Aquaman: Green Tights, Green Lights
Further blurring Entourage's hazy fiction/reality lines (Ari Gold-the-character sitting in Ari Emanuel-the-inspiration's Lakers' seats; Bono giving Johnny Drama a shout-out, in the middle of an actual U2 concert), the NY Post reports today that Aquaman, the fictional project that drove most of Entourage's second season plot, is now Aquaman, the very real Smallville spinoff, coming soon to a WB affiliate and Whopper wrapper near you:
The WB Network and the producers of Smallville are said to be holding preliminary talks about the possibility of a spin-off featuring the scaly undersea king, sources said yesterday.[...]
For a long time, Aquaman as a superhero has been seen as kind of a joke among Hollywood insiders and many comic fanatics.
But recently, there's been a strange level of buzz surrounding the character especially last summer when he became the focal point of this season's edition of HBO's comedy Entourage.
Even more telling was the recent revelation that DC Comics the comic book publisher that holds the Aquaman license had asked the producers of the animated Cartoon Network show Justice League Unlimited not to use the character or any of his related properties in their show.
There is still no word on whether Alan Ritchson, who lap-danced his way into Paula Abdul's and America's hearts when he auditioned for American Idol, will be asked to squeeze back into the orange and green aquasuit he donned on Smallville last month. One thing, though, is abudantly clear: There is no project ridiculous enough—even one about a guy who can breathe underwater and chat with fish—to escape the development process.