and Turtle and Drama wake him up to get ready to go to
Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
. Eric doesn't want to go so they tell him that his ex-girlfriend Kristen is sleeping with
Vince Vaughn Vincent Anthony Vaughn (born March 28, 1970) is an American actor. He is known for starring as a leading man in numerous comedy films during the late 1990s and 2000s. He was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Awards, Screen Actors Guild Award ...
. Eric believes them at first then realizes (thanks to Drama's overacting) that they are lying to him. Vince enters the room and takes Eric aside to find out why he threatened Ari and tells him he can't do that. Eric explains that Ari was being condescending (in particular deriding his former role as a manager at Sbarro), so Vince asks if Eric thinks he should fire Ari. Eric sarcastically says yes and Vince begins to make the call. When Eric sees this, he stops him and Vince tells E he wants him to make his decisions. From this point, Eric is now his unofficial manager. After this, Vince and E decide not to go to Vegas. Vince also wants to skip the reunion but Eric is looking forward to it and wants to go and convinces Vince go as well. The next day, the guys are getting ready to head to the airport and Eric asks Turtle if he got the Bose headsets. Turtle has no clue what E is talking about, and Eric berates him to go get them. After Turtle gets in the car, Vince asks Eric what that was about as he didn't ask for any headsets. Eric points at the car and says "you also don't want to ride in a car that has that on it". As Turtle drives off we see a bumper sticker on the back of the car that reads "I ♥ Cock", as E reminds Drama that he's next. Ari calls again and Vince hands the phone to E. Eric answers and Ari asks for Vince. E tells him Vince wants them to talk instead. Ari then tells him that
Colin Farrell Colin James Farrell (; born 31 May 1976) is an Irish actor. A Leading actor, leading man in blockbuster (entertainment), blockbusters and independent films since the 2000s, he has received various List of awards and nominations received by Col ...
took ''Matterhorn''. When Eric breaks the word to Vince he says, "I hope you know what you're doing, pizza boy."


Production

The pilot was written by series creator
Doug Ellin Douglas Reed Ellin (born ) is an American screenwriter and film and TV director, known best for creating the HBO television series '' Entourage''. Ellin also served as executive producer, director, head writer and supporting actor for the seri ...
and directed by
David Frankel David Frankel (born April 2, 1959) is an American filmmaker. He directed '' The Devil Wears Prada'' (2006), '' Marley & Me'' (2008), '' Hope Springs'' (2012), '' Jerry & Marge Go Large'' (2022), and the first and fourth episodes of the Netflix mi ...
. On reading the script, Frankel was concerned that Ferrara was too young for the role of Turtle, Dillon was too old to play Drama, and Grenier was very unlike Wahlberg/Vince. Furthermore, Connolly was ambivalent about his part. However, Frankel was impressed by the group once all together and felt that Connolly's sincerity boosted the show. Ellin's first version of the script had the show beginning at the movie premiere, with no-one liking Vince's acting but none willing to tell him. HBO executives rejected this version, and urged Ellin to make it more upbeat.
Mark Wahlberg Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg (born June 5, 1971), formerly known by his stage name Marky Mark, is an American actor, producer, and former rapper. Mark Wahlberg filmography, His work as a leading actor, leading man spans the Comedy film, come ...
's entourage in this episode includes the real life Turtle, Eric, and Johnny.


Reception

The pilot was initially broadcast on July 18, 2004, in the United States on HBO. Phil Gallo of '' Variety'' was critical of the episode, citing what he perceived as a lack of subtext and bland characters. However, he praised Piven's giving Ari Gold "an intensity and a moral void that gets better with each episode", and foreshadowed what he saw as better writing by episode 3. Conversely, Tim Goodman of the ''
San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...
'' cited the show's and characters' soullessness as reasons the show is entertaining. Ken Tucker of ''Entertainment Weekly'' gave the episode an A−, describing it as "excellent, dirty fun", praising the casting, in particular Dillon and Piven. Frankel received a 2005
Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award catego ...
nomination for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series for his work on this episode.


Music credits

*"Bang Bang Boom" by Drag-On *"Grown Man Sport" by INI *"
Rocky Mountain Way "Rocky Mountain Way" is a 1973 song by rock guitarist Joe Walsh and his band Barnstorm, with writing credits given to all four band members: Walsh, Rocke Grace, Kenny Passarelli, and Joe Vitale. The song was originally released on the album ...
" by
Joe Walsh Joseph Fidler Walsh (born Joseph Woodward Fidler; November 20, 1947) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. Best known as a member of the rock band Eagles (band), Eagles, his five-decade career includes solo work and stints in other ...
*"
Eminence Front "Eminence Front" is a song by the Who, written and sung by lead guitarist Pete Townshend. It appears on the band's tenth studio album '' It's Hard'' (1982). The single entered ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on 25 December 1982, reaching number 68. Ba ...
" by
The Who The Who are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup (1964–1978) consisted of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. Considered one of th ...
*" Hey Ya!" by
OutKast Outkast (sometimes written as OutKast) was an American hip-hop duo formed in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1992, consisting of Big Boi (Antwan Patton) and André 3000 (André Benjamin, formerly known as Dré). Widely regarded as one of the greatest an ...
*" Hey Mama" by
Black Eyed Peas The Black Eyed Peas are an American musical group formed in Los Angeles in 1995, composed of rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap and Taboo (rapper), Taboo. Fergie (singer), Fergie was a member during the height of their popularity in the 2000s, and ...
*" Fire (Yes, Yes Y'all)" by
Joe Budden Joseph Anthony Budden II (born August 31, 1980) is an American broadcaster and former rapper. He first gained recognition with his 2003 single " Pump It Up", which peaked in the top 40 of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and preceded the release of h ...
*" Wanna Get to Know You" by G Unit *" Oooh." by
De La Soul De La Soul ( ) is an American hip hop music, hip hop group formed in the village of Amityville on Long Island, New York (state), New York in 1988. They are best known for their eclectic sampling, eccentric lyrics, and contributions to the evoluti ...
feat. Redman *"Barely Holding On" by Sean Anthony *" Cold Hard Bitch" by Jet *"Lucifer" by
Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American Rapping, rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named Billboard and Vibe's 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, the ...


References


External links


"Entourage"
at HBO.com * {{Entourage American television series premieres 2004 American television episodes Cultural depictions of Mark Wahlberg Entourage (American TV series) episodes