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Entourage remake in plans for 2016 airdate on tvN

javabeans: Remember how tvN was gonna remake HBO’s Entourage?

girlfriday: Oh yeaaaaaah are they still doing that?

javabeans: That news first surfaced two years ago that they’d licensed the rights, but we had no further reports and I’m pretty sure most of us forgot about it. But tvN has just announced that they’re still doing the show — they haven’t decided on a timeslot yet, but they’re looking at the latter half of next year.

girlfriday: I’m still kind of skeptical. I feel like there’s just enough of Entourage out in the world, and we don’t need more.

javabeans: I’d argue we have way more than enough — eight seasons, really? But I’m also skeptical because the appeal of Entourage was its in-your-face hedonistic excess, the wish-fulfillment narrative of a hotshot and his band of douchebros rampaging around Hollywood having carefree good times with lots of drugs, sex, and swearing. I’m not sure ANY of that would translate to Korean audiences, or even be relatable to the Korean entertainment industry, where top stars have to be polite and well-behaved and modest.

girlfriday: Not to mention that none of that stuff would make it on air, even on tvN. The image-conscious factor also makes me wonder who’d star in it, because everyone has to protect their family-friendly images.

javabeans: We’ve mostly seen stars make fun of their image in funny, good-natured cases like Cha Seung-won in Best Love or Jeon Ji-hyun in You From Another Star. I wouldn’t mind seeing a huge star like Lee Min-ho or Kim Soo-hyun play an unironic, unselfconscious brat — but I don’t see that happening.

girlfriday: There was IU in The Producers, who I thought at least extended herself into unlikable territory and was willing to make her character a bitchy diva star.

javabeans: Speaking of The Producers, that may be the closest thing to Entourage we’ve seen so far, with its look behind the scenes at managers and agents and broadcast executives.

girlfriday: Yes, which makes me think that tvN is mostly going to make another Producers, not another Entourage.

javabeans: It seems a lot safer to make fun of the management system and the on-set drama than to show a more salacious side with parties, drugs, and sex. I mean, not in a society where actors doing drugs would actually get them jail time.

girlfriday: Yeah that would be a big no-no. The thing is, I can totally see a Korean movie doing this and pulling it off well. (Probably better than the Entourage movie, which was unnecessary at best.) It’d be gritty and dark and seedy as hell.

javabeans: But assuming we’re getting an Entourage K-drama next year, we may as well accept it and do the next best thing: fantasy casting! You need someone very pretty but kind of dumb for the Vince role. That doesn’t narrow it down much does it?

girlfriday: Yeah we’re gonna need more parameters for that.

javabeans: Someone broody and smoldery, who fancies himself a modern day Marlon Brando. Is that better?

girlfriday: Now I remember why I never took Vince seriously.

javabeans: I know we have to adjust to suit Korea’s industry and audience, but I’m trying to think of someone with Vince’s rugged, masculine vibe. Is TOP still too pretty? I dunno, Eric?

girlfriday: He gives good smolder. OH, and Oh Jung-se could play his brother Drama, the over-the-hill actor who’s less hot but still trying to be as cool as Little Bro. He does pathetic so well.

javabeans: Turtle has to be loud and obnoxious, but not hateable. I like Lee Yi-kyung.

girlfriday: Hahaha, I like that guy. He always plays the character that’s dumb as a post, but he’s still funny and relatable. We need a nice normal guy to play manager-BFF Eric.

javabeans: I always found Eric super whiny and annoying, but I could see someone like Jung Woo being awesome as the hot star’s sidekick who actually turns out to be the lead of this show.

girlfriday: Jung Woo really needs to do more dramas.

javabeans: And of course, no Entourage is complete without our megalomaniac douchebag agent Ari. Hm, who would be able to be that much of an asshole but entertaining and lovable at it? Is Kim Myung-min too obvious?

girlfriday: Yunno, he might be the only one who could pull it off anyway.

javabeans: Jang Hyuk?

girlfriday: Lol, he’d be hilarious. But I would always suspect that Jang Hyuk’s Ari was trying to become Vince.

javabeans: True, whereas Kim Myung-min would just be trying to take over the world one actor at a time, which is about as Ari as you get. Honestly, I think tvN would cast a decade younger than we would (and just did), but I think the character of the show really comes through better with an older cast.

girlfriday: And older actors would be less squeamish about ruining their shiny images, since they’re less shiny to begin with.

javabeans: Sad but true.

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I want Kim Tae Hun in this drama. He either can be a good guy or the bad guy that will not die.

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YES THANK YOU. I don't know what this is all about, but hey, why not cast him as a smarmy, trash-talking character one loves to hate?

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I never liked Entourage, but actually love the idea of the Korean remake. In the right hands it might work really well. There is nothing surprising about Hollyweird. Stories of sex,drugs and Kartrashians are literally everywhere, to the point of informational oversaturation.

