Playwright Neil LaBute to Create Original Short Film Series for DirecTV

Satellite provider DirecTV will be expanding its original programming lineup with a series of short films that will be written and directed by playwright Neil LaBute. According to Deadline.com, the 10 films will air on the Audience Network, DirecTV's home for original and exclusive programming. LaBute will write, direct and produce the stand-alone tales.

The new film series is part of a previously reported ongoing relationship between the satellite provider and the LaBute. The upcoming DirecTV series Full Circle is based upon scripts by LaBute, but he wanted to have greater creative control on his next television effort. "Although I am incredibly proud of my scripts for Full Circle, I was disappointed I was not available to be a part of the production," LaBute said in a statement. "That fact drove home for me how important it is, from an artistic standpoint, to roll up my sleeves and immerse myself in all aspects of the creative process on television."

DirecTV and LaBute are aiming for a quick turnaround for the new series, with production set to begin in September and the films slated to begin airing in the late fall. "We are proud that Neil has chosen DirecTV as the first place to write, produce and direct his own material," said DirecTV's SVP Chris Long in a statement. "The films will be produced with a true auteur model; we’re striving for the least possible distance between the artist’s vision and the final product."

LaBute’s plays include Broadway.com Audience Choice Award winner Reasons to be Pretty, Reasons to be Happy, Fat Pig, The New Testament, Some Girl(s) and The Shape of Things. His films work includes Your Friends & Neighbors, Nurse Betty, Possession and Death at a Funeral.