Jeremy Piven seemed fully recovered from mercury poisoning at Thursday night’s “Entourage” premiere in LA. Spies at the Belvedere-hosted soiree on the Paramount lot told us, “Piven was looking Hayden Panettiere up and down in between sips of vodka and soda.” The 19-year-old “Heroes” starlet was with Alexis Dziena, who was in one episode of the HBO show, while Jamie-Lynn Sigler cuddled with beau Jerry Ferrara, who plays Turtle.
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What could possibly bring Jeremy Piven to his knees? Fish. In the August issue of Men’s Fitness, the “Entourage” star recalls his infamous mercury poisoning incident.
“I haven’t touched a piece of fish in nine months, and I’ve finally taken a break,” he says of the days following his illness, which led him to leave his Broadway stint in “Speed-the-Plow.”
“If you don’t balance your life, you’re going to be brought to your knees —that’s basically what happened to me.”
Since then, Piven has taken up yoga. “[My preconception was] you have to wear a leotard,” he jokes. “I mean, do you have to wear a bindi and hold incense?” But now, he credits lotus poses and downward facing dogs for giving him the calm to play Ari Gold on the TV show. “Ari’s got some quick-twitch anger,” Piven says. “To do that repeatedly, you have to come from a place of stillness.”
Namaste, Jeremy!
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Jeremy Piven (total yummy hotness – sorry but I love this guy)
Jets Head Coach Rex Ryan
Whoopi Goldberg (she always look like the Cheshire Cat to me)
Will Ferrell
Cheech and Chong
Sean “Diddy” Combs
John Legend
Ciara
Chris Robinson
Check out all the rest here:
http://www.nba.com/knicks/photogallery/courtsidecelebs0902.html?curPhoto=0
JEREMY PIVEN is on the hook. He goes before the grievance committee of Actors’ Equity tomorrow to defend his much-snickered-at claim that high levels of mercury in his bloodstream, brought on by a passion for sushi, forced him to abandon the Broadway revival of David Mamet’s “Speed-the-Plow.”
Piven is expected to attend the hearing, which will be held at Equity headquarters on West 46th Street, so that he can make his case in person, sources told The Post.
“It’s my understanding that he’ll be there – unless he has too much sushi on the plane from LA,” joked a person involved in the proceedings.
The producers of “Speed-the-Plow” brought Piven up on charges with Equity, arguing that his abrupt departure in December from the $3.5 million production wreaked havoc with their recoupment schedule.
Piven will appear before a committee of five actors and five producers. He is expected to brandish the results of a blood test given to him by his doctor, and will likely give a blow-by-blow account of his illness during the show.
Last month, Piven agreed to a blood test administered by a doctor hired by the producers of “Speed-the-Plow.”
The results of that test have not been revealed, but the producers are expected to allege that long before he claimed to be ill, Piven was agitating to leave the show.
He called several prominent actors on his own and begged them to replace him, sources said. He was also overheard telling people backstage that he was “bored out of his mind” in the show.
The producers also have a record of where Piven’s car and driver took him after performances, sources say.
Although Piven claimed he was so ill that he often went home after the show, sources say the log shows that he spent many nights out on the town.
The producers will also point out that in the past, many ailing stars have taken a leave of absence from a show but have returned when they felt better.
“Unless it’s a life-or-death situation, you usually find a temporary replacement and then negotiate a return,” said a producer not involved with “Speed-the-Plow.”
Piven informed the producers he was sick, then jumped on a plane to Los Angeles and announced he was not returning to the show.
“There was no discussion, no negotiation – he was just gone,” said a source.
If the grievance committee rules against Piven, it can force him to settle financially with the producers. If he refuses to abide by the committee’s decision, he can be expelled from the union – and the producers are free to go after him in civil court.
Although there are five actors on the committee, theater sources say Piven should not count on their support.
“I don’t think many theater actors are in favor of what he’s doing,” a veteran producer said. “They take jobs on Broadway very seriously, and he’s a Hollywood actor, behaving like one.”
Another top producer not involved with “Speed-the-Plow” pointed out that Equity has a responsibility to Piven’s co-stars, Raul Esparza and Elisabeth Moss, who were said to be upset with his behavior.
“What is the union telling a professional like Esparza, if they protect Jeremy Piven?” the producer said.
Reps for Piven could not be reached in time for comment.
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This week in Page Six Magazine, a story entitled “Is Jeremy Piven the biggest jerk in showbiz?” asks the rhetorical question in a four page article.
From the article:
“Since ditching Broadway after announcing he had mercury poisoning from eating too much sushi, some in Hollywood, the theater community and the media are finding it hard to swallow his fishy story. But is it because the excuse is so unusual—or because his bratty reputation precedes him?
