Posts Tagged ‘speed the plow’

Jeremy Piven Arbitration Statement

March 25th, 2009

Jeremy Piven’s controversial, abrupt exit from his role in Broadway’s Speed-the-Plow is now coming to a head, as Actors’ Equity and the play’s producers gear up for an arbitration hearing in NYC on June 8 and 9.

 

The Entourage star left the show early, complaining of fatigue from mercury poisoning as a result of eating too much sushi.

 

And now, BroadwayWorld.com reports that Jeremy is speaking out with this official statement regarding the upcoming hearing, invoking Pres. Barack Obama’s name in his defense:

"After Mr. Piven was diagnosed with a potentially toxic Mercury level, he reluctantly left SPEED-THE-PLOW at the insistence of his doctors, who warned him that enforced rest was required to avoid severe medical problems, including a heart attack. Mr. Piven is looking forward to testifying in Arbitration along with his doctors so that the truth comes out about the very health serious risks caused by Mercury exposure, which the Obama administration has recently described as the world’s gravest chemical problem."

 

It goes on, and on, from there, as the Piv aims to clear his name.

No Deal for Jeremy Piven & Broadway Producers

February 26th, 2009

Jeremy Piven attended a union hearing earlier today with Speed-the-Plow’s producers to discuss his sudden exit from the Broadway show. Piven, who said he quit because he had toxic levels of mercury in his system, angered the show’s cast and backers who allegedly thought his excuse less than believable.

According to Jossip.com, Thursday’s hearing ended in a stalemate. The two sides released a joint statement:

"A grievance hearing was held today in accordance with the Equity-League Production Contract regarding the matter of Jeremy Piven and Speed-the-Plow. Following the terms of the collective bargaining agreement, a panel of five League representatives and five Equity representatives met and heard the positions of the parties. The League and Equity representatives were unable to reach a unanimous decision. The Producers have the right, as a next step, to proceed to arbitration."

TMZ has video of Jeremy arriving at the arbitration.

Piven Adds ‘Salt’ to His Sushi Story

January 15th, 2009

Is Jeremy Piven doing a little back-peddling here?

Last month the Entourage star said that he had to end his Broadway run early because of mercury poisoning, which he claimed that he suffered due to eating lots of sushi.

But this morning on Good Morning America, he told Diane Sawyer that his claim has to be taken "with a grain of salt".

When the host read Piven a statement from toxins expert Dr. Jeffrey R. Suchard which seemed to debunk his story, Piven seemed to falter a little.

Dr. Suchard said that it’s common for fans of fish to have up to six times the normal amount of mercury in their system — but it wouldn’t be a problem until they had hundreds, or even thousands of times the normal levels!

Faced with the docs words, Piven, who stopped showing up to perform in Speed The Plow in mid December — two months before it was due to close– told Diane: "You have to understand something — I’m not a doctor. I don’t even play one on TV, Diane. So you have to take everything I say with a grain of salt."

 

Let’s wait to see what the show’s producers (and their lawyers!) have to say about this latest development.

Broadway Backers Seek Investigation into Piven’s Departure

January 7th, 2009

Jeremy Piven raised more than a few eyebrows when he abrubptly left his role in Broadway’s Speed the Plow. And now, backers of the show are pushing for an  rinvestigation into the actor’s claim he had to leave due to Mercury poisoning.

The New York Post reports a source revealed that some backers are hoping to "squeeze some money out of him," since he destroyed "our chances of making a profit."

Speed the Plow was one week away from returning to it’s $3.5 million investment when Piven left for L.A., reportedly with a note from his doctor saying his love for sushi "elevated the levels of mercury" in his system.

The producers didn’t have star insurance on Piven. If they had, their insurance company would almost certainly investigate the actor’s claim before paying out any money. However, under the Actors’ Equity contract, the producers are entitled to have Piven’s medical records examined by another doctor. If they suspect fraud, they can sue him.

"If it turns out this is phony, it can really kill him," says a veteran producer who’s not involved in Speed the Plow.

On Tuesday, the show’s lead producer said that Piven has been examined by another doctor but kept the results private. "We’re in the process of discussing what our next step would be," he said.

Other top Broadway producers are reportedly not taking the news well. When asked what they would do if Speed the Plow was their show, one said of Piven, "I’d kill the jerk!."

 

"You have an obligation to your investors to make sure he did not get out of this in an illegal way," says another. "You have recourse, and if I had suspicions, I’d nail him."

"I’d only bother if the show fell short of recoupment," says a third. "But I’d let it be known that he’s destroyed his career in the theater."

