"Lose Yourself" is the seventh season finale of the American comedy-drama television series Entourage. It originally aired on HBO in the United States on September 12, 2010. The episode mainly centers on Vincent Chase (Adrian Grenier), whose issues begin to intensify between his ex-girlfriend and his current girlfriend, Sasha Grey. Although riddled with similar issues, Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven), Eric Murphy (Kevin Connolly), and Turtle (Jerry Ferrara) collaborate with each other in an attempt to orchestrate an intervention for Vince, only for things to get worse.

"Lose Yourself" was written by Doug Ellin, and directed by David Nutter. The episode features guest and cameo appearances from notable music artists, including Christina Aguilera and Eminem. It marked the conclusion of the plot arc between Grey and Chase. The episode was well-received by television critics. Upon its initial airing, it attained 2.72 million viewers and garnered a 1.6/4 rating in the 18-49 demographic, according to the Nielsen ratings.

Plot[link]

After Sasha informs Vincent that she will participate in a pornographic film, he expresses his disapproval. While on the set of production, the couple engage in an intense argument and simultaneously break up. Vincent storms off in anger. Meanwhile, Johnny and his friends orchestrate an intervention, much to Vincent's dismay. Enraged, he leaves the premises.

Eric begins to worry that his relationship with his fiancée may be crumbling. He has dinner with Sloan’s father, Terrence, but is shocked when Terrence asks him to sign a prenuptial agreement. Eric gets upset and confronts Sloan about it. She tells him they will talk about it when he gets home and he agrees. Similarly, Ari suffers further setbacks in his personal life when despite his best efforts, his wife decides to leave him.

Overwhelmed with depression, Vincent consumes alcohol and cocaine in his hotel room. He then decides to attend Eminem's private party at the hotel lobby. He walks around being rude and offending guests and when asked to leave he refuses. Johnny attempts to bring him home, but Vincent refuses to go with him. After being greeted, Vince begins to insult Eminem. Angry, Eminem punches Vincent, initiating a brawl in the process. Vincent is rushed to the hospital shortly thereafter. A bloodied and bruised Vincent attempts to leave the hospital, despite the orders of the medical staff. As he nears the entrance, he is confronted by a police officer. Confused, Vincent hesitantly comes to the police officer, where the officer informs him that he has taken a bag of cocaine from his clothes.

Production[link]

Eminem was approached by Greiner for a role on the show, to which he accepted.

"Lose Yourself" was written by series creator Doug Ellin and directed by David Nutter.^[1] In June 2010, it was announced that Eminem and Christina Aguilera would make guest appearances in the episode.^[2][3][4] In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Ellin explained that "[Eminem] has a little conflict [...] with Vince [Adrian Grenier]."^[2] Similarly, Ellin revealed that Aguilera would perform a song in the episode, adding that "she [does] Ari a favor and [performs] at a party for him."^[2] Principal photography for the episode commenced shortly thereafter, and concluded two weeks later. In an interview with PopEater, Greiner revealed that he had offered Eminem a guest role in the series. He stated, "I actually met Eminem several months ago, interviewing him for a documentary we're making. He mentioned that he loved the show." Upon his approval, Greiner contacted creator Ellin, who agreed to cast Eminem for a future appearance.^[1] The episode was used to promote Recovery, the seventh studio album of Eminem.^[2][1]

"Lose Yourself" marks the conclusion of the plot arc between Sasha Grey and Vincent Chase (Adrian Grenier). Grey was cast for the seventh season in May 2010, where she played a fictionalized version of herself, in a relationship with Chase.^[5]

The episode features appearances from several recurring actors and actresses for the series. "Lose Yourself" marked the introduction of Marci, who is portrayed by Illeana Douglas.^[6] Janet Montgomery reprised her as Jenni, the assistant of Eric Murphy. This would be Montgomery's first recurring appearance in the series since "Sniff Sniff Gang Bang".^[7] Rhys Coiro guest starred as Billy Walsh, having last appeared in the season seven episode "Porn Scenes from an Italian Restaurant".^[8] Other appearances include Bob Odenkirk, Jami Gertz, Dania Ramirez, and Malcolm McDowell.^{[9][10][11][12][13]} Cameo appearances were made by Mark Cuban, Drew Brees, John Cleese, Jordan Farmar, Ryan Howard, Minka Kelly, The Alchemist, Paul Rosenberg, Royce da 5'9", and Kon Artis.^[13]

