Honestly, this week of Tom Cruise international red carpet appearances for Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol has been a true pleasure to cover, but now something even better has happened. That is, the first Rock of Ages trailer has debuted, and it’s even more painfully amusing than I’d hoped it would be. This is why Tom practiced ten hours per day, folks. This is why he butched it up in well-heeled boots. And this is why he rocked out on a balcony to universal cringes. In a way, it was all worth it for Tom, who writhes shirtless onstage as the “legendary” Stacee Jaxx and spews out “sex, hateful music, and … sex.” Really:

Tom seems really uninspired by signing that chick’s rack at the end of the trailer, right? Method acting. As for the rest of this mess, it’s entirely horrific but the movie might find a small to moderate audience who doesn’t mind watching Paul Giamatti and (gasp) Catherine Zeta-Jones debase themselves. As for Russell Brand and Alec Baldwin, however, they’re totally playing versions of their own personas, and Diego Bonita and Julianne Hough sure are pretty.

Now for some more fun with Tom’s plastic surgery face, which some of you doubted in yesterday’s photos of the MI4 Madrid premiere. Indeed, Tom is aging well from a physical standpoint, but his “refreshed” face isn’t merely the product of clean living and lucky genetics. He’s definitely had some very subtle work done by a skilled, highly-paid surgeon. While Tom looks pretty natural in the below photo (from the London premiere of MI4), just hold on tight because sh-t is about to get real in the aftermath.

Now, if there was ever any doubt whether or not Tom’s ever had a facelift (or two or three), check out this picture that Kaiser sent to me (on a bit of a red alert) with a nudge-wink about the strange fold of skin behind Tom’s ear. Indeed, that’s pretty damning evidence of a facelift (or two or three) and undoubtedly the reason why Tom’s been favoring turtlenecks lately:

Doesn’t Tom look like an alien televangelist in these photos? I keep expecting bolts to start popping out of his skin like Xenu Frankenstein or something.

Finally, here are Tom’s special lifts for the brisk London evening. They’re a lot more subtle than usual, aren’t they? Then again, he didn’t really pose next to anyone else on the red carpet this time around. Good plan, Tom.

Photos courtesy of WENN and AllMoviePhoto

You’ve undoubtedly seen Alec Baldwin’s SNL skit from this weekend, in which he spoofed his ouster from a domestic American Airlines flight for refusing to turn off his phone. On SNL Baldwin impersonated an American Airlines pilot, complete with a moustache and a pitch perfect accent, and apologized to himself. He played it completely straight and it was pretty amusing.

Baldwin previously issued an apology to his fellow passengers for refusing to turn off his phone while his plane was sitting at the gate, causing a further delay in takeoff while he was kicked off the flight. He never apologized to the crew or flight attendants though, and claimed in his statement that he was singled out by one flight attendant, whom he compared to a retired Catholic school gym teacher. Well the flight attendants aren’t forgiving Baldwin, either. E! News has confirmed that the American Airlines flight attendant union is lobbying the bankrupt airline to pull all episodes of “30 Rock” that play on the in-flight entertainment system. I think we know now why that stewardess was so annoyed with Alec Baldwin. Anyone who has to see the same sitcom episode every day at work (no matter how good it is) is going to harbor some grudges.

E! News has confirmed that the seemingly grudge-holding American Airlines Flight Attendants Union has taken the first steps to make sure Baldwin—or his TV alter ego—never step foot in their planes again.

The airlines confirmed that since Alec’s game of Words With Friends gained him some enemies (or more accurately, since the actor spoofed the airline on Saturday Night Live over the weekend), the union has broached the subject with those in charge of making such decisions of pulling the critically lauded 30 Rock from its inflight entertainment lineup.

So if it was possible, the skies just got even less friendly for Alec Baldwin. And less amusing for Alec Baldwin fans.

No decision has yet been made regarding the sitcom’s yanking, though an airline spokesperson was quick to explain that NBC routinely rotates which programs it offers onboard the AA flights, and that not every flight offers the same lineup (so just because passengers don’t see Tina Fey & Co. on their next voyage doesn’t mean the show has been pulled).

Currently, the show does continue to air on some—though not all—of the airline’s flights, which is standard programming procedure. For now.

[From E! Online]

This would be a very petty move. I have to fly in a couple of days and I’m not looking forward to it at all. It’s not some cushy one-off domestic flight, either, it’s international and I have two freaking layovers. I did side with Baldwin slightly in my coverage of this as I’ve suffered air rage silently and I’ve held it in. I’ve dealt with some nasty flight attendants and I’ve wanted to tell people off. I’m sure the flight attendants hate us when we’re bitches too, and they have more of us to deal with. They don’t want Alec to become some sort of folk hero. If they deliberately and obviously ban his TV show from flights, they may be giving him more credit than he deserves, though.