 

Jeremy Piven Angers Broadway Castmates

December 22nd, 2008

Following Jeremy Piven’s sudden departure from David Mamet’s Broadway revival, Speed the Plow, his former castmates are speaking out about the Entourage star—and it ain’t pretty!

According to FoxNews.com, Piven’s former Plow castmates, Raul Esparza and Elizabeth Moss, decided to bash Piven after their performance and curtain call this weekend.

Esparza told the audience, "I’m sure you’ve read the headlines about the silliness in our show. Today was the first time I really enjoyed playing this show."

Esparza added, "I hope you weren’t expecting a big TV star."

 

Piven left the show last week, claiming he had mercury poisoning. He’d been playing opposite Esparza and Moss in the three character play for just a couple of months.

Jeremy Piven Leaves Broadway Show

December 18th, 2008

After calling in sick earlier this week and missing the Tuesday night and Wednesday matinee performances of Speed-the-Plow, Jeremy Piven has officially left the show. The cause? A high mercury count, according to his phsyician, Dr. Carlon Colker, who ordered immediate rest.

 

Dr. Carlon Colker tells Entertainment Tonight that Jeremy is suffering from extreme mercury toxicity, a major symptom of which is extreme fatigue, and reveals that the Entourage actor is disappointed that his fellow castmates and other members of the entertainment community haven’t rallied behind him.

 

So how did the Emmy winner get so much mercury in his system? Dr. Colker says Jeremy is a huge fan of sushi, often eating it twice in one day. That combined with certain Chinese herbs the actor is find of taking could have lead to the high mercury level, which is six times the healthy amount.

 

The play’s author David Mamet seemed to be trying to laugh off the abrupt exit, telling Daily Variety, "I talked to Jeremy on the phone, and he told me that he discovered that he had a very high level of mercury. So my understanding is that he is leaving show business to pursue a career as a thermometer."

 

No word yet on who will replace the Piv, but Mamet says "some really great actors will be helping out and stepping in."

 

Jeremy Piven Talks About Broadway Debut

October 23rd, 2008

You gotta hand it to the "Piv"… Since achieving world domination with his Emmy-winning role as Ari Gold on HBO’s Entourage, Jeremy Piven has been stretching his fame as far as he can. And who wouldn’t?

He’s got a role in Guy Ritchie’s new film RocknRolla (more on that later). And tonight, Piven makes his Broadway debut in David Mamet’s classic play Speed the Plow, a production close to the actor’s heart.

 

"David Mamet is a playwright who grew up in my hometown of Chicago," Piven tells Parade.com. "My father–no one actually knows this–was friends with David and he was the first person to give him money to start his Piven Theater Workshop. So there’s a lot of personal history."

Piven, who comes from what he calls "a theater family" describes his Broadway debut as "my Olympics. I just hope I’m ready for eight shows a week."

Piven’s self-deprecating side may seem out of character for a guy known mainly as the confident, brutally offensive agent Ari Gold on Entourage.

 

"I just am incredibly blessed that I get a chance to keep exploring the dualities of a tragically flawed, Type A wrecking ball," he says. "That’s why I work so hard to try and get better. Once you kind of make friends with fear and understand that it’s just a healthy energy, then you can walk right through it and just be totally present and give everything you have."

 

In Speed the Plow, Piven plays Bobby Gould, who’s head of production at a Hollywood studio. Asked whether he finds any similarity between Gould and Ari, Piven says, "Maybe, but I think Bobby would be trying to calm Ari down. I kind of have to whip myself into a frenzy to get into the state of high energy that Ari has. Ari is always fascinating to me because he’s so brutal and offensive, and at the same time, has so much love and is a monogamous husband and all these things. I’m having a blast and this season is more interesting than even the ones before it."

Audiences will next see Piven on the big screen in RocknRolla — a film getting a lot of press at the moment due to its director, Guy Ritchie’s, divorce from wife, Madonna. Despite being a three-time Emmy winner, Piven says he still felt a little star-struck when Mrs. Ritchie visited the set.

"Madonna came on the set and it was kind of crazy because she was so low key, just sitting in a chair," he says. "At first nobody noticed her. But once you did, it was just like the energy in the room just completely blew out of control and you couldn’t help staring."

Asked whether Guy was impressed with his Emmys, Piven said, "Are you kidding? Somebody asked him and he said, ‘Who’s Ari Gold?’ I found out there isn’t a lot of television watching allowed in their home."

While Madonna may still make him sweat, Piven is by far a bona fide star in his own right. Yet the actor seems to be taking it all in stride.

"My father always said that being a star means that you have a choice. That’s all it means," he says. "That you have a choice of what to do artistically. And I’ve never had a choice. And now I’m beginning to have choices. So if that’s what being a star is, then I welcome that."

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