Reception[link]

"Lose Yourself" was initially broadcast on September 12, 2010, in the United States on HBO. It received 2.72 million viewers upon airing, and garnered a 1.6/4 rating in the 18-49 demographic.^[14] Total viewership was up 8% from the previous season finale;^[15] however, total viewership and ratings for the episode were slightly down from the previous episode, "Porn Scenes from an Italian Restaurant", which was viewed by 2.86 million households and achieved a 1.8/5 rating in the 18-49 demographic, according to the Nielsen ratings.^[16]

Critics were polarized by the plot arc between Adrian Grenier (left) and Sasha Grey (right).

"Lose Yourself" was well-received by most television critics. James Poniewozik of Time has mixed reactions to the episode. He was critical of the plot arc between Grey and Chase, harshly criticizing Grey's acting and expressing that "[he] didn't think that Adrian Grenier had completely sold Vince’s downward spiral." He continued: "There’s something half-jokey about his manner that makes me think he’s about to break up laughing, as in a blooper reel."^[17] In contrast, Poniewozik felt that "for the first time in a while, I’m really interested to see what happens on Entourage next."^[17] Dan Philips of IGN gave the episode a nine out of ten, signifying an "amazing" rating. Philips praised "Lose Yourself", opining that is was an "excellent, extremely entertaining climax to this season's two main plot lines." He added, "Even though the episode never got around to providing any resolution, the overall journey was engaging enough to make its cliffhanger feel less like a cheap trick to get us to tune in for season eight."^[18] Similar sentiments were expressed by Josh Wagler of MTV, who praised Grenier's performance, opining that it was his best performance to date.^[19] The A.V. Club writer Kyle Ryan gave the episode a 'B-' grade. Ryan wrote, "The last episode teed up tonight’s many confrontations [...]. For a show that has specialized in spinning its wheels, these were surprisingly high stakes."^[20] He was critical with the development of Vincent Chase, as well as his storyline with Sasha Grey, commenting that "Vincent and his coterie just aren’t that interesting."^[20]

Blair Marnell of CraveOnline gave the episode an eight out of ten rating, noting that the episode "hit its dramatic points." Marnell commended Grenier's acting, as he opined, "I've never hated Vince before this season, but that's the reaction that he was meant to elicit. Vince has always been a little bit shallow, but never to this extent. Vince never told his friends that they needed him more than he needed them before. And while it's definitely true to a certain extent, part of Vince's charm was that he never threw that back in their faces."^[21] In concurrence, TV Fanatic's Eric Hochberger expressed that "Lose Yourself" was a "stellar season finale with plenty of unanswered cliffhangers for next season." Concluding his review, Hochberger gave the episode a 4.5 out of 5 stars.^[22]

References[link]

External links[link]

• "Lose Yourself" at HBO.com
• "Lose Yourself" at the Internet Movie Database
• "Lose Yourself" at TV.com

"Lose Yourself" is a song by American hip-hop artist Eminem, released as the first single from the original soundtrack to the movie 8 Mile on October 22, 2002. It was written and produced by Eminem himself, along with longtime collaborator Jeff Bass, one half of the production duo Bass Brothers, along with brother Mark Bass. The song was largely written during the filming of 8 Mile, including several elements written entirely on set by Eminem. The song largely plays to the themes of the film, as it is largely based around, and written from the viewpoint of, the character of Jimmy "B-Rabbit" Smith, Jr., the role taken on by Eminem in the film, and the events of the film itself. Lose Yourself became the first rap song to win The Academy Award for Best Original Song.^[1]

"Lose Yourself" is a mid-tempo hardcore hip-hop track, which incorporates several aggressive themes, largely dealing with the struggles dealt with by "B-Rabbit" during the film, and how he eventually overcomes his many problems and obstacles to gain the respect of other rappers, as this is his ambition, but he has constantly been held back by his own personal problems.

The song earned Eminem five Grammy nominations at the 45th Grammy Awards in 2003 and the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 2002, making it the first ever rap song to have received this accolade. It is also one of only three hip-hop songs from the twenty-first century to have been included on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, and is also the highest ranking, at number 166. As of August 31, 2011, it has had over 4,000,000 downloads in the United States alone,^[2] and has been certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for sales of 500,000 copies in the United States.

