Alec Baldwin vs. Everyone: Shia, Anderson Cooper, and 10 Other Targets in His New York Mag Interview
The 55-year-old tells New York magazine he's had enough of being famous. Going forward, the "Blue Jasmine" star — who last year was accused of making homophobic remarks (which he denied), costing him his MSNBC show — will make movies "and give it everything I have," but "after we're done, then the rest of the time is mine." Adding, "This is the last time I'm going to talk about my personal life in an American publication ever again."
Baldwin is not known for holding back — and he doesn't in the 5,000-word essay. While a few people earn his praise (including his new wife, Hilaria, their daughter, "30 Rock" co-star Tina Fey, his "Orphans" co-star Ben Foster, and Warren Beatty, who recently gave him advice) many more invoke his wrath. Here is a breakdown of Baldwin's biggest targets in the story, including LaBeouf himself.
Shia LaBeouf: Baldwin talks about his backstage spat with LaBeouf during last year's short-lived Broadway production of "Orphans," saying "there was friction" from the start. "LaBeouf seems to carry with him, to put it mildly, a jailhouse mentality wherever he goes. He had that card, that card you get when you make films that make a lot of money that gives you a certain kind of entitlement," he said. After they exchanged words during rehearsals, Baldwin threatened to quit but director Dan Sullivan said they'd fire LaBeouf instead. (That led to LaBeouf's first plagiarism debacle.)
"Orphans" Director Dan Sullivan: According to Baldwin, Sullivan "played both sides" in LaBeouf's firing. "In emails, he coddled Shia. To me, he spoke differently," he said, adding, "I don't think Sullivan liked the play — I don't think he liked me. Sullivan agreed to do something that, once he realized what it was, he had lost interest in it. We closed early."
Anderson Cooper: Baldwin calls the CNN newsman the "self-appointed Jack Valenti of gay media culture." (Valenti headed the Motion Picture Association of America, which rates movies for their content.) He said Cooper suggested that Baldwin be "vilified" after he called a reporter a "toxic little queen," stemming from a spat over James Gandolfini's funeral.
[Related: Baldwin Blitz: Alec Goes on Crazy Rant After Wife Accused of Tweeting During Gandolfini Funeral]
Rachel Maddow: Baldwin calls the MSNBC host "the ultimate wonk/dweeb who got a show, polished it, made it her own." However, he alleges that she was "the prime mover in my firing, as she was aghast that I had been hired and viewed me as equivalent to Mel Gibson." He said, "I think Rachel Maddow is quite good at what she does. I also think she’s a phony who doesn't have the same passion for the truth off-camera that she seems to have on the air."
MSNBC Head Phil Griffin: "All he wanted to talk about was Giants tickets, Super Bowl tickets, restaurants, movies," said Baldwin. "The conversations about the set, about the physical production of the show, cameras, lighting — it seemed like he wanted to get those over with as quickly as possible. He didn't care. He had four monitors on the wall. They were all on, muted. He never listened to them. He never watched them." He suggests that Griffin fired Baldwin because Maddow told him to and leaked gossip about Baldwin to Page Six.
"Up Late With Alec Baldwin" Executive Producer Jonathan Larsen: He says, like Sullivan with "Orphans," "Larsen didn't get me or the show and didn't want to be there." He said he was hired to be a glorified babysitter.
Joe Scarborough: He calls the "Morning Joe" host "boring" and neither "eloquent nor funny."
Mika Brzezinski: He compares the MSNBC host to Margaret Dumont, who was Groucho Marx's comic foil.
TMZ's Harvey Levin: The website posted Baldwin's fight with a paparazzo in Manhattan, alleging the star called the paparazzo a gay slur. The drama, which Baldwin denied, ultimately led to the actor losing his MSNBC show. "He's this kind of cretinous barnacle on the press. Levin told the world that that muffled sound on the video — Levin wanted everyone to know he knows what it is. You don't know, and I don't know, but Levin knows, and he tells the world that it's 'f-----t.'"
The Rest of the Media: He calls it "Hate Incorporated."
New York City: He said he'll likely move out of Manhattan, where he keeps having run-ins with paparazzi. "I just can't live in New York anymore. Everything I hated about L.A. I'm beginning to crave. L.A. is a place where you live behind a gate, you get in a car, your interaction with the public is minimal. I used to hate that. But New York has changed. Manhattan is like Beverly Hills. And the soul of New York has moved to Brooklyn, where everything new and exciting seems to be. I have to accept that. I want my newest child to have as normal and decent a life as I can provide. New York doesn't seem the place for that anymore."
New Yorkers: He said that New Yorkers have changed, too, especially in the digital age where everyone is trying to snap his photo. "To be a New Yorker meant you gave everybody five feet. You gave everybody their privacy. I recall how, in a big city, many people had to play out private moments in public: a woman sobbing at a pay phone (remember pay phones?), someone studying their paperwork, undisturbed, at the Oyster Bar, before catching the train. We allowed people privacy, we left them alone. And now we don't leave each other alone. Now we live in a digital arena, like some Roman Colosseum, with our thumbs up or thumbs down."
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