In contrast, the backstage of Korean entertainment industry is still a major mystery. Why do adult Korean actors/actresses have to pretend that they don't have any sex life? Why do people like Jin Se-yeon keep getting lead roles despite being absolutely terrible? I would love to see a drama that at least attempts to explore 'real stuff'' instead of PG-friendly fake versions of it, like Producers or The King of Dramas. Make it happen tvN.

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It's probably taboo to talk about the stuff which occurs behind the scenes in the Korean entertainment industry... I mean, pretty much everyone knows that sponsors exist to score actors/actresses CF, drama, movie deals. Jin Se Yeon reeks of this... I also heard rumours that Jeon Ji Hyun, Shin Min Ah and the likes also have sponsors (not the sexual kind, more like making the sponsors look good in front of business clients etc). They'd be really brave if they did choose to explore some of these issues though ????

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Entourage was bad. But when you put it that way the behind the scenes of Chungmuro could be great. In the hands of a good director that is.

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I've never watched Entourage but I wouldn't mind the main idea taken and adapted to the korean context. It won't be as bold as the american version and I don't expect it to be but I think it'd still be interesting to see a drama showing a different side from what we're used to. Cable seems like the right place for such a project. Producers was a first step, maybe tvN can do it better

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Speaking of remakes, I just finished watching the last season of 'Friends' and now, I'm thinking about the korean actors and actresses who can be in a Korean version.hahahaha

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Don't need to wait for a Korean version - just watch the excellent K-romcom film "Singles" (albeit "only" 3 friends).

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I don't think it will translate well in Korea. Especially knowing the nature of kpop agencies. But who knows, maybe they could make another Producers or King of Dramas?
And I vote for Kim Myung Min to be in this drama. His Anthony character is too awesome!

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Since we're fantasizing, can we have an "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" adaptation while we're at it? I've yet to see Koreans do really dark comedy ("Heard It Through the Grapevine" was more satire than actual comedy).

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While it's not similar to IASP, Six Feet Under is a great black comedy and the drama Flowers for My Life is supposedly pretty similar to it. But I've yet to see it, so I can't speak about its quality.

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I liked the first few seasons of Entourage but then I stopped watching after a while. It was hilarious but I wasn't into kdramas back then so it was also really new and exciting. Translated to dramaaland, I don't quite see its appeal. But those fantasy casting - specially of more older actors - is perfect because I see them being a lot less worried about what audiences will think and just go for it. That would be awesome but I still think this idea should've remained dead.

Also, I can see Kim Soo-hyun playing an insensitive brat (in a not-endearing way even) if he didn't just do Producers. I don't think he's extremely conscious of his image and likes to take on very different characters instead of rehashing the same. He's also made it clear he wants to play the villain despite his very vivid hero image. I just don't think it's likely since his last drama was about the industry and this is in cable.

I'd love for Lee Min-ho to do it even if it's isnt much of a challenge for him. Or even Lee Seung-gi for the irony which will be plain hilarious. Maybe he can do it since I think the other two are too huge for cable? I dunno.

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Vince = Seo Kang Joon (he's got that pretty boy/dumb image already)
Eric = Lee Seung Gi
Turtle = Lee Si Un (he just plays gopher so well)
Drama = Ryo Seung Soo or Oh Jung Se
Ari = Kim Myung Min or go female with Kim Hee Ae

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Whoa--now if Kim Hee Ae played a female version of Ari I would be SOOOO into watching this show. She's amazing.

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I never saw "K Town Cowboys" on YouTube but wasn't the inspiration behind that web series basically a Korean Entourage?

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I mostly just vehemently agree that Jung Woo should do more dramas.

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I like Entourage but I don't need another Entourage. I'm not a fan of remake and I never like any remake version of any dramas/movies and I'm not looking forward for the part2 of my favorites dramas/movies such as Winter Sonata and why in the world do they even think about making a My Sassy Girl part 2? Fuck that idea!

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I love Entourage very much (even thogh i still didn't finish last season and watch the movie) so the idea of korean remake sounds fun but yeah im sure it won't be blunt and provocative like the original.

Anyway i lovee your dream casting of KMM ad Jang Hyuk (especially if he rekindles the character of Lee Gun from FTLY it was awesome!) but i agree if he'll be ari he would totally steal the show moreover if the korean vince wll be some pretty guy without personality (but isn't it ari who stole the show in entourage? lol).

I will prefer if the cast will be more older cast like in the ages between 30-40 and the show can relate to more adult audience and not just teens.

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Self respect is more important than anything in the world,lol

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Out of all of the American series they choose to remake, they chose Entourage? Seriously? HBO has made some of the best programs and they choose one of their worst, go figure.