Background[link]

Eminem says that "Lose Yourself" was written on set, during breaks during the filming of 8 Mile.^[3] Taryn Manning, who played Eminem's ex-girlfriend Janeane in the movie 8 Mile, said in an interview with MTV, that during the filming of the movie, in any downtime, Eminem was writing and that "you could just see him formulating stuff in his head."^[4] According to studio engineer Steven King, who spoke to Rolling Stone magazine, Eminem recorded the song in a portable studio on the set while he was on a break from shooting, recording all three verses in one take.^[5] The sheet on which he wrote the song appears in 8 Mile in a scene where his character is writing while riding the bus. This sheet was sold on eBay for $10,000.^[6] A Drum & Bass remix has been made and was released on the mixtape Straight from the Lab, as a European bonus track.

The song's lyrics explicitly sum up the background info about Eminem's character in 8 Mile, B. Rabbit, with the first verse summing up much of the plot of the movie.

The song's production incorporates elements of several instruments, including piano, violins and several other string instruments. The song is one of three new Eminem solo songs featured on the soundtrack, the other two being titled "8 Mile" and "Rabbit Run". "Lose Yourself" was later released on Eminem's compilation album, Curtain Call: The Hits, in 2005.

Success and legacy[link]

"Lose Yourself" is the most successful single of Eminem's mainstream career. Upon its release, the track was a worldwide chart success, peaking at number one on 24 national charts worldwide, these included the US Billboard Hot 100, making it Eminem's first number-one hit in the United States. It had a 12-week run at #1 in the United States & Australia, and topped the charts in many other countries including the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand and Denmark. It debuted at number nine in Canada and moved up to #1 the following week. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, "Lose Yourself" became the "Longest Running Single at Number One for a Rap Song" at 23 weeks.

In the United States, "Lose Yourself" debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart the week of October 5, 2002, at #43. A week later, the single jumped to #18, and hit #1 by 9 November. The single spent 16 total weeks in the Top 10, and a total of 23 weeks in the Top 50. While in the #1 spot (from 11/09/02 through 1/25/03), "Lose Yourself"'s impressive run kept several top contenders for the #1 spot from ever reaching #1, including Jay-Z, Nelly, Jennifer Lopez, Christina Aguilera, and especially Missy Elliott, whose single "Work It" was at #2 for 10 weeks.

The song went on to receive the Academy Award for Best Original Song^[1] (the first time a rap song ever won this award), beating other nominees like U2's "The Hands That Built America." Eminem, who was not present at the award ceremony believing he would not win, said in a Shade 45 Behind The Boards interview with Cipha Sounds that he was actually sleeping at the time the award was announced.^[7] This was the first time in 14 years the winner of the Best Original Song category did not perform at the ceremony. Luis Resto, one of the song's co-writers, had attended the ceremony and accepted the award instead. "He's creative, he has symphonies in his head," Resto said at the lectern about Eminem.^[8] The American Film Institute later ranked it #93 on their list of the 100 Greatest Songs from American Films.

At the Grammy Awards of 2004, "Lose Yourself" became Eminem's second career nomination for Record of the Year (following "Without Me"), and the first rap song ever to be nominated for Song of the Year. It won Best Male Rap Solo Performance and Best Rap Song, which was a brand new category at the time.

At #166, "Lose Yourself" is the highest ranked of the three songs from the 21st century featured in the 2004 List of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time (joining "Stan" at #290 and Outkast's "Hey Ya!" at #180). The magazine later ranked the song the twelfth best of the '00s decade.^[9] The song was the 51st best-selling single of the '00s decade in the U.K.^[10]

	"Lose Yourself" noicon The song's chorus consists of two repeated short verses.
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

In October 2011, NME placed it at number 57 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".^[11] VH1 placed it at #4 for the best songs of the 2000s.

Several critics cited this trio of songs as the best three from the soundtrack, as well as the most aggressive songs ever recorded by Eminem. "Lose Yourself" itself was also received very positively, with many critics praising the song's aggressive themes and describing it as Eminem's best work to date. Eminem's rapping ability, the lyrics and the production were also praised as well. In many retrospective reviews and lists, critics have cited the song among Eminem's finest, as well as one of the best hip-hop songs of all time.

