Evanston native Jeremy Piven has left the hit Broadway revival of David Mamet's "Speed The Plow" due to high levels of mercury. Yep, lots of mercury all in his body. Piven's exit does not come without skepticsm, specifically from Mamet himself: "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." more ›

The best part about DVR-ing ABC’s 60th Primetime Emmys last night was that you could fast forward through Josh Groban’s embarrassing theme show montage and could rewind and re-watch the Gervais/Carell game of comedy chicken. Cheers, technology. more ›

The city's biggest music festival of the summer kicks off tomorrow, and you can feel the excitement building in the Chicagoist offices. However, we've had to put our cub reporters through some summer festival basic training, since this one blows all the others out of the water in sheer scope and size. The bands are the draw, and the primary source of fun, but there are a few other things you -- and our cub... more ›

Tonight at 5:30 is the 9th Annual Worldwide Toast to Harry Caray. It is estimated that fans in as many as 81 countries will raise a glass, likely a cold Bud, in honor of the Hall of Fame announcer. more ›

Best Life magazine, a.k.a. Men’s Health for the thinking man, has anointed Evanston’s own Jeremy Piven as this month’s sophisticated man’s man. Growing up a theatrical rugrat in a theater-crazy town has paid off, as Piven’s string of supporting roles landed him the testosteroney lead in the HBO series "Entourage." After years of riffing with Ellen, the Cusacks, and the Justice League, Piven is coming into his own. Most of the piece treads well-worn territory.... more ›

We like the wacky antics of Jeremy Piven. And, we also like the comfy basics of the Gap. Together? We like them not so much. Piven, along with Common, is one of the new faces of the Gap’s T-shirt campaign. The ads also feature Mia Farrow, Natasha Bedingfield, Pete Wentz and other semi-famed types. Common gets smoldering down pretty well. No complaints there. But, Piven looks like he’s about to molest us. We’re sorry, but... more ›

The Emmys were last night, and if you cared, you watched. So the three of you that did can skip this post and move down the page to see what the other -ISTs wrote about last week. As for the rest of you who were catching up on episodes of "Degrassi: The Next Generation" during the big ol’ marathon this weekend, you can check out the Mo Ryan’s wrap-up here, complete with all the good... more ›

Jennifer Aniston is moving to Chicago, which drops the Cusacks even further down the hip Chicago celebs list. (Who’s even on the list these days? Does Jeremy Piven even rate still? Jeff Garlin has a permanent spot, though.) But it’s true. She’s coming to the Midwest to shack up with hometown fave Vince Vaughn, in a move that, given the feelings of certain elements here at Chicagoist, could lead to a drunken confrontation some night... more ›

Chicagoist did our duty and tuned into the MTV Video Music Awards last night just in case anything Chicago related occurred. Or in case a giant tidal wave washed over Miami. Either way, it would’ve been cool with us. It had been a number of years since we last had cable and were able to watch this so count us as being rather surprised by just how much the rock and/or roll dominated the proceedings.... more ›

Dear Vince, more ›

Until yesterday, this year’s Oscar buzz resembled nothing more than a low, indistinguishable hum; the conventional wisdom was that no film--and few actors--had emerged as front-runners. But as Chicago starts to feel its first few bites of winter, one of its own is getting some long-overdue recognition. more ›