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HBO's Entourage looks more like a Hollywood documentary than a scripted comedy every day. Just ask Smokin' Aces director Joe Carnahan, who's watching this season's signature plot with a mix of delight and déjà vu. On the series, superstar Vincent Chase (Adrian Grenier) is finally shooting his dream project, Medellín about Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar. Like Vinnie — whose film was hindered by money woes and studio indifference — Carnahan has been trying to make his Escobar movie, Killing Pablo, for years. ''The show has mirrored exactly what's happened with my project,'' he says, citing creative differences with a production house he won't name. Carnahan ultimately hopes to cast Spanish actor Javier Bardem (The Sea Inside) as Escobar, who was killed by Colombian law enforcement in 1993. ''It's Bardem or bust,'' he says. ''I know he's [interested].'' He'd like to film Pablo after his George Clooney drama White Jazz wraps next year. And what does Entourage creator Doug Ellin think? ''I'm excited,'' he laughs. ''Joe will do a much better job with it than I could.''


Posted Jun 22, 2007 | Published in issue #941-942 Jun 29, 2007 | Order Article Reprints