Parodies and remixes[link]

• Couch Potato by "Weird Al" Yankovic

Music video[link]

The song's accompanying music video, directed by Eminem himself, manager Paul Rosenberg and Phillip G. Atwell, was released on October 7, 2002. The video is a mixture of several scenarios, largely including several scenes from 8 Mile, however it also contains scenes addressing problems the real life Eminem has addressed, as well as "B-Rabbit"'s difficulties, including the ostracism by rap communities towards him due to his colour, and his difficult personal life.

The music video for "Lose Yourself" was filmed in Detroit, Michigan, and thus contains numerous shots of the city, including the Ambassador Bridge. The video is a mixture of multiple scenarios, including scenes from and reminiscent of the movie 8 Mile, and Eminem rapping next to the "8 Mile Rd. Mobile Court" sign that appears on the cover of the movie's soundtrack.

It contains scenes focusing on Rabbit's and the real life Eminem's character, for example, the difficulties he has to face while rapping, the insult and booing of crowds as he is a white rapper and the trouble he has to face due to his alcoholic mother and people he hangs out with.

At the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards it received the award for Best Video from a Film in the final year this award was given out. It also received nominations for Video of the Year, Best Male Video, Best Rap Video, and Viewer's Choice. He won a MuchMusic Video Award in 2003 for Favorite International Artist with the video for "Lose Yourself".

The official video (uploaded by Eminem) has been viewed over 65 million times on YouTube making it one of Eminem's most popular videos on that site. However, it was restricted from viewing in 2011, spawning various privately uploaded versions.

Appearances in other media[link]

• In 2003, a part of the tune of the song is used as the theme music on the German detective series Lenßen & Partner.^[12][13]
• In 2005-2006, Queen + Paul Rodgers (a collaboration between the band and the singer) used the song as the house music for all of the concerts on their Queen + Paul Rodgers Tour.^[14][15]
• On May 15, 2006, Jodie Foster quoted the chorus of the song in her commencement speech at the University of Pennsylvania.^[16]
• In 2007, the teen drama series Instant Star named its season premiere episode after this song.^[17]
• It is used as the pre-game song at all USC home games.
• George Sotiropoulos used this as his entrance song at UFC 101.
• Mostapha Al-turk used this as his entrance song at UFC 99.
• Pro wrestler Jack Evans uses this as his entrance song in AAA.
• ABC Radio Grandstand commentator Kerry O'Keeffe recited the chorus of "Lose Yourself" on air as cricketer Steve Waugh headed towards his famous last-ball century at the Sydney Cricket Ground test match in January 2002.
• An instrumental version of the song is sometimes played before kick off or during half time at Nottingham Forest F.C..
• Leicester Tigers also use the tune before their matches.
• The North Dakota Fighting Sioux men's ice hockey team uses the song during game time when the visiting team scores a goal.
• On February 6, 2011, Chrysler premiered a 2-minute television commercial for the Chrysler 200 mid-size sedan, with an instrumental track of "Lose Yourself" playing in the background. Eminem appears in the commercial, which first aired on Fox during Super Bowl XLV.
• Video game DJ Hero 2 added the song as DLC as part of the Jay-Z vs. Eminem Mix Pack, mixing the song with Jay-Z's "Can I Get A...

Cover versions[link]

• "Weird Al" Yankovic made a parody of the song, titled "Couch Potato", on his 2003 album Poodle Hat. Eminem had given him permission to parody the song.
• Irish pop rock band The Script did an alternative cover to this song in the BBC Radio's live lounge.
• In 2003, the Australian comedy duo Scared Weird Little Guys produced a rap version of the folk song "Waltzing Matilda" called "Cleanin' Out My Tuckerbag", which parodies both "Lose Yourself" and "Cleanin' Out My Closet", but does not credit Eminem.
• Christian parody band ApologetiX parodied the song as "Look Yourself". It is available on their 2003 album, Adam Up.
• The show Robot Chicken parodied part of the film in the rapping sequence involving Bugs Bunny and a collection of other Looney Tunes characters.^[18]
• Lupe Fiasco sampled this song on his track "Lu Myself" (Jypsyeye on bass) on his mixtape, Lupe the Jedi and the Touch the Sky mixtape.
• During an October 2006 interview with the K102 Morning Crew in Minneapolis, country artist Taylor Swift did an acoustic rendition of the intro and first verse of "Lose Yourself" live on the air, citing it as her favorite workout song.
• The East Village Opera Company performs this song live, usually as an encore with full orchestra backing.
• Fabolous made a remix to this track to honor Eminem.
• Singer Justin Bieber performed a part of "Lose Yourself" on his My World Tour, in 2010.
• Canadian rock band Three Days Grace have been covering "Lose Yourself" in a medley with their song "Home".
• During the farewell concert, Polish hip hop group Paktofonika performed their song "W moich kręgach" ("In My Circles") with music background from "Lose Yourself".^[19]

