Ellen Degeneres to freshen her talk show

AP: How does doing a talk show compare with doing standup?

Degeneres: Standup is more me talking the entire time. There’s definitely an exchange of energy because that room, that audience, is giving back. I say something and they respond in laughter. But it’s so much better for me to do a talk show. You still have that energy of the audience, and the audience is just as important as that guest that’s sitting next to me. It’s not about me and that guest exchanging energy and talking. It’s about everything that’s going on in that room, and they’re as much a part of the show as anything. I like this better than anything I’ve ever done.

AP: What’s the hardest part of the job?

Degeneres: Everything. It’s just the hardest thing I’ve ever done and it’s the best thing that I’ve ever done. I love this job. I love coming here every day. The whole show is me so I make every decision. It’s just constant decisions, constant writing the monologue every day and working on what’s going to make it special every single day. Then it’s time to do the show itself and I have to be completely present and completely on my toes to be impulsive and spontaneous. It’s just a lot of energy. I get home at the end of the day and I don’t want to talk. All I want to do is lay on the floor and pet my dogs and my cats.

AP: What did you do on your summer vacation?

Degeneres: I did a couple of American Express commercials and I had a couple photo shoots, so it wasn’t as much time (off) as I’d like. We have a ranch and we just went to our ranch and rode horses and gardened and did, you know, nothing.

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