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‘Entourage’ Season Four: Ep. 43 “Welcome to the Jungle”

Finally, Vince and his entourage are on the set of Medellin in Colombia—and what a weird, wild place it is. From the perspective of a behind-the-scenes documentary—like a bonus feature on a DVD—we watch the movie being made.

Vince is psyched he’s finally doing his dream project. Producer Eric admits he’s sorta green at the ins and outs of the job, but his one priority is to keep the film on budget and wrapped in time. Drama wants to be in the movie but says he can’t because “contractually, he is unavailable.” It could also be the fact no one has offered him a part. Turtle, meanwhile, is just along for the ride.

Back in his L.A. office, Ari also gives his own brand of running commentary. He thinks this whole thing might be a huge mistake, but because Vinnie wanted it so bad—and he wanted Vince back—Ari made it happen. But as Ari notes, “Even if a movie loses all its money, my client sees all of his.” 

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But Medellin‘s biggest problem proves to be wacko director Billy Walsh. Temperamental, high-strung, and maniacal, the guy nearly ruins the entire project. Just three days before they were due to begin shooting, Walsh decided he hated the ending–and now wants to re-write it. And yes, the whole thing is in Spanish. Eric does his best to support the supposed creative genius, but being called “Suit” by Walsh relentlessly gets to him.

Walsh also finds the perfect lead actress to star opposite Vince—and she’s smokin’ hot. In fact, she gets under Walsh’s skin, and he becomes obsessed with her. Meanwhile, he still hasn’t written the ending. When we see Vince in make-up as Pablo Escobar, he doesn’t look anything like himself. Later, the guys are watching the dailies and think everything looks absolutely amazing. But Walsh, of course, hates what they shot so far. He physically attacks the DP and fires him, deciding to shoot the film himself. Plus, he won’t let the guys see the dailies anymore. Eric is nearing wits end.

Walsh’s obsession with the lead actress increases and when it’s clear she isn’t reciprocating his affections, he loses it. He is convinced it’s because she is having sex with someone else on the set–and he suspects Vince. Who wouldn’t? Vince assures him he isn’t hooking up with the actress, but Walsh uniformly bans sex from the set. Still with no ending in hand, Walsh announces he wants Traffic writer Stephen Gaghan to do the rewrite, which is going to cost more money. Eric tries to get some more, but the financier, Nick Rubenstein, has been busted on a cocaine possession—and there is no more money.

Eric finally puts his foot down. It’s time for Walsh to quit wasting time and get his sh*t together. But Walsh is having an Apocalypse Now melt down, and Eric realizes what an insecure blowhard Walsh really is. He actually asks Eric for help with the ending—and they get Gaghan, too. But in anticipation of Gaghan’s arrival, Walsh writes down some ideas—and ends up writing the whole ending. It kicks ass, but Gaghan shows up and they have to pay him anyway. More money down the drain, but at least they got their perfect ending. As they watch the beautifully spectacular last scene being filmed, Vince, Eric and the boys feel really good about the film. 

When the docu filmmaker asks Walsh if he thinks he’s made a good movie, he replies, “It’s either going to be genius or its going to f**king suck, and until I see the first cut, I have no idea. But you know what? Neither does anybody else.”

The entourage standing behind him look stunned. Nothing’s ever easy with this guy.

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