Gold standard of 'Entourage'

By BEN WIDDICOMBE
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Thursday, May 24th 2007, 4:00 AM

You better believe Hollywood pays attention to how it is portrayed on "Entourage."

Endeavor super-agent Ari Emanuel is channeled on the show by Jeremy Piven as the manic Ari Gold. Now a former colleague is dishing about what it's like to work with the evil Hollywood archetype.

Before the show, says the snitch, it was understood among junior staffers at the agency that making eye contact or even sharing an elevator with the great man was to be avoided.

But Emanuel was thrilled with being a character on the show and behaved accordingly. "Every time he was on the phone with ['Entourage' executive producer] Doug Ellin, he did something outrageous to make it into a future script - throwing things, screaming at anyone nearby and generally throwing a tantrum," says the snitch.

The ex-Endeavorite admits to being "terrified of the man" and his influence in the industry. Emanuel's very public push to blackball Mel Gibson after his anti-Semitic tirade included a call to the top of HBO, which agreed to put him on a blacklist, alleges the source. (HBO did not comment.)

But the story has a happy ending. The former colleague says Piven's relentless portrayal of the character has actually made Emanuel a nicer guy.

"He's mellowed since America found out he's a douche."

Emanuel and Endeavor declined to comment.

L.A. finally hails Victoria

Poor old Victoria Beckham seems to be going a little stir crazy in Los Angeles.

In her native Britain, she's as famous as Princess Diana, but in L.A. she's not even the most interesting celebrity on the block.

So she staged a bizarre publicity visit Monday to the Pleasure Chest sex shop in West Hollywood, accompanied by a blowup doll dressed like her as a "decoy." How cheeky! The paparazzi were tipped off and waiting.

Her husband, David Beckham 's, $250M contact with the Galaxy soccer team kicks off in July. No doubt his arrival will get her some much-needed attention.

Money talks, heckler walks

There was some unexpected audience participation at "The J.A.P. Show" Off-Broadway Sunday night.

A heckler loudly demanded her money back midshow because, she said, she had been expecting to see Jackie Hoffman (who has since moved on to "Xanadu.") So the free-wheeling cast incorporated her into the act.

"One of the comics asked the audience if they might want to contribute to a Get This Woman the Hell Out Fund, and the audience applauded enthusiastically," says a witness. "People in the balcony were crumpling up bills and throwing them down to the stage."

Not only was her American Express charge refunded, but she walked away with $65 in cash. She can't claim she didn't have a rewarding night at the theater!