Page Six Magazine writer Annie Karni reports that Jeremy Piven doesn’t always take kindly to direction. At a September Page Six Magazine photo shoot to promote his starring role in the Broadway revival of Speed-the-Plow, the actor was in a foul mood. “This isn’t my first time on the merry-go-round,” he shot at a staffer who asked that he pose for a traditional headshot and make eye contact with the camera. “You want mediocre? I can give you mediocre.” He mocked the crew by grinning like he was posing for a DMV shot. An hour later, Jeremy didn’t want to give mediocre anymore. He popped his collar. He ducked under the photographer so that the camera would catch him at a height-enhancing angle. Letting out a gutteral moan, he ripped the sleeves off a $350 Giorgio Armani shirt.”
All this and more in this week’s issue of Page Six Magazine, free inside the Sunday New York Post and available at www.pagesixmag.com.
Jeremy Piven, who lost to Wilkinson in the supporting category — a rarity for Piven, whose Ari on HBO’s “Entourage” has garnered a lot of statues. Piven has had a rough few weeks since leaving the Broadway play “Speed the Plow” claiming he was felled by mercury poisoning. Since then, the press has been a horror, with the New York tabs accusing Piven of everything short of treason or genocide.
So here now is Piven’s side of things, as he explained it to me last night: “I was so sick for most of the run of the show. Some days I would sleep right until the time I had to go to the theater. I didn’t know what was wrong with me. I was exhausted. Finally, I went to a doctor at Greenwich Hospital in Connecticut just so it wouldn’t turn into a circus. He said, ‘you’ve got to stop working.’ My heart rate was 47. My mercury level was off the charts. I hadn’t had a real break in 20 years of acting.’”
Many people are skeptical of Piven’s mercury excuse. Playwright David Mamet told the papers of Piven: “He wants to be a thermometer.” Piven told me that was a funny line. “But what do you expect? He’s a great writer.” Piven told me he had nothing but respect for co-star Raul Esparza, even though Esparza has bad mouthed him publicly since the exit. Last night at the HBO party, Piven spoke for the first time to his other ex-castmate, Elizabeth Moss. “We’re okay,” Jeremy told me. “She said she understood. She knew how much I put into the play.”
Piven does suspect the play’s producers of fueling the fire in the New York press. He doesn’t care. “My life has always been in the theater. I was raised in the theater.” And the truth is, Piven could not have gotten out of the play without a real diagnosis for insurance purposes. He says that years of being a fish eating vegetarian was enough to do the trick and act as a catalyst.
Some reality, not just opinion: Piven has no negative history in Hollywood or New York of shirking his duties. In fact, he’s been a reliable player in all media. It’s not like he’s ever had trouble on a set. And it wasn’t like he was trying to get out of “Speed the Plow” because of poor reviews. Critics and audiences loved his Bobby Gould. So maybe, just maybe, there’s nothing so fishy about Piven’s exit. Plus, business was good.
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The sex-mad hypochondriac, who’s in Thailand recovering from “mercury poisoning” after eating too much sushi, apparently can’t get enough of Mansion NYC employees, either. Not only did he hook up with waitress Ashley Chontos, he’s also been seeing hostess Brandi Harper. Harper, an African-American stunner who is studying cosmetology, met Piven backstage through friends after seeing him in “Speed-the-Plow.” A source said, “They went out several times, and she saw him the day before he became sick and had to leave the play. He was fine with her, though.” Piven has since been texting and calling Harper several times a day. “She was surprised when she found out he’d been seeing Ashley – but she didn’t really care,” the friend said. Harper told us, “I know Jeremy, and he is a gentleman.”
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Actor Jeremy Piven apparently wasn’t so popular with his Broadway cast mates in the revival of David Mamet’s “Speed the Plow.”
After yesterday’s matinee, the remaining actors — Raul Esparza and Elizabeth Moss — bashed Piven to their audience after their curtain call.
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.
Sources say that when the matinee was finished yesterday, Esparza suddenly addressed the audience. (Actor Jordan Lage, Piven’s understudy, played the role of Bobby Gould.)
According to those who saw this, Esparza — famous for being outspoken — reamed Piven while Moss, my sources say, “sobbed.”
“’He said, I’m sure you’ve read the headlines about the silliness in our show.’ Then he said, Today was the first time I really enjoyed playing this show.’ I hope you weren’t expecting a big TV star.” It was pretty emotional.”
Esparza has a reputation for being lively — and much of a diva himself. A couple of years ago, I watched him walk out of the dress rehearsal for the musical “Taboo,” when he didn’t like something producer Rosie O’Donnell said to him from the orchestra. Esparza stormed off the stage, went home and took a bath. That’s Broadway, kids!
“Speed the Plow” will continue its run through February, with Oscar nominee William H. Macy, who’s performed the David Mamet play in the past, taking over for the duration of the run. First, Tony winner Norbert Leo Butz, who was so good in the Broadway musical “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,” gets a crack at fast talking Bobby Gould for a couple of weeks.
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