Results tagged “mercury”

Someone slipped the 44-page ruling in the Jeremy Piven sushi saga to the Times, and it's a must-read for the Piven completist. You'll recall (because we wouldn't let you forget) that last December the Smokin' Aces star abruptly quit the Broadway production of Speed-the-Plow, claiming that excessive seafood consumption—not excessive partying—had left him exhausted with "dangerously high" mercury levels. But we never found out exactly what unfolded during the emotional, three-day arbitration hearing in June. Until now.

People, throw the fish back in the water. That is what the city is making sure to remind New Yorkers of with new signage going up at fishing spots around town. This comes after the Daily News discovered that old signs had worn away or were non-existent while fishing for food among lower-income New Yorkers is on the rise. The signs warning of high levels of carcinogens such as PCBs and mercury don't sound likely to deter the fishermen though—they tell the paper that contaminated fish beats an empty dinner plate. While Senator Schumer is asking the federal government to update its guidelines on what fish is safe, the mayor has basically said pish posh to all this, that people should "use common sense" when dealing with city waters. Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum is taking him to task for that, calling the mayor "out of touch" with the low-income fishermen, whom she says "we need to protect." A spokesman from the mayor shot back, "There are actually still a lot of people in government who work on solutions instead of just calling people names."

Despite its well established, over-fished status and repeated toxicological demonstrations of dangerously high mercury levels, slices of bluefin tuna are still very much highly prized on menus all over town. Last night, organization Greenpeace staged an action at Nobu in TriBeCa, where activists "dressed in blazers and billowy dresses like any other weekend-night patrons," according to the Times. Keeping with the near-extinction vibe, activists "carried make-believe menus with endangered-species dishes, like 'Rack of Mountain Gorilla Seasoned with Powdered Rhino Horn' ($32.00)." When Nobu's management figured out what was going on, the protesters simply left the restaurant; some apparently "even tipped the wait staff". One activist also claimed to the Times that others had stayed on at the restaurant for an hour more, affixing fake menus to bathroom stall doors.

Jeremy Piven is expected to appear live and in person before an Actors' Equity grievance committee tomorrow in order to defend himself against producers of Speed-the-Plow who accuse him of faking mercury poisoning last December to escape his contractual obligation to the Broadway production. It was originally assumed that Piven's lawyers would plead his case, but the Posts's Michael Riedel says the hard-partying actor is expected to surface. Unless, as one producer quipped, he "has too much sushi on the plane from LA." Hey-oh! When he quit, Piven's physician claimed the mercury levels in the star's blood were "very elevated," and last month Piven agreed to a second blood test administered by a doctor hired by the producers. (The results of that test are not known.) If the grievance committee rules against Piven, he'll be forced to settle financially with the producers or risk expulsion from the stage union. And though there are five actors on the committee, the unnamed producer says that doesn't necessarily bode well for Piven: "I don't think many theater actors are in favor of what he's doing. They take jobs on Broadway very seriously, and he's a Hollywood actor, behaving like one."

In a world torn by war, with an economy in ruins, it's nice to know we've still got Jeremy Piven's antics to take our minds off things—his abrupt departure from the modestly successful Broadway revival of David Mamet's Speed-the-Plow has outraged the show's producers and cast members.Yesterday Piven's doctor, Carlon Colker, said he ordered Piven to withdraw from the production because of "elevated levels of mercury" in his blood, ostensibly caused by the hard-partying actor's penchant for sushi and Chinese herbs, which can contain heavy metals.

[CASTING UPDATE BELOW] Entourage star Jeremy Piven has gone from calling out sick to simply quitting his current gig on Broadway in David Mamet's Speed-the-Plow. Mamet tells 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." (Promises, promises.)

The Times ran a follow-up today about their investigation that found abnormally high levels of mercury in fish served at area restaurants. Toxicology reports from 44 pieces of sushi, ordered from places including Nobu Next Door and Sushi Seki, may in fact contribute to some New Yorkers’ 3 times higher-than-average blood levels of mercury. It turns out, however, that most New Yorkers just don’t care.