Track listing[link]

UK / European CD single

Credits and personnel[link]

The credits for "Lose Yourself" are adapted from the liner notes of the original soundtrack to the movie 8 Mile.^[20]

Recording

• Recorded at: Detroit, Michigan.

Personnel

• Eminem – vocals, audio mixing, producer, songwriting and drum programming
• Jeff Bass – additional production, songwriter, guitar, bass and keyboards
• Steve King – audio mixing and recording
• Mike Strange – recording
• Luis Resto – songwriter, keyboards and programming

Charts and certifications[link]

See also[link]

• List of number-one singles in Australia in 2002
• List of number-one singles of 2002 (Ireland)
• List of number-one hits of 2002 (Italy)
• List of number-one singles from the 2000s (UK)
• List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 2002 (U.S.)
• List of number-one hits of 2003 (Austria)
• List of number-one hits in Denmark
• List of Dutch Top 40 number-one singles of 2003
• List of European number-one hits of 2003
• List of number-one singles from the 2000s (New Zealand)
• List of number-one hits in Norway
• List of number-one hits of 2003 (Sweden)
• List of number-one hits of 2003 (Switzerland)
• List of number-one hits of 2002 (Romania)
• Ultratop 50 number-one hits of 2003
• Ultratop 40 number-one hits of 2003

References[link]

External links[link]

• "Lose Yourself" Official music video on YouTube

Vincent "Vince" Chase is a fictional character on the comedy-drama television series Entourage. He is played by Adrian Grenier.

Personal life[link]

Vincent Chase grew up in Queens, New York, along with neighborhood friends Eric, Turtle, Dom & Cara. Vince's father was an alcoholic, and his absence in the episode "Aquamom" suggests that he is estranged from the family. Vince's older brother, Johnny "Drama" Chase, is also an actor and has been living in Hollywood for at least twelve years, but with considerably less success. Chase's personal life has been an area of great speculation as he has claimed to have slept with over 1,000 women. Vincent is lactose intolerant.

Throughout the series, Vince talks about how he and his entourage are "living the life" after growing up with little money, at one point saying that "I came from nothing, and as much as I like the toys, I can live without them" when told that offers for him are drying up. He is eager to share the financial and social spoils of his current stardom with them, who he thinks of as his family. While at first glance it seems that his friends are just leeches, they prove to be the ones he can depend on through thick and thin.

Vince is around 33 years old, his 29th birthday being the main storyline in the season 3 episode "Less Than 30". Vince's full ethnic background has never been revealed. It is implied that he has Latino ancestry when Eric argues that Vince should get the role of Pablo Escobar over actor Tom Cruise because "Tom Cruise isn't even Hispanic." He claims to be part Japanese,^[1] after Ari made a racial slur referring to Japanese people. Vince replies, "C'mon Ari, my grandfather is Japanese." Vince has also stated that he is Italian during an interview for Vanity Fair. He also seems to have Irish Roots along with his half-brother.

Fictional career[link]

Early career[link]

Vincent Chase is a young Hollywood movie star described as potentially the best young actor of his generation. Chase started his career appearing in commercials and doing minor roles on television and cinema. Chase's breakout role was as the lead in the film Head On, co-starring Jessica Alba. After Head On, he was offered a role in the action film Matterhorn, but he passes (Colin Farrell ends up getting offered the role, but Matterhorn never makes it to production). Instead, Vince chooses to star in the independent film Queens Boulevard, based on the advice of his manager and best friend "E". The film is about a man presumably running from the law in Queens, New York, and was directed by filmmaker Billy Walsh. Queens Boulevard (or Q.B.) was submitted to the Sundance Film Festival upon completion and wins the Grand Jury Award.

