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Exclusive Podcast: ‘Entourage’ Creator Discusses Season Four Secrets

Jun 18, 2007  •  Post A Comment

The outrageous behavior exhibited by the director character Billy Walsh in the fourth season premiere of HBO’s “Entourage” Sunday night was not an exaggeration of creator-executive producer Doug Ellin’s on-set experiences.
In fact, he based the character on a fellow “Entourage” exec producer Rob Weiss and he’s seen “much worse,” he said.
Mr. Ellin detailed some of the most incredible antics he has witness in the business of film during Monday’s exclusive Backlot Talk podcast, with TelevisionWeek Managing Editor Melissa Grego.
“Sexual problems have derailed entire movies,” he said in discussing the storyline in which Walsh gets completely distracted by a beautiful actress. Episode 43, “Welcome to the Jungle,” depicting the filming of a $30 million feature in Colombia from the point-of-view of a behind-the-scenes filmmaker, was produced within the typical budget of an episode of “Entourage.” Mr. Ellin said the show is shot for approximately $2 million per episode.
Mr. Ellin also revealed some things about episodes to come in season four, including the fact that the recent shoot at “The Young & The Restless” had to do with a Mrs. Ari storyline. The former soap actress marks a return to her professional roots in an episode scheduled to air about five weeks from now.
We’ll also meet Lloyd’s boyfriend and see some A-list cameos.
Mary J. Blige is scheduled to appear in the season’s eighth episode, as a client of Ari’s in an arc that shows how Ari deals with a Grammy-winning recording artist.
Directors Peter Jackson and M. Night Shyamalan also will appear on the show.
Mr. Ellin is not sweating the end of “The Sopranos,” which gave “Entourage” a great lead-in during the second half of season three. While it was great exposure, following “The Sopranos” also was a lot of pressure, he said. Mr. Ellin called the “Entourage” audience is loyal. He expects them to keep finding the series as long as he and his colleagues keep up creatively.
For more scoops on season four, go to TVWeek.com’s Backlot Talk to listen to the full podcast.

2 Comments

  1. It kinda sounded like he said they shot “Welcome to the Jungle” for 2 mil, not every episode.
    Melissa: This was a good interview you kept pushing him for hints on the upcoming season, nicely done. Pretty wrong about Drama being the better actor though . . .
    Overall, thanks for a great interview!!!!

  2. Hi Janaki. Thanks for listening.
    Hmmm. I heard he may have pushed the budget a bit but that it was still within the typical $2 mill-ish. I’ll have a listen again and follow up on that next week. …
    Ha! Re. Drama, I dunno, I’m responding more to what we’ve seen over the series. I kinda took it as Adrien playing Vince brilliantly as a good but not great actor.
    Again, I guess we all take different things from any creation.
    Melissa.

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