Piven Avoids Penalties for "Mercury Poisoning"
At a three-hour Actors' Equity Association hearing yesterday, actor Jeremy Piven convinced panel members that his early departure from the Broadway production of Speed-the-Plow this winter was due to mercury poisoning after all, and therefore not in violation of his contract.
Skeptical producers filed a grievance against Piven in January, contending that the actor may have been bored with the play or eager to return to Hollywood, rather than suffering from mercury poisoning at all. But the 10-person panel at the hearing was split down the middle by Piven's reportedly tear-filled story; a majority vote would have been required in order to take any action against the actor.
The hearing was led by a committee of five members of Actors’ Equity — who all ultimately sided with Mr. Piven — and five members of the Broadway League, who tend to reflect producers’ interests. The five League members ended up agreeing with the producers’ position.
Piven told the Times that that he had been “incredibly sick” since the second week of rehearsals for Speed-the-Plow. “The biggest misconception was that this all came out of the blue in December and that I came down with this ‘sushi-gate’ stuff,” he said. “At times I was incapable of getting enough oxygen to get my lines out on stage, and sometimes I’d forget where I was in the play. This misconception that I was out partying was wrong.”
Read the full New York Times story here. What do you think? Was Piven really sick, or was he just making excuses to return to sunny L.A.?
-- Daniel Lehman
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