Superstardom[link]

Because of his performance in Q.B., Vince is offered the title role in the film Aquaman, which was to be directed by James Cameron. The movie becomes a massive success, making $116 million in ticket sales on its opening weekend, breaking the record set by Spider-Man.

After the success of Aquaman, Vince was offered the role of Pablo Escobar in the bio-pic Medellín, a film that he discovered and wanted to do before Aquaman, and which was set to be directed by Crash director Paul Haggis. But conflict arose when a sequel to Aquaman was greenlit with the same start date as Medellín. Medellín was the film Vince wanted to do, and he did attempt to work out a deal to do both movies at once. However, the head of Warner Bros. Studios reneged on an earlier promise to allow Vince to do Medellín. Vince was subsequently replaced by Jake Gyllenhaal for the Aquaman sequel. During his trouble of getting out of his Aquaman contract, Vince found out that he had already lost his role in Medellín to Benicio del Toro, leaving him jobless.

Eric Murphy then found a new project for Vince in a film entitled I Wanna Be Sedated, a biopic about punk-rocker Joey Ramone and his band The Ramones. But after turmoil with the film's producer Bob Ryan and with Vince's agent Ari Gold, the project was sold to Warner Bros., which refused to offer Vince another film for the rest of his career. This led to Vince firing Ari.

His new agent Amanda Daniels found him a new project entitled The Glimpses of the Moon, an adaptation of the Edith Wharton novel, to be directed by Sam Mendes. But Vince soon found out it might still be possible to get Medellín from his former agent Ari. In hopes of getting his dream project, Vince consequently began procrastinating on Glimpses. Vince also begins a brief romantic relationship with Amanda, after she boldly propositions him for sex, so they can "get it out of the way" - since sexual tension existed between the two ever since they began their agent-client relationship.

Fall from Fame[link]

After officially receiving an offer for Medellín at the very last minute, complications arose during the negotiations, which were taking place during the holiday of Yom Kippur. The film was dumped by the producer as a result. Feeling Amanda had let him down through this, Vince confronts her about it and plans on firing her, only to find out that the death of the project had been out of her hands. Amanda then leaves Vince, both professionally and romantically. Vince then purchases the script, Medellín, but only after selling his home. Once the script was purchased, negotiations were held with film producer Nick "Nicky" Rubenstein, to finance the project for $30 million. Vince turned to Billy Walsh as the director for the film. (At the time, Walsh was directing pornographic films under the alias "Wally Balls".)

During the production of Medellin, a documentary was filmed showing the process and conflict that "E", Vince and Walsh go through to complete the project. Walsh decides at the beginning of filming that the film's ending is no good, and wants to rewrite the end on his own, much to "E's' dismay. The film does get completed and for now, all is good.

After the Medellín project was completed, Walsh submitted it to the Cannes Film Festival, where it was accepted. Someone then leaked a trailer of Medellín onto YouTube, and people began to rave over the film. Hype began to build so greatly that Vince and Walsh were offered the film adaptation of the novel Lost in the Clouds.

Pre-production on the film Lost in the Clouds began, with Vince slated to star and Walsh to write/direct. But when Walsh wasn't able to adapt the novel, he began work on a script called Silo, a post-apocalypse film set in the year 2075. After Ari somehow manages to sell the studio on the new project, Lost in the Clouds was dumped and pre-production on Silo began. In the meantime, while Walsh was busy writing the script for Silo, Vincent gained an office in his manager's management group, known as The Murphy Group.

When the Cannes Film Festival finally came around, hype for Medellín had grown so large that, upon arrival, Vince and Walsh were receiving multi-million-dollar offers for the film before it even premiered. The highest bidder was Yair Marx, who offered $75 million. Once the movie was finally screened, however, the reception in the theatre was overwhelmingly negative. Marx withdrew his offer, but Harvey Weinstein offered to buy it for one dollar. Opting to look at what little bright side there was to things, Ari told Vince, "You should have seen Shakespeare in Love before Harvey got his scissor-hands on it."

Medellín directly goes to DVD and is savagely reviewed by Richard Roeper and Michael Phillips. The failure also apparently lead to Silo being scrapped, and Vincent and Turtle decide to decompress in a tropical hideaway, surrounded by gorgeous women. After a few months pass, Ari is informed by producer Carl Ertz that he wants Vince for his next film, Danger Beach. Eric informs Vince of the good news, but Vince is content to go out on Medellín. Eric, Ari, and Drama fly to Mexico to get Vince to come back to L.A. for a meeting with Ertz. However, Ertz never really wanted Vince for the film to begin with. The meeting was just a ploy to get Emile Hirsch and his agent, Ari's rival Adam Davies, to do the film for less money. Despite the fact that the offer wasn't real, Vince decides that he can't go out on a box office bomb, and needs to find a new hit film to regain his stardom.

