It should come as no surprise that Hollywood has "Aquaman" on its mind. He's tough, wears a hot pair of board shorts and he even makes "swimming with the fishes" look good. Plus, he's a king.
Even though HBO's "Entourage" has only marginal national awareness, here in Hollywood, we all know about the show because it's about our lives. In fact, most of us watch it because, being from Hollywood, we all watch HBO and vote for it in the Emmys. If you watch this show, then you know that "Aquaman" is the fake real movie that the main character is starring in, according to the plot of "Entourage." So that means "Aquaman" is a made-up movie for a TV show, right?
If Washington journalists can be accused of being too "inside the beltway" then Hollywood insiders can be accused of being too "inside the bubble." Government or entertainment, things take on reality after they've successfully become make-believe. And that means that "Aquaman" must leave the ocean long enough to have his day in the sun.
Word today from the Los Angeles Times that there are serious talks around town about making a movie out of this character. Well, what took so long?
"Aquaman," one of Hollywood's hottest inside jokes, might make the move from fiction to reality. As a key plot line in HBO's "Entourage," the "movie" directed by James Cameron shattered box-office records (a feat that got it a real ad in Variety), turned an unknown actor into a $20-million movie star and sparked a fight over a sequel.
But now, informal talks have been launched about the feasibility of making a real Warner Bros. "Aquaman" movie. In one of the strangest twists of this life-imitating-art tale, the talent agent at the center of the emerging "Aquaman" deal is Ari Emanuel, the brassy Endeavor partner on whom "Entourage" agent Ari Gold is based.
I've written about this phenomenon before, Entourage as Documentary. Even as HBO was airing this run about the faux-Aquaman played by Vince (aka Adrian Grenier), Warner Brothers was busy making an "Aquaman" pilot with another actor. They decided not to go ahead with it, but it just got posted on iTunes this week.
Now the Times is saying that real people are having real discussions about really, truly making an Aquaman feature. Why not? HBO has already invested a lot of prime story real estate in "Entourage" -- preparing the battlefield, as it were.
Art imitating life. It's so freaking Hollywood insider ball, but that's the way it can be around here. Like high school with money, it's been called.
Speaking of art, that's the Alex Ross version of "Aquaman" you see on this page. "Aquaman" first appeared in a 1941 DC Comic. He wasn't even the first underwater warrior in the comics. That distinction went to Marvel Comics' creation of two years earlier, 1939, of Prince Namor, the "Sub-Mariner." If Hollywood wanted to make an underwater hero movie that I could get behind, it would be "Aquaman versus Sub-Mariner." Those dudes have been spoiling to get it on in the same ocean for nearly seventy years now.
But Adrian Grenier as Aquaman? That was the part I thought was a real stretch. Everyone knows that Aquaman's hair is blond.
"Get me one of the Ari's on the phone, we're going to have to go another direction..."
Other comic-related posts you might enjoy:
Lois and Clark: The Not-So-New Adventures of Superman
M.A.N.T.I.S. : TV's First African-American Superhero
How to Read a Comicbook
Superman Returns -vs- Superman: The Movie
