Aspen – Turtle and Drama couldn’t make the “Entourage” tribute Saturday night at the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen. But Ari (Jeremy Piven), Vince (Adrian Grenier) and E (Kevin Connolly) held court on stage at the St. Regis and later at a VIP party at the Caribou Club.
The theme of the evening was gratitude. Not only are the characters grateful in the HBO hit series, but the actors echo that gratitude in getting to be in the show. Everyone on “Entourage” thinks he’s Mister Lucky.
“You know, there would be special jobs that you’ll have as an actor over the course of your career, but I just know that this is a special one,” Connolly said. “Adrian and I sit around all day and look at each other like, man, this is great. I love this. We love our jobs, and, honestly, I couldn’t possibly be happier, man, if I tried.”
Grenier was the most effusive, adding: “One of the lessons of ‘Entourage’ is to be humble and appreciate where you are. And to know where you came from. And that, if it all goes (away), you always have your friends and what’s at your core. And not to really reach too high, and just to, like, let it come and let it flow. And I think that’s a lesson I’ve learned to adopt in my life, and it works. Try it.”
Coming up this season: A trip to Medellín, Colombia; a new knockout female agent for Vince (sorry, Ari); and some big dramatic breaks for Drama.
Colorado comics
Four Denver comedians are at the Comedy Fest this year – Josh Blue, Steve McGrew, TJ Miller and Ben Kronberg.
McGrew and Blue killed in a two-night Rocky Mountain Comedy showcase. Blue, who has cerebral palsy and won NBC’s “Last Comic Standing” last year, joked that when he gets high, he calls it “shake and bake.”
McGrew said he’d been married three times. Why? “I just like that new-wife smell.”
Kronberg and Miller were in separate stand-up groupings of emerging comics. Miller is just back from L.A., where he was cast in a pilot for “Carpoolers,” an ABC project from the Russo Bros, the guys who gave us “Arrested Development.” Keep your eye on this kid.
Greasy Bear
Some of the nation’s biggest gossip bloggers formed a panel Friday morning to discuss “Buzz vs. Biz.” The players included Jessica Coen from Gawker.com and VanityFair.com; Mark Lisanti from Defamer.com; and Harvey Levin from TMZ.com.
Levin gave us Michael Richards’ meltdown and the unforgettable Paris Hilton/Brandon Davis rant against Lindsay Lohan.
Davis is the grandson of Denver’s Marvin and Barbara Davis – and TMZ made him a star. “Nobody knew who Brandon Davis was,” Levin said, but the rant clip changed that. “It was unbelievable. It embodies all that was bad about young Hollywood. And the irony is, we made Brandon Davis a celebrity. Now Brandon Davis gets stopped on the red carpet. For all the wrong reasons, but his behavior is so bad that – and it’s this train wreck that you just get to kind of chronicle – that he’s a celebrity in L.A. now. … And we even nicknamed (him), and the nickname stuck. We call him ‘Greasy Bear.”‘
Party lines
I went to a party for NetJets at Oliver’s, and it’s a much different club than Netflix. After dinner, HBO boss Chris Albrecht interviewed “Entourage” star Piven and creator Doug Ellin. Albrecht, proving he’s a suit, asked Piven of his character Ari Gold: “Is he a real guy, or is he a conglomerate?” … Sez who: “My life is really weird. I’m telling you, man, really weird.” – Jeremy Piven
Bill Husted’s column usually appears Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Husted also appears Tuesdays and Fridays on “Good Day Colorado” on Fox 31. He can be reached at 303-954-1486 or bhusted@denverpost.com. Take a peek at Husted’s next column at denverpostbloghouse.com/husted.