Regaining Star Power[link]

After Vince discovers that there are no studios willing to offer him any leading roles, Eric discovers a good script for Vince from his newest clients, unknown writers Nick and L.B., called Nine Brave Souls. It is about nine firefighters on the night before the biggest fire they've ever fought. Ari does not want Vince to do another independent film because his last indie, Medellín, tanked. Figuring Vince was not going to star in Nick and L.B.'s film, Eric brings the script to Amanda. Amanda likes the script and sends it to her client Edward Norton. Edward Norton wants to make the film, but with more action sequences. However, after Ari finally reads the script he wants Vince to do the movie. Vince and Ari try to sell the script, newly titled Smoke Jumpers, to studios with Vince playing the lead role. The studios wanted the script, but not with Vince in the leading role. After realizing he wasn't going to be cast as the lead, Vincent decides to play a supporting role. Ari is set to sell the script to Steve Parles for $500,000 with Vince cast as Ray in the second lead role.

Unfortunately for Vince, Edward Norton wants to buy the script along with Alan Gray, head of Warner Bros. Studios, for $1,000,000 against $2,000,000 if the movie is made. Vince loses his supporting role because Warner Bros. purchases the film. Vince now has a difficult career move to make. He can hold out for a movie he likes, and risk going bankrupt, or he can do a new Benji film for $3,000,000. Thinking it will hurt his chances to regain his status as a movie star, Vince chooses to forgo Benji. He decides he must find a way to get back on Smoke Jumpers.

Ari takes matters into his own hands to try and get Vince back on Smoke Jumpers. Ari plans a seemingly harmless day of golf with Alan Gray. Ari knows Alan is a compulsive gambler so intends to hustle Alan, and bet Vince into the movie. However, his plan backfires because Alan's golf instructor is none other than Phil Mickelson. After Ari loses a close game to Alan, Alan becomes enraged because Ari brought up the subject of Vince and Smoke Jumpers after promising he wouldn't. Alan becomes so angry that he has a heart attack on the golf course and dies. At Alan's funeral Ari speaks with John Ellis, Alan's boss. Ari tells Ellis that Alan promised Vincent Smoke Jumpers, but Ellis has other things to discuss with Ari. He wants Ari to take Alan's old job and run Warner Bros. Pictures. This would put Ari in a position to not only get Vince back on Smoke Jumpers, but to give Vince roles in any future films financed by Warner Bros. Studio. When Vince hears this information, he has a bittersweet feeling because he wants to do Smoke Jumpers, but he doesn't want to lose Ari as his agent. Ari reconsiders taking the job, but gets bad news from his fellow Hollywood friend and former flame, Dana Gordon. Vince's former agent Amanda Daniels would run the studio if Ari doesn't take the job. Ari and Vince do not have a good relationship with Amanda after she fired him as her client.

Ari goes to Amanda's office to try and bury the hatchet with Amanda. Ari offers to turn down the job if she puts Vince in Smoke Jumpers. Amanda calls Ari's bluff thinking that he is going to turn down the job anyway. This makes Ari extremely angry, and he storms out of Amanda's office to go meet with John Ellis. Vince goes to meet with Ari under the assumption that Ari had taken the position at the studio. However, to everyone's surprise Ari turned down the job. He informs Vince and Eric that he recommended his friend Dana Gordon, and she was given the job as studio head instead of Amanda. During Vince's meeting with Ari, Dana calls to thank Ari for the recommendation. On speakerphone, Dana assures Vincent that he is in Smoke Jumpers for close to his full quote. Ari is still Vince's agent, Eric's best friend's career is back on track, Vince is no longer in danger of going bankrupt, and is no longer in danger of ending his movie career on a box office bomb.

Unfortunately, Vince has heated confrontations with the director of Smoke Jumpers. The director fires Vince from the set of the movie. This leads to an altercation between the director and Dana, Ari, Vince, E, and John Ellis. John Ellis makes an executive decision to drop the project and Vince, E, Turtle, and Drama, head back to Queens.