Alec Baldwin is shown on 12/6, 8/20 and 7/25/11. Credit: Fame

A lot of people assumed that Alec Baldwin was probably in the wrong when he got kicked off an American Airlines flight for playing Words With Friends on his phone. The guy has some well known anger management issues and it’s not a stretch to assume that he acted like an entitled ass. Still, flying can be a demeaning experience and it’s similarly easy to imagine Alec getting singled out and taunted by a flight attendant. According to Alec, that’s exactly what happened. After he live tweeted his experience on the flight, Alec deleted his Twitter account. He later penned an essay for the Huffington Post detailing what happened. The way he explains it, the cabin door was closed, the plane was at the gat and everyone was sitting there, playing with their phones. In his version, one mean flight attendant kept telling him to put his device away, but everyone else was doing it and she was ignoring them. Here’s his story:

First off, I would like to apologize to the other passengers onboard the American Airlines flight that I was thrown off of yesterday. It was never my intention to inconvenience anyone with my “issue” with a certain flight attendant.

I suppose a part of my frustration lay with the fact that I had flown American for over 20 years and was brand loyal, in the extreme. The ticketing agents and Admiral’s Club staff have always been nothing but abundantly helpful to me, as I have flown hundreds of thousands of miles with the one carrier.

My confusion began when the flight, already a half hour behind schedule, boarded, the door closed, and we proceeded to sit at the gate for another fifteen minutes. I then did what I have nearly always done and that was to pull out my phone to complete any other messaging I had to do before take off. In nearly all other instances, the flight attendants seemed to be unbothered by and said nothing about such activity, by me or anyone else, until we actually were pulling away from the gate.

In this case, while other people were still manipulating their own phones, this one employee singled me out to put my phone away. Afterward, we still sat at the gate. I pulled out my phone again, while others did the same. Again, I was singled out by this woman in the most unpleasant of tones. I guess the fact that this woman, who had decided to make some example of me, while everyone else was left undisturbed, did get the better of me.

However, I have learned a valuable lesson. Airlines in the US are struggling with fuel costs, labor costs, bankruptcies, you name it. It’s no secret that the level of service on US carriers has deteriorated to a point that would make Howard Hughes red-faced. Filthy planes, barely edible meals, cuts in jet service to less-traveled locations. One of the big changes, in my time, is in the increase of the post-9/11, paramilitary bearing of much of the air travel business. September 11th was a horrific day in the airline industry, yet in the wake of that event, I believe carriers and airports have used that as an excuse to make the air travel experience as inelegant as possible.

Most of the flight attendants I have ever encountered still have some remnant of the old idea of service. Add to that the notion that in this day and age, many people have a lot of important work to do, by phone, and would like to do so till the last possible minute. But there are many now who walk the aisles of an airplane with a whistle around their neck and a clipboard in their hands and they have made flying a Greyhound bus experience.

The lesson I’ve learned is to keep my phone off when the 1950′s gym teacher is on duty. That was my fault there, even though this trip was quite a bit different from so many others. But it is sad, I think, that you’ve got to fly overseas today in order to bring back what has been thrown overboard by US carriers in terms of common sense, style, and service.

[From Huffington Post]

His story kind of resonated with me, to be honest. I’m not saying he was in the right by any means or that he shouldn’t have just given in. He should have, he knows the rules and everyone has to follow them. I fly a lot, though, and the flight attendants have the power to make or break your flight. So I don’t blame Alec for putting American Airlines on blast, especially if they treated him like that. Again, I’m not saying he should have stood his ground at all. He just should have put the phone away and tried to read a magazine or something. Everyone is supposed to put their devices away, even if they weren’t doing it at the time.

American Airlines has issued their own response to this story. They make the claim that Alec was abrasive, that he swore at the flight attendant, and that went to the bathroom and slammed the door while the seatbelt light was still on. Supposedly the cabin crew heard the door slam and got worried.

Since an extremely vocal customer has publicly identified himself as being removed from an American Airlines flight on Tuesday, Dec. 6, we have elected to provide the actual facts of the matter as well as the FAA regulations which American, and all airlines, must enforce. Cell phones and electronic devices are allowed to be used while the aircraft is at the gate and the door is open for boarding. When the door is closed for departure and the seat belt light is turned on, all cell phones and electronic devices must be turned off for taxi-out and take-off. This passenger declined to turn off his cell phone when asked to do so at the appropriate time. The passenger ultimately stood up (with the seat belt light still on for departure) and took his phone into the plane’s lavatory. He slammed the lavatory door so hard, the cockpit crew heard it and became alarmed, even with the cockpit door closed and locked. They immediately contacted the cabin crew to check on the situation. The passenger was extremely rude to the crew, calling them inappropriate names and using offensive language. Given the facts above, the passenger was removed from the flight and denied boarding.

[From American Airlines via USA Today]

If both versions are correct – if Alec really was singled out by a nasty flight attendant and then he did respond like this – I get both sides. I would have acquiesced the first time, I would have turned my phone off and put it away and sat there seething wondering why everyone else got to use their phones while I didn’t. In my mind though, I would have stood my ground and told them all off, making a huge scene. Hell I’ve wanted to do that on plenty of flights in the past. As it is, both parties were in the wrong and a whole plane full of people with busy lives got inconvenienced. I hate flying.

