Ready for his own entourage

Rex Lee was minding his own business when the woman walked past. Trailed by her husband, daughter, and two sons, the middle-aged mom stopped to take a closer look. "Are you Lloyd?" she said, leaning over. "Are you? Are you Lloyd?" Yes, the actor who plays super-agent Ari Gold's long-suffering assistant on the HBO series "Entourage" was sitting in the lobby of the Marriott Custom House. The woman, vacationing with her family from Colombia, couldn't believe her luck. "Really? We love your show," she said. "Can we take your picture?" Lee, who lived in Woburn, Somerville, and Newton as a kid, was back in Boston over the weekend to host an "Entourage" party at McFadden's, a bar not far from Faneuil Hall. (Season five of the hit show premieres Sunday.) "It's great when people know me like that," he said. "When I was a kid, that's what I thought acting was - all fame and fortune." It's a testament to the popularity of the show that Lee is recognized at all, let alone by a family from South America. His character wasn't introduced until the second season, and he still doesn't get the screen time of Kevin Connolly, Adrian Grenier, Kevin Dillon, or Jeremy Piven. Lee wouldn't dish about the new episodes, but he did say that fans of the first few seasons will be pleased. "Not that seasons three and four were bad, but the writing is really strong this season," he said. Asked about his bombastic TV boss, Lee said there are plenty of unpleasant people in Hollywood. "The reality is there are a lot of agents, casting directors, directors, and producers who don't abuse their power, but they certainly enjoy their power," he said. "They don't have to be polite, and they're not." (By contrast, Lee said, the show's executive producer, Mark Wahlberg, is a "sweetheart.") New to the paid-appearance game, Lee didn't know what to expect at McFadden's. "I'm sure I'll have a drink and it'll be fine," he said, smiling.

Emily and Allison Seymour of Belmont can't wait to see "The Women," director Diane English's new flick opening in Boston Sept. 12. The 11-year-old identical twins get their big break in the made-in-Massachusetts movie, playing Debra Messing's daughter April. Predictably, the pair say their shared role was a ton of fun -they got to scream in Saks Fifth Avenue and deface a wall with lipstick. "She was just impatient," Emily explains, talking about the scene in which her precocious character goes shopping with Messing, Annette Bening, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Eva Mendes. Allison said Messing, a real-life mom, was comforting on the set. She said the actress even joined the Seymour sisters for a pre-shoot picnic in a local park to get to know them. "She would say 'Stay relaxed, just do your best,' " says Allison. The girls' mom, Heather, told us she's planning to take the family to the Boston premiere and then have a party. "Of course, as a mother of twins, we're hoping they both get equal time," she said. But will moviegoers be able to tell the girls apart? No, but "we know who they are," said their mom.

It's just another day at the beach for Mel Gibson. The Hollywood A-lister is headed to Rockport this month to shoot "Edge of Darkness," the cop drama now filming in Boston. Director Martin Campbell has selected scenic Cape Hedge Beach for a pivotal scene in which Gibson's character, a Boston homicide detective, scatters his daughter's ashes. (Earlier this year, Rockport also played host to "The Proposal," which starred Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds.) As recompense, producers of "Edge of Darkness" will donate $2,000 to a new animal shelter opening in Rockport.

Local moms Anne London and Deborah Smith, co-creators of the "HOW'S MY TEEN DRIVING?" bumper stickers, will get some play on the "Today" show Sept. 10. The stickers include a 1-877 number so drivers can report erratic or speeding teens to a call center, which in turn e-mails parents. The women were interviewed by producers at their homes in Wellesley and Sudbury. But parents, if you slap this sticker on your car, beware; you might be the one getting reported. London said she got an e-mail about her husband the very first day they put the sticker on. "He drives in and out of the city daily for work and I always tell him he is too aggressive," she said. "His report said, 'I know it is the Dad driving but he pulled into the lane without enough clearance.' " Now, dad has to chill and drive politely, she said. Luckily, "he has a good sense of humor."

Tommy Grella has been much in demand since his appearance on "The Next Food Network Star." Over the weekend, the financial planner from Methuen showed off his considerable culinary chops at the 85th annual Feast of the Three Saints in Lawrence. Grella, who lists Mario Batali and Anthony Bourdain among his favorite chefs, is a self-taught cook.

Horse-loving Harvard student Hillary Dobbs won the $200,000 FTI Grand Prix at the Hampton Classic Horse Show on Sunday. The daughter of CNN's Lou Dobbs even managed to beat McClain Ward, who'd just returned from Beijing where he was a member of the gold medal-winning show jumping team. Dobbs is a government major at the World's Greatest University.

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