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 Series creator Doug Ellin talks about the guys who bring Entourage to life. HBO What's going on with the Entourage boys this season?
Well, everybody is just developing a little more, you know, everybody is growing, getting bigger movies, more serious relationships with girls. Turtle is even finding his way into a possible career. HBO Are you making a deliberate effort to flesh out the motivations of characters like Ari? ELLIN Yeah, absolutely. From day one, though, the shades were there, but we definitely want to make it crystal clear that this guy isn't just a low life agent. He has other sides - he has his family life, and has cares and concerns, you know, besides making money. So, yeah, this year we definitely focused on character building. We only had eight last year to develop the guys. HBO What do you think it is about Ari? Why do you think people are so fascinated by him? ELLIN I think Piven brings a likeability factor to an asshole that very few people can do, you know. He makes him feel very real, and actually makes you believe that he cares while saying vulgar and grotesque things all the time. So I think that's what makes people relate to him. Underneath it all, he's probably a good guy. We don't see him cheating on his wife, we just hear him talking about it. And all his rants are kind of just empty speech, you know. At the end of the day he comes through. So I think people can relate to him as a real person. HBO A lot of people say they're tired of Hollywood insider stuff, yet they love Entourage. ELLIN Yeah, absolutely. The show is meant to be much closer to 'Diner' than to 'The Player.' It's not supposed to be a cynical look at Hollywood, it's supposed to be a look at friendship, and Hollywood just happens to be the backdrop. To me, these guys could be real estate brokers, they could be investment bankers, they could be medical interns. It's just about four friends, and how they're all trying to make it. HBO So how did you end up deciding to set it in Hollywood? ELLIN Well, we thought that was a great setting that you haven't seen. We thought, where could you take these four guys--where is a great place to take four childhood friends where they could have the keys to the kingdom? And that's what made it a Hollywood story. HBO Do you find it easy, personally, to come up with these storylines? Do you feel like it's all around you? ELLIN Nothing is ever easy. We've certainly worked really hard this year. But yeah, most of these stories come out of our lives. And I've taken character traits from people I've grown up with, so that makes it obviously an easier thing as well. We try to just take very real life situations and turn them into something--hopefully something comedic and dramatic.
Is there more drama on the horizon? ELLIN Yeah, yeah. Not serious like the dark underbelly of the world, but there is serious stuff. Relationships and things like that. Again, what we always try to go for is that 'Diner' feel, that 'Swingers' feel, just guys and their issues. Mid-twenties guys who are trying to figure out what it is they really want to do with their lives, who they want to spend their lives with. HBO You've said that you and the cast clicked from day one. Give us some quick impressions of the guys, starting with Piven. Why did you like him for the role? ELLIN The guy is just a genius comedically, but he also brings that reality to it that doesn't make it shtick-y, you know. He just captures it, he really captures it, and you can believe that everything he's saying is really true to life. HBO What about Adrian? ELLIN Adrian is the only guy in this town that was not a movie star when we started shooting that could have played this role. He brings that incredible believability to it-- it's sort of who he is in real life. He doesn't seem to care that much, but he does. He just kind of glides through life very, very smoothly. HBO What about Kevin Connolly? ELLIN Kevin Connolly is just like the every man. You know, everybody has got a friend like Connolly - - the loyal, always-there-for-you kind of guy. HBO So is that you? ELLIN They're all kind of me in some way, besides maybe Turtle. [LAUGHTER] He's probably the closest one to me, though, yeah. HBO And what about Kevin Dillon? ELLIN Kevin Dillon is a fricking genius, I mean, he's off the charts. What is so amazing about him is that he brings sympathy to that role, and like you were talking about before, it's like the Hollywood show, but he makes that relatable. Everybody knows the guy who's got the better looking brother, or the rich brother, and he makes every moment in this show have sympathy to it, you know, and you feel for the guy. Even if it's just something about an audition, you really care about him. And that's really Kevin bringing that to it. He is just a tremendous, tremendously talented guy. HBO And Jerry? ELLIN Jerry is also the real deal-- that's exactly what he is, off camera and on. He's just always got a smile on his face, always makes everybody else smile. So he's that guy who can get away with really being the leach of the group. There are very few people that could get away with that and you'd still go, I don't hate this kid. He's cute and loveable, you don't get mad at him, you want to hug him. HBO So have you embraced the Hollywood lifestyle? Do you live like these guys? ELLIN Not at all. I met my wife the day I moved out here, and I've been married for eight years now. So I'm not a big club scene goer or anything like that. But I've been friends with all these guys, and I listen, you know, to what they're doing. HBO What would you say you like the most about having some success in Hollywood? ELLIN You know what, the best thing to me is I can feed my kids. That's great for me. My kids and my dogs. |
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