Entourage Gossip

Might Vincent Chase suddenly not be the best looking person in his Entourage?

Sources confirm that Zac Efron has landed a guest-starring role on the hit HBO series.

No word yet on the exact role Efron will play, but the show is known for depicting celebrities simply as themselves.

"He was filming a scene and talking on his cell phone," said an onlooker near the Beverly Hills Niketown store, where Efron was being filmed. "None of the other Entourage cast was here. He was really nice."

Season six of the show premieres on July 12.

Efron is far from the only famous guest star lined up. The following celebs will also appear on the series:

• Lil Wayne
• Tom Brady
• LeBron James
• Aaron Sorkin
• Autumn Reeser
• Kate Mara

The London Sun is reporting that Kevin Federline, who just scored a guest gig on CSI, also will showcase his sure-to-impress acting chops in three episodes of HBO's Entourage, playing the deadbeat husband of a celebrity.

T.H. Gossip's Take: Typecasting lives! Oh, snap!

Please note, however that this is according to the London Sun, which some may liken to the New York Post -- it's not the sleuths at T.H. Gossip who are bringing you this story directly.

Sometimes, we are forced to rely on people who might not be as reliable as we'd like... but such is the nature of the business.

Bottom line? K-Fed's career is really taking off. Our resident Entourage fan says that the show frequently mocks Hollywood, so we look forward to seeing Kevin's performance, if this story is legit.

As for K's family life, that's going great too, with one (poorly-dressed) son with wife Britney Spears already alive and kicking, and another bun in the oven about ready to come out October 31!

Ari Gold isn't so menacing when he's playing with his puppy.

As the man behind that character, Jeremy Piven doesn't seem too stressed out about his Emmy Award nomination. Maybe his best friend is providing him with some last-minute fashion tips in this shot.

We're sure of one thing, however: unlike Paris Hilton and her supposed furry friend, there was no biting going on here.

We love Jeremy Piven. He makes us laugh. He loves his mom. But his taste in party guests sucks more than one of those featured on the list.

Naturally, we're talking about Lindsay Lohan. When Piven celebrated his 41st birthday over the weekend at the Polaroid Beach House in Malibu, the only celebs anywhere to be found were Molly Sims and Lohan.

Lohan, who has a cameo on Entourage this season - hopefully as the young, spoiled Hollywood starlet that is run over by a mac truck - entertained the host in two different flesh-colored bikinis and heels. What else would she have worn, right?

"I'm going to be on your show!" Lohan told Piven.

"Really! Any scenes with me?" the actor joked in a pseudo-sexual way as Lohan giggled and The Gossip threw up a little bit.

Later, boy toy du jour, Harry Morton, showed up and Lohan greeted the Hard Rock heir with a hug and kiss. "I'm so happy right now!" she said. "He's such a great person and influence on me."

Yeah. An alcoholic, drug-laden influence.
The rest of the day was spent with Lohan playing records in the DJ booth, while the birthday boy spent the afternoon drinking beer, mingling with women and playing the drums. Piven also responded to the absurd notion that a reality TV show was in his future.

"I don't need to do a reality show, I'm on a successful TV show," he said.

There's often an entourage of well-known guest stars on the HBO comedy, Entourage. Most recently, directors James Cameron and Paul Haggis made appearances, playing themselves.

Despite being in front of the camera, these leaders still had clear ideas of how they wanted their fictional movies to be portrayed. Aquaman, fortunately, was a wild success in the show. The same was said about Haggis by all involved.

"Paul Haggis was just great. He was open to everything, and he was very, very, very cool," said executive producer Doug Ellin of the man who wrote the screenplays for Million Dollar Baby and Crash.

Kevin Dillon said Haggis was a "good actor as well."

The show never addresses whether the fake "Aquaman" was a critical success, a decision Cameron also influenced.

"I don't think he's made a bad movie. So we like to think this was a very good movie," Ellin said.

Now in its third season, Entourage is just beginning to build a significant following. The success has changed the lives of its little-known cast, with Jeremy Piven receiving the most notoriety - along with an Emmy Award nomination.

How intense of a director is James Cameron? He was intent that his latest movie would be a major hit - despite the fact that it was fictional.

Cameron made a series of cameos on HBO's Entourage last season, helming the Vince Chase vehicle, Aquaman. According to the show's creator, Titanic's captain made sure his reputation remained intact with the success of his fictional film.

Doug Ellin said the director REALLY wanted his fictional Aquaman to be a financial and critical success.

"Mr. Cameron didn't want Aquaman to bomb, which, fortunately, we figured out a way to make sure that didn't happen," he said.

In the show, the movie actually breaks the all-time record for opening weekend box office revenue - initially held by Spider-Man and destroyed in real life by Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead's Man Chest two weeks ago. The flick's critical response was never addressed, but we'll just say it was positive. Why not, right?

"[Cameron] didn't insist, but he asked nicely and he's got a strong presence, so we decided to go with that," said Ellis.

In other Entourage news: Kevin Connolly, who plays Vince Chase's manager, Eric on the show (and is dating Nicki Hilton in reality) and who constantly frets about the gang's money situation, told the a group of journalists:

"I just bought a house that I can't afford. We're still in the early stages of it, so hopefully it continues for a few more years."

This entourage hits the road: Jeremy Piven and Adrian Grenier appear during a panel discussion at the Television Critics Association's press tour in Pasadena, CA:

No wonder Jeremy Piven has been such a success as mega agent, Ari Gold, on the HBO hit, Entourage. He follows the story lines in real life!

Just like the show's main character, Vince, did with the premiere of his latest movie, Piven plans to take his mom, Joyce, to the Emmy Awards next month. And it's not out of duty or pity, but if he wins ...

"It means I may get a chance to talk about my mother in public. That would be unbelievably exciting," he says. "You know, she put me onstage when I was 8 years old and I was doing Chekhov."

Eventually, Piven settled into a series of supporting gigs in movies such as "Say Anything," "Singles," "PCU," "Grosse Pointe Blank," and "Old School." None produced the sort of fame, attention or acclaim, however, as Ari; simply put, the funniest ass on TV.

"I've been kicking around for a while. I'm a 40-year-old guy, you know? And I feel like I'm just coming into my own," he says. "I've been apprenticing this job for 20 years with Garry Shandling and Morgan Freeman and Dustin Hoffman and every person I've been lucky to be around."

Piven believes his age makes the growing celebrity status more manageable.

"When [actors] become famous before they grow into themselves as an actor and a human being, it can be dangerous territory. I've seen it," he says. "I'm just incredibly lucky I've been so unpopular and so uninteresting for so long."

Not anymore. In a recently completed film, Smokin' Aces, Piven has the lead - ahead of such actors Ben Affleck, Ray Liotta and Andy Garcia.

"That was an incredibly thrilling moment, and the best role I've ever played in my life, and the most tragic. It is a twisted dark comedy in which I play a tragic character," a mob snitch.

The irony is his career transformation is that Piven's alter-ego would never even give him the time of day.

"I'm a stage actor from Chicago. An agent like Ari wouldn't have patience for a stage actor like Jeremy Piven."