It may no longer be HBO’s flagship series, but “Entourage” remains one of the network’s most consistent performers. And after last year’s excellent sixth season helped to pull the series out of its creative lull, “Entourage” is gearing up for the return of Vincent Chase and Co. with ten new episodes starting June 27th following an all-new “True Blood” and the second season premiere of the criminally underrated “Hung.”
As rumors of a possible “Entourage” movie continue to make their way around Hollywood, both executive producer Mark Wahlberg and star Jeremy Piven have confirmed that there will probably only be one more season of the show after this year. That means that Season Seven is even more important than ever, as it’s guaranteed to play a major role in setting up whatever series finale the writers have in mind. For more on the upcoming season, read our preview over on Premium Hollywood, and then follow along on our Entourage Blog throughout the course of the season. And if that’s still not enough for you, be sure to visit our Entourage Fan Hub for more related content.
Sunday, June 27th at 10:30. Be there or Ari Gold will come looking for you.
As someone who was facial-hair free for the first two decades of his life and has occasionally re-embraced that appearance (often without intending to do so, but that’s a story for another time), I certainly wouldn’t dismiss anyone from going after a nice, clean-shaven look. All it takes is the press of a button on your remote control, however, to see that many of today’s TV stars are quite happy to sport a ‘stache, grow a goatee, or cultivate a beard.
Given that my livelihood involves praising and, as often as not, criticizing small-screen programming, this can sometimes prove to be a problem for me, and depending on your viewing habits, it’s possible you’ve experienced this same situation: you watch a show, you see an actor who’s carefully farming his facial hair, and you find yourself thinking, “Say I wonder if *I* could pull that off…”
Unless you’ve got a professional stylist in your corner, the probable answer is, “No, you can’t,” but there are certain styles that still continue to breed amongst the general public as a result of having gotten significant television exposure.
Here are just a few:
· The Obsequious Interviewer’s Beard. It’s a given that you should be well-versed in movie trivia if you decide to adopt this look, but the most important procedure surrounding this beard is regular conditioning, as you will find yourself stroking it in a contemplative manner whenever anyone is speaking to you. Nobody likes beardruff. (You know, dandruff of the beard…?)
· The Reality-Show Beard. Yes, it’s scraggly. If you’re trying to survive for some reason or find yourself in a race that one might choose to describe as amazing, then you’re not going to have time to keep it neat and trim. Still, it has a certain rugged charm to it. NOTE: This beard is only included under the presumption that, at some point, you’ll want to tighten it up a bit…and when you do, might I suggest – particularly as a result of contractual obligation – that you might consider using Gillette products? I hear good things about the Gillette Fusion ProGlide…
· The Alternate-Universe Goatee. It’s a longstanding staple of science fiction television that, should a show’s characters ever find themselves in an alternate universe where everyone has a counterpart; the counterpart of one of the clean-shaven male characters will sport a goatee. Growing one of these is an instant opportunity to do things different from the way you ordinarily would, and it also provides you with an instant out: just shave and say, “That wasn’t me! It must have been my counterpart from that other universe!” Works every time.
· The Bad-Ass Cop Scruff. You have to walk a very fine line to be able to get this just right, because if you’re not careful, you might find yourself with the better part of a beard before you know it. In addition, a nice-looking wardrobe goes a long way, as raggedy clothes will transform a bad-ass into a bum in most people’s eyes. Lastly, those who aren’t fond of sunglasses will need to practice their steely stare to accomplish maximum bad-assery.
