Thursday, June 3, 2010

Doug Ellin Talks Directing

If you're ever wondering why Doug Ellin (the show's creator) doesn't direct more episodes, The Hollywood Reporter spoke with Ellin about the crazy life of a showrunner and the little time he has to actually direct:

Doug Ellin -- who had credits as a feature film director before he got his first encounter with television on "Entourage," the show he created and now runs -- has directed only two episodes of the HBO comedy, including the upcoming Season 7 premiere set for June 27.

"The only reason I don't direct more is because we're writing the scripts and we only have two writers," he says -- though he then acknowledges another reason: As showrunner, he exerts much of the power a feature director would: "At the end of the day, I like when I'm in total charge. I'm sort of a psycho egomaniac."


A directing day for Ellin is similar to one he had during production on Season 7. "I directed a three-page scene, then went into editing on another that we had to lock down, then went and wrote a scene for another episode, and had to look for music for a midseason episode and then back to directing," Ellin says.

He calls directing "his favorite part," but admits that when a show has an established look and tone, it isn't crucial that he do it. "I try and bring what I can to it, but the director's job isn't to create a new show week-to-week."

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