HBO’s ‘Entourage’ Gets Warner Bros Movie Greenlight: Creator Doug Ellin To Direct
EXCLUSIVE: Vinnie Chase and Ari Gold are back, baby. Warner Bros has tonight given the greenlight on a movie version of Entourage, the HBO series that ran from 2004-2011. That’s about as far as the studio has gotten at this point, and there is no start date. But it’s a reprise for the inside Hollywood exploits of the up and coming film star, his agent, his manager, his under-appreciated TV actor brother and the childhood pal/driver who form his inner circle. The film will be directed by series creator Doug Ellin, who wrote the screenplay and who exec produced the series with Mark Wahlberg and Stephen Levinson. Deals are starting to be made with Adrian Grenier who played Vinnie, Kevin Connolly who played his manager Eric “E” Murphy, Kevin Dillon who played the actor’s brother Johnny Drama, Jerry Ferrara who played their entrepreneurial driver Turtle, and of course Jeremy Piven who played the show’s iconic Type A talent agent-turned movie studio mogul Ari Gold.
Related: EXCLUSIVE: ‘Entourage’ Movie Screenplay Finally Completed By Creator Doug Ellin
Related: The End Of ‘Entourage’: Whaddya Think?
In September 2012, the HBO series ended its 8th and final season with soap opera schmaltz but also a Hollywood cliffhanger. Agent Ari Gold becoming a newly minted studio mogul obviously set up the movie which series’ WME packaging agent Ari Emanuel (the prototype for Gold) and executive producers Mark Wahlberg and Steven Levinson want so badly. Ellin says that Wahlberg keeps promising “to kill me if I don’t write faster. Every time I see him, Mark says, ‘I’ve made 5 movies this year. Get going!” Ellin needed time off after spending “10 years of my life” on the TV series that premiered on HBO in 2004. He told Deadline his script starts about 6 months after the TV series leaves off. “There are interesting developments about Ari as a studio head, and that’s still the first page for me. But foremost is the friendship between the guys who are still hanging out and going to fun parties, and it continues with the same characters.” Ellin has kept in touch with all the key castmembers especially Connolly (“E”) and Ferrara (Turtle”) who are two of Ellin’s closest friends. All the Entourage actors have been getting other gigs while HBO has been paying Ellin for the script. Hopefully Drama’s agent Lloyd (Rex Lee), E’s girl Sloan (Emmanuelle Chriqui), his management partner Scott (Scott Caan), their quirky director collaborator Billy Walsh (Rhys Coiro) and Ari’s agency partner Barbara Miller (Beverly D’Angelo) will all be in the mix, along with a swarm of real Hollywood VIPs playing themselves. While some naysayers might think this HBO-to-film has no shot, the first Sex And The City did really well.
Enough, HBO. You should really give a green light to Deadwood. That is the future Oscar-nominated David Milch film that’s waiting to happen. If they can make True Grit for a low price, so can they make Deadwood.
I agree. I’d love to see a Deadwood movie.
I concur but Timothy Olyphant is tied up with “Justified”.
Hopefully they can tie Deadwood up. Entourage and Deadwood both ended without a resolution, but Deadwoods quality was always the same. The Entourage movie needs to hit the quality level of the middle seasons. I would love to see Olyphant work on films in-between seasons of Justified (he would be a perfect Dr. Strange….)
I agree. Deadwood needs a movie before Entourage does.
HAHAHAHAHHAHA Entourage is the sickest show to ever be on tv, shh.
Well Deadwood is now 10 years ago. If you mean getting the actors into a movie that might be tough, some are getting very old.
Yeah, how about making a Deadwood movie. That would be the sh&%.
Go fuck yourself.Entourage is the best!
Entourage is the best show ever! I still watch it on my iPhone. I can’t wait for the movie!
I hate everything about this comment.
I’m with you. I’m amazed at how much awfulness it contains!
Thanks, Deb. I needed that laugh.
HA HA HA HA! Perfect response!
Ah yes: brand snobbery, the warm blanket of the massively insecure. Lighten up, lady. Entourage is a funny show. The guy misses it, and what shows do you watch? HBO’s unwatchable Girls? If my mother watches Entourage and laughs, that means you are more uptight than my 60-year-old mom.
Don’t listen to them Chris. I love the show too. I thought the final season was a little too short and unfocused for my liking but a movie will go a long way to flesh out what happened to the gang.I too say VICTORY!!
Please who hate or bash about this series; never really had good friends…So not to worry…. Haters will Hate…
how can it not begreat i hope its three to four hours long cant wait to add it to my collection
How are going to get all those actors back together for this with their busy schedules? Not sure how they will pull this off
There is no way Adrian Grenier is going to have time to film this. Or for that matter Kevin Dillon. These guys are so in demand, its going to be tough to make the scheduling work.
Add to that both of their Oscar campaigns. Yeah, wouldn’t hold my breath.
Are you all being sarcastic? They are doing nothing…
I think you answered your own question.
Jeremy Piven is filming Sin City sequal, which finishes shortly.
Kevin Dillon has a film filming also that will also finish shortly.
Adrian Grenier has finished his film and is vacant
I also have a “film filming that will also finish shortly”
And my calendar is free…
I am on a TV Show that is finishing soon. Lets do it.
I agree… I miss that show! I miss the light side of Hollywood, and the rapport of the boys.
I will be first in line hoping the transition from small to big screen is successful, and maybe date I say sequel worthy!!!
I took that studio job and my wife divorced me so I traded up and married a sexy Asian college girl who adores me. About fucking time for this movie. What the hell took so damn long?
Don’t look now, Ari. That “sexy Asian college girl” is named Lloyd. Just how drunk were you, anyway? Hah, this movie writes itself!
So did the series, judging by how utterly lazy it was after the first two seasons.
Busy schedules? What are any of them really doing now except for Scott Caan? Unless you were being sarcastic, in which I applaud you.
Why would they need to work after such a successful series run? They all have more money they they’ll ever need.
Or was that bitterness?
The second one.
It was sarcasm
There’s nothing Hollywood loves better than movies about Hollywood. The industry’s narcissism knows no bounds. Hope there’s enough hand lotion to go around for this project.
warners has lost their minds
Oh it probably won’t be hard because none of them have been working since the show ended
Scott Caan in Hawaii five-0 and Jerry in Think Like a Man.
Oh and Jeremy in Mr. Selfrigde and Kevin Connolly’s voice in Best Buy commercials.
Emmanuelle Chriqui has been doing voice overs for shows like Tron Uprising
Jeremy Piven has and Jerry Ferrara has done 4 movies…Think Like A Man…Last Vegas…Flight 7500 and another
Great News!! Entourage is one my favorite shows and really look forward to the movie!!