· The Hawaiian Private Investigator ‘Stache. When it comes to TV-inspired facial hair, this is the trickiest of all looks, not to mention the most expensive, as you not only have to be able to look good wearing Hawaiian shirts, but you also have to be able to afford to drive a Ferrari 308 GTS. To date, only one man has ever successfully pulled this off. I can’t quite recall his name, though. I want to say it might be Thomas something…
As noted, these are just a few of the facial-hair looks that you can find up and down your TV dial…if, y’know, your TV happens to be thirty years old and still has a dial…but whether you choose one of these looks or go for something from a different realm altogether, be aware that your results will vary wildly. Just because you can reproduce the beard, goatee, or ‘stache down to the last whisker doesn’t mean that it’s going to look the same on you as it does on them, so once you’ve shaved it into what you perceive to be perfection, examine your new look and treat it like a network executive looking at a TV pilot. Ask yourself, “Do I deserve to be picked up or passed over?” If it’s the latter, then you know what you need to do: wipe the slate clean and start again from scratch.
Let us not mince words: Isabella Rossellini is one of the most beautiful actresses in the business. This should come as no surprise to anyone who knows of her gene pool (she’s Ingrid Bergman’s daughter), but given that she seems to pop up all too infrequently in films and on television, perhaps a few more directors and directors need to be reminded. Fortunately for you and I, Rossellini can be found amongst the cast of the “The Phantom,” SyFy’s attempt to reinvigorate the franchise of the character often referred to as “The Ghost Who Walks,” which premieres on June 20th. This appearance was particularly fortunate for me, as it presented me with the opportunity to chat with Rossellini about her work not only in this production but also in “Blue Velvet,” “Friends,” “Alias,” “30 Rock,” and her infamous Sundance Channel short-film series, “Green Porno.”
Prepare for your heart to go pitter-pat as you read…
Isabella Rossellini: Hi!
Bullz-Eye: Hello! How are you?
IR: I’m fine, thanks. And you?
BE: I’m wonderful. It’s a pleasure to speak with you.
IR: It’s nice to talk to you. Thank you for interviewing me!
BE: (Laughs) Not a problem! Well, “The Phantom” is certainly not your first foray into the world of science fiction, but are you actually a fan of the genre?
IR: I’m not really a fan of the genre. You know, I do see some films, but I must say I don’t go see them religiously. I love working with the producer, Robert Halmi, with whom I’ve done several films, so when Halmi called me to play this small role in “The Phantom,” I had no hesitation. I’ve been with him for five or six productions in the last 25 years, among which are “Merlin,” “The Odyssey,” and “Don Quixote,” and they’ve always been wonderful. They’ve always been… (Hesitates) It’s been great to work with the group, he has a fantastic eye, and every time he hires a director, it’s always somebody young who…well, he just has an eye. He hires them, and they turn out to be fantastic and, a few years later, they’re top directors. That’s how it has been with Paulo (Barzman), the director of “The Phantom.” So the reason why I said “yes” to this small part was because of this history that I had with Bob Halmi, and…I was surprised, actually. I had a doubt. For me, the Phantom was so much that image that I had from the 1930s, and he kept on saying, “No, no, it has nothing to do with that. It’s not trying to be retro.” And that image of the original comic strip was so strong that I was amazed, actually, when I arrived and had seen how they had transformed it to be a contemporary, modern film.
BE: So what are the challenges of playing a part like this? Because I’d think it would be a challenge to play a live-action comic book character without taking it over the top.
IR: Well, actually, you know, to tell you the truth, there were no challenges. At the beginning, you search a little bit for the look, especially when you play a small part. Every beat counts, you know. Sometimes when you have the lead, if you think it, you maybe play a part too seriously. You think, “Maybe I should smile,” and you have other possibilities later in the film to add a smile or to add some softness to your character, for shading. But when you play a small role, in a way, you have to hit every note correctly, so I think that the way she looked also was very important. When I was told that they wanted me to be a blonde…because they told me on the phone: I live in New York, but the film was shot in Montreal…I said, “Oh, blonde, it wouldn’t work with me. I’ve tried it several times, but I can’t go with it. My hair is brown. I can become easily black-haired. I can even become red-haired. But blonde has never worked with me.” But when I arrived, inevitably, there were all these blonde wigs, so I said, “Okay, I’ll show you what I mean.” And, instead, it worked perfectly, because the character should be totally artificial. I had these metallic clothes that always tended to be on the silver side, so, actually, the look of this evil person was helped a lot…it helped me to imagine the character. But the challenge is not the words. It’s so much fun that I’m always amazed that I even get paid for it. (Laughs)
Some would say that the idea of combining Adam Carolla with Klondike Bars would be like…well, hell, even I’m not sure what it would be like, but on the surface, the end result certainly wouldn’t seem to be on the level of, say, combining peanut butter and chocolate.
