Stephen Levinson Movies

In this modern noir from director Allen Hughes, his first fiction feature-length film in over a decade, Mark Wahlberg stars as Billy Taggart, a New York City private eye struggling to get his deadbeat clients to pay when he gets a call from Mayor Hostetler (Russell Crowe). His honor remembers Billy from seven years ago when, as a cop, the young man shot a rapist who had been exonerated on a technicality. Back then, the Mayor told Billy he was a hero, but Billy was still forced off the job due to the public outcry and some incriminating evidence that never saw the light of day. Now the mayor needs someone he can trust to find out if his wife (Catherine Zeta-Jones) is having an affair - a fact that could cause him considerable trouble seeing as Election Day is just a week away. As Billy digs for the truth, he uncovers layers of political corruption, and discovers he himself is nothing more than a pawn in a much bigger game. The film co-stars Jeffrey Wright as a police commissioner, Kyle Chandler as a political consultant, and Barry Pepper as the mayor's political rival. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

A pair of twentysomething entrepreneurs in Brooklyn try to hustle their way to prosperity by using their street smarts and often shady connections. ~ Joe Friedrich, Rovi

Up-and-coming movie star Vince (Adrian Grenier) has good reason to celebrate as Entoruage begins its third season: He has landed the title role in "Aquaman", a megabucks epic directed by Titanic's own James Cameron. Likewise luxuriating in Vince's good fortune are his pals Eric (Kevin Connolly and Turtle (Jerry Ferrara) and his actor brother Drama (Kevin Dillon). The only one not in a celebratory mood is Vince's agent Ari (Jerry Piven), who has been booted from his job at a powerful Hollywood talent agency and is now living a hand-to-mouth existence and working out of an office no bigger than a broom closet. For a while, it looks like Vince will also suffer from a stroke of bad luck when the LA opening of "Aquaman" is repeatedly interrupted by rolling power blackouts. This is the season that Vince adopts a new member of his entourage, an ex-convict named Dom (Domenick Lombardozzi), who promptly comes up with a plan to land Vince the role of a lifetime in the upcoming film "Medelin"--which, alas, would screw our hero out of starring in "Aquaman 2". Meanwhile, Turtle is managing pop singer Saigon and, as usual, is having trouble handling success. Drama is given a shot at TV stardom in his own series, "Five Towns". And after two years of delays, Vince and Eric's independent project "Queen's Boulevard" may finally see the light of day. Unfortunately, once again poor Ari is unable to capitalize on Vince's success, having managed to mess up a proposed film project for The Ramones and subsequently being replaced by new agent Amanda (Carla Gugino)--whose first assignment for Vince is a period drama based on the works of Edith Wharton, not exactly a brilliant career move for the star of "Aquaman." Ultimately, Ari resurfaces out of nowhere with financing for the temporarily-shelved "Medelin", but Vince isn't prepared for the sacrifice he must make to get this job. And while all this is going on, Turtle's fondness for limited-edition sneakers may completely alter the course of his life. Among the celebrities appearing as themselves this season are James Woods, Seth Green, Eric Burns and Pauly Shore. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Mandy's representatives worry about her recent behavior; Turtle promotes an addition to the Queens Boulevard soundtrack. ~ Joe Friedrich, Rovi

Like Larry David's Curb Your Enthusiasm, the HBO series Entourage offers a knowing and quasi-satirical inside look at the world of show business within a faux "documentary" format. Premiering July 18, 2004, the series (initially titled "Sundance Kids") top-billed Adrian Grenier as Vincent Chase, a young, wealthy, and very "hot" movie star. As Vincent's hard-working agent, Ari Gold (a character based on real-life agent Ari Emmanuel and here played by Jeremy Piven), tried to keep both his client and his client's career on the right track, Vincent tended to ignore Ari and pay more attention to three buddies from his old Queens neighborhood, who formed the "entourage" of the title. Vincent's stepbrother Johnny (Kevin Dillon), aka "Drama," made no secret of his intention to use Vincent's success to further his own acting career, while his pal Turtle (Jerry Ferrara) was content to parasitically luxuriate in Vincent's lavish lifestyle. Only his friend Eric (Kevin Connolly) seemed to like Vince for himself and not for what he could mooch off him -- and not surprisingly, Eric's advice and remonstrations were frequently ignored in favor of the sycophancy of Vince's other pals. Entourage was co-created and executive-produced by actor Mark Wahlberg, who was one of several A-list celebrities appearing as themselves in the course of the series. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The perks and pressures of sudden stardom weigh heavily upon hot young actor Vincent Chase (Adrian Grenier) as the quasi-reality show Entourage begins its first season on HBO. Having skyrocketed to fame with his new picture "Head On," Vince would be well advised to put his future in the hands of his harried, hardworking agent Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven). Instead, Vince tends to let himself be swayed by the self-serving opinions of two of his pals from his old Queens neighborhood: his half-brother "Drama" (Kevin Dillon), who clearly hopes to coast to his own acting career on Vincent's coattails, and his lifelong chum Turtle (Jerry Ferrara), who enjoys luxuriating in Vincent's sumptuous lifestyle without having to do any of the heavy lifting himself. Conversely, Vincent's friend Eric (Kevin Connolly) is not impressed by the trappings of celebrity, and is interested only in making sure that his friend doesn't screw up or ruin his life. In the course of season one's eight episodes, Ari expresses resentment that Vincent listens more to his pals than to him, though he must also curry favor with his client's entourage if he wants to keep his job; Vincent agonizes over his reviews, even the good ones; our hero has a wild time on a talk show hosted by his onetime nemesis Jimmy Kimmel; the boys of the entourage are given a jolt of reality when they meet a onetime popular actor who is now working as a caterer; Vince and company have hissy fits over script revisions that are unsuitable to his "image" (whatever that is); and in a crossover of sorts with another faux "reality" show, Vincent has a meeting with Larry David, the star/creator of Curb Your Enthusiasm. In addition to the aforementioned Jimmy Kimmel and Larry David, a number of "big names" appear in cameo roles during Entourage's first season, beginning with the series' executive producer/co-creator Mark Wahlberg, and continuing with Jessica Alba, David Faustino, Luke Wilson, Gary Busey, and Scarlett Johansson. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi