Jeremy Piven, who plays Ari Gold on HBO’s hit series “Entourage,” canceled his Monday appearance at UF.
Piven cited he had other professional obligations to attend, said Jason Atterman, chairman of the Accent Speakers Bureau, which was sponsoring the event.
Atterman said Accent will try to reschedule the show.
“I, along with the entire Accent staff, would like to give our deepest apologies,” Atterman wrote in a statement. “Unfortunately, we must sometimes accept a speaker’s professional priorities.”
Piven was scheduled to receive $85,000 for his speech.
Past performers like Demetri Martin, Zach Braff and Mike Rowe were paid $60,000 each.
dwftw10
While I agree that 85 grand may be a bit excessive, I do think Piven is more "notable" (whether rightfully or wrongfully so) then Rowe, especially for a college town where I'm sure there are a LOT of students who watch Entourage (especially nowadays when people can just find it online). I think somewhere around $75,000 would've made more sense.
delysid
Didn't he pull this same stunt on Broadway, backing out of his contract citing acute mercury ingestion as his excuse? 85,000 dollars for the schmo from PCU?? Come on, you could get two more Flaming Lips shows out of that budget. Jeremy Piven is a tool, no offense, he does OK work, but he shouldn't even get 85,000 dollars for his acting roles.
pcola2234
why in the world are we paying someone $85,000 to speak here?!?! I've never heard of this guy, is he worth that much?
I completely understand paying someone like Rowe $60,000, because he is a notable guy, and a lot of people would be interested in seeing him. Someone like Bill Clinton or Rush Limbaugh would make sense to pay that amount, but $85,000 seems excessive