Having seen some of Carolla’s new ad campaign for Klondike, however, I have to admit that I laughed quite a bit at his so-called “Klondike Everyman Challenges,” which include “Pack the Car” (going on now), “Grab the Remote” (starting June 30th), and “Ball Toss” (arriving July 31st). That’s one reason why, when Bullz-Eye was pitched the opportunity by Klondike to do a video interview with Carolla, I jumped at the chance.
Sure, yeah, we had to ask at least a little bit about the Everyman Challenges, but, hey, funny’s funny, so it’s not like I felt all that dirty doing it…
By the way, I should mentioned that we were pitched a 5-minute interview, but I had a lot of things that I wanted to ask him about…his podcast, NBC passing on the pilot, the missed opportunity to host the American version of “Top Gear,” the attempts to make his buddy Ozzie Castillo – who co-starred with Carolla in “The Hammer” as well as in the aforementioned pilot – into the next Luis Guzman…so I kept asking, he kept answer, and the next thing I knew, we’d been talking for 10 minutes. Lucky you: they kept the camera rolling the entire time.
Lastly, when you get to the end of the interview, you’ll hear me ask Carolla about having provided the voice of the title character in an animated short entitled “Save Virgil.” I hadn’t been familiar with it until I checked IMDb for a few random things to mention during our Q&A, but now that I’ve seen it…well, to borrow a phrase from “Futurama,” I can’t unsee it. If you’d like to be in the same position, just click here.
Beth Shak is a world championship Full Tilt poker player, fashion mogul and entrepreneur whose star is quickly rising. After squashing much of her competition in the Poker world, she has now ventured out into mainstream media as well as the fashion and beauty industry, where she is currently manufacturing a prototype for a medical patent she created. We’ve put together a hot gallery of photos of Beth for you to enjoy as well.
Known for her outspoken behavior, trendy designer outfits and an extended collection of designer shoes, she is every man’s fantasy and every woman’s best friend, as she truly lives a life Carrie Bradshaw would envy. Beth burst on to the poker scene in 2005 with a solid performance at the World Series of Poker Ladies’ event where she finished 8th –a remarkable achievement for someone playing her second live tournament ever. Her most impressive poker win to date was at the 38th WSOP, where she valiantly fought her way through 827 participants to finish 2nd place in the $3,000 No-Limit Hold’em event, taking home a cash prize over $328k.
Beth Shak has built up a considerable reputation as a no-nonsense poker player although she has only been playing for five years. She’s already cashed in at several major tournaments, including 2 World Poker Tour events and 5 World Series of Poker events. Her remarkable rise in professional poker has earned her the sponsorship of Full Tilt Poker and brought her total winnings past the $450,000 mark. Additionally, Beth was featured on NBC’s Poker After Dark and on the popular MTV Cribs.
So, if you couldn’t make it to Vegas but you want to follow the action in real time, check out her Twitter feed and enjoy the ride.
· The Alternate-Universe Goatee. It’s a longstanding staple of science fiction television that, should a show’s characters ever find themselves in an alternate universe where everyone has a counterpart; the counterpart of one of the clean-shaven male characters will sport a goatee. Growing one of these is an instant opportunity to do things different from the way you ordinarily would, and it also provides you with an instant out: just shave and say, “That wasn’t me! It must have been my counterpart from that other universe!” Works every time. 
Some would say that the idea of combining 