Back on Top[link]

Vince is offered a lead in Martin Scorsese's adaptation/update of The Great Gatsby, courtesy of Gus Van Sant's liking of Vince's Smoke Jumpers footage. After the massive success of Gatsby, Vince is set to star in the upcoming biopic about Enzo Ferrari directed by Frank Darabont. After production of the Ferrari movie was delayed, Vince spends most of his time relaxing. During this period of delayed production on Ferrari, Vince is paid 4,000,000 to provide the voice of a dog in an animated movie (although the actual title and success of the movie is never revealed). One night he awoke and heard noises and came to the conclusion that the house had been broken into, so Ari recommended a high-security connection that he had to hopefully track down the stalker, but it turned out to be sorority girls who had stolen Turtle's boxers because he was Jamie Lynn Sigler's boyfriend. Vince then traveled to Italy with Johnny Drama and Turtle to begin the Ferrari picture, while Eric stayed in LA with his new fiancee Sloan McQuewick.

Downward spiral[link]

At the beginning of Season 7, as he films an action movie with Nick Cassavetes, Vince is asked to do a dangerous driving stunt in which he is almost killed. This sparks a change in Vince's attitude, but not one for the better. He begins to date porn star Sasha Grey. Vince shows up to an important meeting regarding a new superhero movie, drunk. To make matters worse, Vince arrives to the next meeting high on cocaine. Sasha is offered to do another porn film, and while Vince is reluctant, agrees to let her do the film. Starting in the later episodes, Vince appears increasingly agitated and high strung, hinting at cocaine addiction, which is essentially confirmed when Lloyd discovers a large amount of cocaine at Vince's house. On the season finale, Vince breaks up with Sasha, leaves his house for a room at the Roosevelt hotel, begins offending female partygoers and gets into a fight with Eminem at the opening party for his album Recovery. At the end of the episode, he is in the hospital after getting beaten severely, only for a police officer to find his secret stash of cocaine, which he brought to the Roosevelt.

Personal rebound[link]

At the beginning of Season 8, Vince undergoes court-ordered rehab for 90 days and emerges victorious. Having gotten his confidence back, he focuses on his friendships again. The group goes to great lengths to prevent Vince from relapsing, such as disposing of alcohol or drugs around the house. Vince concocts an idea to make a movie involving the plight of a buried miner, intending to get Drama cast in the role. He ends up writing a 20 page treatment, that surprises Ari and Dana Gordon, who can help get it made Vince also runs into veteran film producer Carl Ertz at the same rehab center. Ertz had screwed Vince out of a deal and tries to get him to make another one before relapsing. Ertz later commits suicide when Vince and Turtle try to come to his rescue. A small media storm ensues just as Vince is about to undergo mandatory drug testing. He soon confesses to E that he had a couple puffs of marijuana and fears that it will jeopardize his test. The group tries to come to his rescue until Vince talks to Billy Walsh, who gets him a prosthetic penis with a clean urine sample, which the ploy works. Vince also tries to help Turtle as he tries to help a New York friend expand his restaurant business to the west coast. Turtle initially refuses his help but Vince later reveals that he didn't sell his stock out of the tequila company that Turtle helped launch. Although Turtle sold his stock, Vince bought his share to prevent Turtle from making such a mistake, making Turtle a millionaire. Vince later has an interview with a Vanity Fair reporter named Sophia, who writes an article that he doesn't quite agree with. Vince goes to great lengths to prove to her that he's reformed, even producing a video with women he's slept with, to highlight the gentleman that he is. He succeeds in courting her and spends an unforgettable 24 hours with her, before getting engaged to her, with the ceremony taking place in Paris. The group attends, except for E, whom Vince manages to smooth things over for him and Sloan after Vince inadvertently tells Sloan's father that she's pregnant with E's child.

Inspiration[link]

Entourage Executive Producer Mark Wahlberg named the character after legendary Hollywood acting teacher Vincent Chase, whom Wahlberg became friends with while working on the 1997 Bill Paxton film Traveller. However, the character of Vincent Chase is based on Mark Wahlberg himself. Wahlberg is an executive producer for Entourage and has achieved Hollywood success similar to the fictional success of Vincent.^{[citation needed]}

Fictional filmography[link]

Films[link]

Television[link]

References[link]