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Entourage was never exceptional to begin with and I absolutely think that entourage will not work out in kdrama format because of you take out the sex,drugs and swearing what will be left in it to begin with and like seriously k actors love their goody two shoes images ..

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I happen to have recently watched the whole show & the movie & while l agree that the show wasn't as good as before season 5 (which is very common among American shows) but it still kept itself entertaining thanks to characters like Johnny Drama & of course the very mouthful Ari Gold.
I actually can see the appeal of shows like that that poke fun of the industry & its insiders & l appreciated the cameos from unexpected celebrities like Scorcese & james cameron so l can see it work but surely Not in the same outrageous way American did it given the very so called correct & conservative image the korean entertainement industry tries to market itself
as for characters l shall strat of course with the one who actually made the show for me which is Ari Gold. I looove KMM just like anyone of you guys but how about the very TvN darling Li Sung min? I can see him pulling it like a pro!
As for vince l don't think it's a character that requires strong acting chops so l don't really care. Unlike Drama who is a complex character because l think it's very hard to play someone who is goofy, pathetic, very full of himself & likable at the same time not to forget hilarious as hell
anyway looking forward to seeing how far will a drama dare to make fun of the entertainement & the people in it. For exemple will they dare insert real celebrity anecdotes? Real stories behind the making of some well drama/movie? Give away scandals? Cameos by celebrities playing douchier version of themselves?
We will see about that!

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Might not translate well to Kdrama but I'm totally up for image tarnishing dramas

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If done smartly, I think I could love this idea. But I'm not sure how it will work, considering how squeaky-clean the K-entertainment world likes to seem!

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I loled when i saw the headline, entourage remake haha is that even possible. They shouldn't have bothered getting rights because there's is no way it will be similar, what time do they plan on airing it 3 am?

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I can't stand this show and any of its characters (ok minus Ari) but I'm very curious as to how TVN will translate this. The only kdrama I can imagine came somewhat close to this is A Gentleman's Dignity which I, go figure, really enjoyed. The best part of that show was the friendship between the guys.

It would be really interesting if the show did provide some genuine "tea" about Korea's different entertainment industries and its players. I'm all for that type of interpretation.

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I can really Sung Joon as Vince. He has the same mysterious, sexy vibe.

And I weirdly love Entourage, and would love for them to make anything nearly as outrageous in Korea. I would eat it up, even if the Korean public isn't exactly ready for it.

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So this time, we'll get to see an Asian male character who is more than a minor, supporting role for laughs?

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Wouldn't watch it anyways as not going to support anything financially tied to Mark Wahlberg who had committed hate crimes against Asians.

Commit hate crimes against gays, Jews or blacks and your career is basically over, but commit several against Asians and nothing...

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This is a very dangerous idea that can backfire to tvN anytime but at the same time this is also a tempting challenge. An Entourage remake in Korea will either be a hit or miss; if the drama is real enough, or even shockingly real, it'll be a hit, if it's exaggerating or way too save then it'll certainly fail.

I agree that Korean entertainment industry still looks much cleaner compared to the its music industry, and I think it will be nice if there are people who are brave enough to reveal it, even the actors themselves. There's nothing better than 'smartly' coming clean, right?

Still can't imagine the possible cast because damn Entourage is such a tricky plot/theme for Korean society

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Here's something I don't understand (please somebody explain it to me):
"The image-conscious factor also makes me wonder who’d star in it, because everyone has to protect their family-friendly images."

Because I've seen actors like Joo Jin Mo, Zo In Sung, Jung Woo Sung, and Song Ji-hyo star in VERY riske films and are still featured in tv dramas so why would a hedonistic role post an ongoing problem?

I know Korean fans are unaccepting of personal real life scandals, but this is not real and even if it's true that such roles will alienate Korean audiences, then why are some actors (see above that I've mentioned) not affected? (I mean you can't get more family oriented than Running Man and yet Song Ji-hyo is there without any fan objections.

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Why Entourage? Why not Gossip Girl? This is TvN, anyway, I am sure they will have no problem recreating (or re-interpreting) Blair and Chuck's scenes and their inflammable chemistry. The drama, the twist and turn, evil plots and so on, are there already. Just need to be k-dramatized, with good background song and long captivating look-at-each-other way.

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Give me Eric Mun and TOP on the same screen. I don't mind the screen will got burn!!!!

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While people were aware of what happens in Hollywood (especially these days) back then Entourage was one of the firsts that gave you a front row seat to the day-to-day business side of Hollywood - in addition to the outright shenanigans of course. Therefore, I personally could see Entourage becoming a kmovie before I see it becoming a television show, because if TVN is going to do Entourage, they need to push the envelope more than The Producers. They need to make people feel like they are getting an all access pass to something they shouldn't being seeing while trying not to offend their audience...which can be tricky.

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