Guest star Zac Efron and series regular Jeremy Piven hung out on the set of HBO’s “Entourage” earlier today. Some lucky fans got to snap their pix with the pair before they left the set in Beverly Hills, CA.

Jeremy Piven seems to be recovering nicely from that nasty “mercury poisoning” that caused him to drop out of the Broadway revival of “Speed the Plow.” He’s been seen partying all over NYC and L.A., including here at this weekend’s CAA bash honoring Tom Cruise.

Let’s face it —nobody bought into the sushi overdose defense. Now E!’s Ted Casablanca reports that Jeremy Piven was fired from the Broadway play “Speed the Plow” due to his egomanical behavior, which included showing up two minutes before curtain time and treating the rest of the cast like dirt. A source claims ”He wanted out of his contract for about a month—he was trying to get out of it.”

Piven may have burned his bridges with the theater crowd—for good. The source continued, “Don’t expect to see him welcomed back on Broadway ever again.”

What is it with these actors who get one hit TV show and think they’re Sir Laurence Olivier?

Some of his former castmates are happy to see him gone, but Jeremy Piven’s departure from the Broadway play “Speed the Plow” may wind up costing them their jobs. Things are pretty bleak lately on B’Way, with many plays closing. The revival of “Speed the Plow” may be joining them as ticket sales have plummeted since Piven left the play, citing illness die to “mercury poisoning.” Grosses have dropped nearly $160,000 from the previous week and the show is playing to half-empty houses. 

William H. Macy is scheduled to take over the role in mid-January—if the show doesn’t close before then.

Variety reports that “Entourage” actor Jeremy Piven has exited his role in David Mamet’s Broadway  revival of “Speed the Plow.” The actor missed Tuesday evening and Wednesday matinee performances, saying he wasn’t feeling well due to a high mercury count. Mamet sounded like he wasn’t buying Piven’s excuse.

“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.”

Wonder if “high mercury count” will become the trendy new celeb malady, replacing “exhaustion” and ” dehydration?”

Okay, so they’re not back on your TV screen just yet, but they will be in no time. In fact, our photogs spotted the Entourage crew already filming at Urth Cafe in West Hollywood yesterday. Everyone was there, including Jeremy Piven. The last time I posted a story on Jeremy, homeboy looked like he was about to choke on a salad. Thank goodness he was a much stronger force than lettuce, or else we wouldn’t have Ari Gold’s beautiful sarcasm this fall. Yes, the boys will be back this fall. They’re like a football team – they’re currently going through summer camp right now. They’ll be in tip-top shape come September, when Season 5 begins. If you can’t wait to see them until then, check out the other pics of the boys below. Enjoy.

Entourage star Jeremy Piven was spotted arriving at a West Hollywood gym with a mystery woman today. I don’t have a picture of the mystery woman, so you’ll just have to imagine her. I’m just wondering where his gym bag is. Does he work out in jeans or something? He’s won two Emmy’s, so I guess he can work out in whatever article of clothing he wants. Next up for the man that plays Ari? Jeremy is starring in Guy Ritchie’s (Mr. Madonna) upcoming movie, RocknRolla. The movie is set to open this year on Halloween.

I like Jeremy Piven. He plays ‘obnoxious jerks’ very well, especially in Entourage. Thus, it pains me to see him not chewing his food and almost choking. Case in point – a recent lunch outing with a friend at Kings Road Cafe in West Hollywood. Jeremy orders a salad and obviously enjoys it – a bit too much. He starts to choke, to the shock of his company. Thankfully he gets a hold of himself (and the greenery) and enjoys the rest of his salad without any problems. Whew, close call. Next time, just sit back and enjoy your meal, Jeremy. You have a hit show. There’s no time to choke on a salad. Vince needs a hit movie.

We have exclusive photos of Jeremy Piven on the set of his new movie, Abatu. The movie was originally titled The Goods: The Don Ready Story, but has been changed to Abatu. I know you’re wondering just like I am why they changed the title, so I’ll definitely share when I find out. The film is a comedy about a used car liquidator who is hired to save a struggling dealership during a Fourth of July weekend sale. I can definitely see Jeremy Piven in this movie as a liquidator. He has that salesman schtick about him – so Ari Gold. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, though. He can definitely play a-holes with the best of them and I prefer him playing the bad guy roles. These are compliments, by the way. The film is the first comedy under Will Ferrell’s production company, Gary Sanchez Productions. The two have appeared together in a couple of films including my personal favorite, Old School, and are very good friends. The film won’t be released until 2009, but we have more pictures from the set to hold you over until then. Good times!

We caught up with Jeremy Piven and his niece Pearl on the set of ‘The Goods: The Don Ready Story’ yesterday on an unusually wet Southern California day. Pearl, as you might recall, became infamous for her role as The Landlord in Will Ferrell’s internet sketch, ‘The Landlord.’ From the looks of the pictures, Jeremy’s been teaching little Pearl the Ari Gold style of management. Just look at the picture above, it looks like Jeremy just said to Pearl, “Sweety, call that lady a bitch and then stick your tongue out at her!” Check out the infamous clip of Pearl and Will Ferrell below.