"I could do this the rest of my life," he said.
His goal for "Entourage" is to finish at least eight seasons, and then maybe some more. The show has already won three Emmys but has yet to capture one for best series.
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A definite upswing
'Entourage' creator Doug Ellin has lived the fickleness of Hollywood. His show's Vince is going to learn all about it too.
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"I do have a dream about winning [for best series] in Season 10 after losing nine seasons in a row," he said.
One reason "Entourage" has lasted so long is that -- unlike other insider Hollywood projects -- it does not satirize its material, Ellin said. And the show is really more about friendship than Hollywood itself.
"Obviously Hollywood is big in the show, but at the end of the day, it's about these guys sticking together and helping each other out with their lives. That's what people relate to," said Ellin. "When I meet people, they always tell me, 'I know a Vince. . . . " Or an Eric (played by Kevin Connolly) or a Turtle (Jerry Ferrara) or a Johnny "Drama" (Kevin Dillon as Vince's brother).
Still, Ellin gets upset if someone, especially from the media, criticizes the show for not revealing the underside of Hollywood -- such as the prevalence of drugs.
But Ellin said the show -- with the possible exception of Dillon's character -- is taken from "real" situations and that neither he nor his friends took drugs.
In fact, everyday events are grist for the mill, he said, citing the arrest of actor Shia LaBeouf earlier this summer on suspicion of DUI. In LaBeouf's passenger seat was Grenier's former girlfriend, Isabel Lucas.
Might that be in the show? "Maybe. Anything is possible."
However, one of the biggest events to hit the industry in recent years, the writers strike, will not appear in Season 5. The 100-day strike delayed the start of the show's season from June to September and also cut its order of episodes from the usual 14 to 12.
Of course, there's always a potential actors strike. But Ellin said, "The writers strike was so devastating, I'm trying to pretend the actors strike isn't happening. I think the town's ignoring it. I'm ignoring it."
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lynn.smith@latimes.com
