"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 informal "Aquaman" talks is Ari Emanuel, the brassy Endeavor partner on whom "Entourage" agent Ari Gold is based.
Warner Bros. said Thursday that the studio "is not currently developing" an "Aquaman" project. But according to four people familiar with the idea, conversations already have been held about the character's film rights, controlled by DC Comics, itself a part of Time Warner Inc. One top filmmaker's name also has surfaced as a potential "Aquaman" director -- "Charlie's Angels" alumnus McG. The director is finishing the football film "We Are Marshall"; his reps declined comment on the "Aquaman" prospects.
"It's obviously very flattering," says Doug Ellin, the creator of "Entourage" who came up with the "Aquaman" plot. "We sort of made an 'Aquaman' movie a believable possibility."
There's no denying that Aquaman, a fast-swimming superhero who debuted in a 1941 comic, is enjoying a pop-culture renaissance. In "Entourage," a weekly series about actor Vince Chase (Adrian Grenier) and his Hollywood posse, the movie opens to record box-office grosses of $116.8 million. In the days before "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" debuted this month, industry executives ironically wondered if the sequel would do " 'Aquaman' business." When CNBC reported on the record-breaking opening of "Pirates," anchor Joe Kernen said it had outperformed "Aquaman"; Kernen later said he was joking.
Earlier this week, a previously unseen pilot for an "Aquaman" TV series debuted on iTunes, and the show immediately became the website's most-downloaded video, Apple said.
The TV pilot was created by screenwriters Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, who launched the popular "Superman"-inspired series "Smallville." The "Aquaman" series was initially conceived as a Warner Bros. Television production for the WB network, which has merged with UPN into the new CW network.
