Lots of news came straight out of HBO’s panel for the Television Critics Association concerning current and upcoming series for the successful cable network. First up, THR says HBO’s official word has potentially bad news for fans of Vincent Chase and his Entourage with the series (HBO’s longest running series) looking to end once and for all in 2011. Once this season is finished the network is planning on one more short-order season ending with six final episodes next summer. However, HBO programming president Michael Lombardo says that may not be the absolute end for Entourage and definitely won’t be the end of their working relationship with creator Doug Ellin. More details after the jump including news on Game of Thrones and Boardwalk Empire.

When Entourage creator Doug Ellin was developing storylines for Season 7 of the comedy, he approached adult film star turned mainstream actress Sasha Grey about doing a storyline in the vein of the Charlie Sheen/Ginger Lynn relationship of the 1990s. Luckily, she was game to sign on for the successful HBO series because, if she hadn’t been interested, the storyline would have been cut, as she was Ellin’s first and only choice for the role.

Although she didn’t have any television acting experience, Sasha Grey jumped at the opportunity to work with such talented people, both in front of and behind the camera. In an exclusive phone interview with Collider, the cross-over star talked about playing a version of herself, showing sides of her personality that people may not have seen before, and the importance of being disciplined and dedicated, if you want to succeed. Check out what she had to say after the jump:

As a life-long Entourage fan, Season 5 was by far the most disappointing season of the series for me. That’s why the show’s 6th season was such a welcome surprise. Exploring what happens when the gang starts to go their separate ways, Season 6 was one of the show’s most dramatic and most rewarding seasons. Continue reading for a full DVD review including more thoughts on the season and information on special features.

Gary Oldman, Malin Akerman, and Milo Ventimiglia have signed onto star in the indie gangster flick Criminal Empire for Dummys.  According to Variety,

Story centers on a charismatic young man — portrayed by Ventimiglia — who relates the do’s and don’ts of running a criminal empire through a flashback to his own rise from a tragic childhood and life in the ghetto to eventual position as a multinational drug and criminal kingpin.

I’m wondering if the misspelling of “Dummies” is intentional (like Pursuit of Happyness) or if it’s a typo on Variety’s part.  That little question aside, the cast will also include Michael Clarke Duncan and Harvey Keitel.  Empire will be the feature directorial debut from screenwriter Cliff Dorfman (Entourage and the upcoming boxing flick Warrior) who will direct from his own script.  Hopefully, it will be less predictable and more watchable than Entourage.

Before James Franco gets trapped under a boulder and has to amputate his own arm in Danny Boyle’s 127 Hours, it seems he’ll at least first get to enjoy the company of two beautiful young women along the way.

Joining the previously announced Amber Tamblyn, Kate Mara is now in negotiations to also join the cast. The duo would play a pair of hikers that Franco’s character, Aron Ralston, meets near the beginning of his rather perilous journey. For anyone unfamiliar with his story, Ralston is a mountaineer who became trapped while climbing in Utah and was forced to remove his own arm to survive. The harrowing tale, which is being scripted by Simon Beaufoy, should give Boyle, Franco and their two lady friends plenty of great stuff to work with.

Hit the jump to find out more about what Kate Mara has been up to lately.

I walked into Teenage Paparazzo yesterday with little hope that Adrian Grenier (Vince on Entourage) would deliver a great documentary on the paparazzi scene and why everyone is obsessed with celebrity culture.  So when I tell you I thought Teenage Paparazzo was great, you’ll know I mean it.  Unlike some documentaries that use the footage they’ve shot to take a specific angle on a story, what’s great about Grenier’s doc is the way the story seems to shift naturally as the events unfold.  I really didn’t think Vincent Chase had it in him.

If you haven’t heard of the film, Teenage Paparazzo is about Grenier befriending a 13 year old named Austin Visschedyk in the paparazzi scene.  The film features interviews with people in the scene and magazine editors, as well as showing Grenier trying to be a paparaazi to see what the job is really like.  Trust me, this is a great documentary about our celebrity obsessed culture.  For more of what I thought, hit the jump to see a video blog that I did with David Chen from Slashfilm right after the screening ended.  And if you’re not at Sundance and want to see this, I’m very confident the film will get distribution.

Right on the heels of one of its most successful seasons, Entourage has been picked up for another year, but executive producer Mark Wahlberg is looking further ahead.  At the premiere for The Lovely Bones, Wahlberg told The Hollywood Reporter he feels the series has two more seasons left in it, and then, perhaps, a movie.  A spokesperson from HBO revealed that though an Entourage film is not “out of the realm of possibility,” the staff has their sights set on the new season and not much beyond that.  But with the success of the Sex and the City movie with its sequel already due out in Summer 2010, an Entourage movie seems very much in the “realm of possibility.”

Ultimately, as much of an Entourage fan I am (it’s really useful for learning about the business!), it’s hard enough watching half-hour episodes during which nothing really happens; I don’t know if I can sit through two hours of nothing.

In news that should shock exactly no one, HBO has announced pickups for its only three shows – “True Blood”, “Entourage” and “Hung”.  They also confirmed that the seventh season of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” will premiere on September 20^th.  More after the jump…

You would think that after five seasons of a show about an actor that’s the next “big thing” and his buddies that mooch off/help his career would get tired and worn out, but as this season proves Vince and the gang still have a few tricks up their sleeves.  This season has just the right amount of golden Ari blow-up moments, random gratuitous nudity, and celebrity cameos like Martin Scorsese, Stellan Skarsgard, and Seth Green to name a few, that I’m down to stay another season with this Entourage (that might be the cheesiest thing I’ve written in recent memory, but true nonetheless). My review is after the jump:

If you’re one of those people who are still watching HBO’s “Entourage” for some odd reason, may I make a suggestion?  Just pick up one of the seasons on DVD (I recommend season two) and you’ll essentially have the entire show.  CollegeHumor.com has seized the humor of the recycled storylines and static characters and how what was once Hollywood satire has now become a Hollywood handjob.

I got more laughs from this video than I did from the show’s fourth season.

Check out the video after the jump to find out why Vince can’t do the movie this time.