‘Entourage’ movie delayed because of Jeremy Piven’s pay?
Finally, the problem behind the “Entourage” movie is coming into focus. With most of the cast saying they were ready to start filming, but executive producer Mark Wahlberg claiming greed was delaying the process, it was Adrian Grenier who shared his true feelings on the impasse. He wanted his fellow cast members to get deals that would compensate them equally.
The issue at hand, according to THR, is Jeremy Piven (Ari Gold) has a deal that will give him a piece of the back end, should the movie become profitable. While it would seem logical that the rest of the cast would be on par with Piven, they say that Jeremy has always had a better deal than his costars, because he’s was the biggest name on the show. He also won three Emmys for the role. Piven revealed on Twitter that he signed his deal for the movie in August.
The problem with the cast holding out for more money is Warner Bros. doesn’t want the budget to go above $30 million, so Wahlberg and fellow executive producer Stephen Levinson are having to find a solution.
Naturally the cast wants what’s rightfully theirs, should the movie become a “Sex and the City”-sized hit, but for that to become a possibility it has to get made. Another thing complicating matters is a ticking clock. One condition Warner Bros. has for the movie being made is that it needs to take advantage of a California tax credit, which would save some of the budget. However, an insider tells THR for that to happen production needs to begin by January 2014.
Perhaps that’s what Kevin Connolly was referring to when he told a photographer that the movie would be going forward in January. However, he also said everybody was ready to go, which really doesn’t seem to be the case.