After I wrote all that, I noticed that a flight attendant’s organization issued a response to Alec. It’s frankly pretty bitchy, but I guess he deserves it. The rudeness goes both ways on flights, as this story shows. If you think about how much it sucks to fly, it must suck even more to be a flight attendant.

hile I personally enjoy Words with Friends as much as anybody, passengers can continue to search for that double letter triple word score after takeoff. I’m sure people are used to Alec Baldwin and his expressions,” Julie Frederick from the Association of Professional Flight Attendants told RadarOnline.com.

“There is a difference between being funny and being mean,” she continued. “Flight attendants have not been the only recipients of Alec Baldwin’s ill temper.

In 2007, a voice recording was released where Baldwin called his little daughter Ireland a “rude, thoughtless little pig” for which he ultimately apologized.

Frederick expressed support for flight attendants and the difficult and sometimes lifesaving job they do. “If Alec Baldwin needed emergency help on a flight then the ‘retired Catholic school gym teachers’ would save his life for another day of expressing himself,” she said.

[From Radar]

Here’s Alex at JFK on Tuesday after he took the next flight out of LAX. He’s also shown on 9/23 and 9/18. Credit: Fame

Hating on flight attendants is universal at this point, correct? Unless you’re Gerard Depardieu and you need to pee. But doesn’t everyone have a “this flight attendant was the worst” story? Or am I about to be regaled with stories of your BFF, the stewardess, who would never say one harsh thing against a passenger? Whatever, I’ll say it: flight attendants are power-crazed jagoffs. And one of them just had a beef with Alec Baldwin. Apparently, Alec was on an American Airlines flight yesterday. And when I say “on a flight” I mean “sitting at the gate, waiting to take off.” The flight attendant told Alec to stop playing Words With Friends, and then Alec was escorted off the flight. Dramz?

American Airlines encourages its customers to “be themselves, nonstop” — unless that customer is Alec Baldwin.

The 53-year-old 30 Rock actor was kicked off his flight from L.A. Tuesday afternoon. Several passengers confirmed the news via Twitter moments as Baldwin was removed from the plane.

Said Activate founder and managing director Michael J. Wolf: “On an AA flight at LAX. Alec Baldwin removed from the plane We had to go back to the gate. Terrible that everyone had to wait.”

Baldwin’s early exit may have been due to his use of electronics. “The flight attendant on American reamed me out for playing Words With Friends while we sat at the gate, not moving,” Baldwin tweeted. “No wonder American Air is bankrupt.”

“But, oddly, 30 Rock plays inflight on American,” Baldwin added. “The real way is United.”

Baldwin’s rep explained the ordeal to Us Weekly, saying: “Alec was asked to leave the flight for playing Words with Friends while parked at the gate. He loves WWF so much that he was willing to leave a plane for it, but he has already boarded another AA flight.”

[From Us Weekly]

TMZ reports that there was an additional confrontation after the flight attendant “reamed” him for playing a game on his phone:

The last straw in the Alec Baldwin/American Airlines incident came when he “slammed” the bathroom door so loudly the captain of Flight 4 had to get involved … according to people on the plane.

We’re told Baldwin’s tweets about the incident are on point — flight attendants wanted him to shut off his cell phone in the middle of a game of “Words with Friends” … after the cabin door closed, but the plane remained at the gate.

But according to passengers … after the confrontation over his phone, Alec got up to go to the bathroom and angrily slammed the lavatory door. We’re told it was so loud the captain called back to flight attendants to find out what was happening.

That’s when the captain himself made the call to have Baldwin removed.

Sources close to Alec claim he did not slam the door, and only got up to get the flight attendant’s name so he could file a complaint — but because the fasten seat belt sign was on he was asked to leave the plane.

Alec boarded the next LAX-JFK flight — and we’re guessing he’s enjoying an intense match of ‘Words’ right now … at 40,000 feet.

[From TMZ]

Meh. It sounds everyone, from Alec to the flight attendant to the captain, were all asses, honestly. I’ll always believe that Alec Baldwin is an ass in real life, just like I’ll always believe that most flight attendants are power-crazed jagoffs. I don’t have a stereotype about plane captains, though. Mostly I just hope they aren’t drunk or asleep.

Photos courtesy of WENN & Fame.

Okay, so a few weeks ago Mike Walker, the National Enquirer’s resident gossip columnist, wrote a little piece about how Alec Baldwin had yelled at Tina Fey while they were filming a scene for 30 Rock or something. I can’t find the piece online, but I believe that Walker probably reported something like that. I mean, is it such a stretch? Alec Baldwin is a angry, intemperate man. He could conceivably yell at Tina, although I think she would probably yell right back. And she would probably punch him too. And it would all go down in a gossip column somewhere. Anyway, Alec heard about the gossip column, and he decided to take Mike Walker to task, calling him a “whore” and a “queen”. Walker is threatening retaliation against “homophobic” Alec, in print. So Alec decided to one-up him, by doubling down on the insult: “Yes, he [Walker] is a goat-footed, wheezy, old queen, and all my male lovers agree with me.” Here’s more:

Alec Baldwin, who once had a feud with Page Six — we made up — is now at war with Mike Walker of the National Enquirer. The day before he co-hosted the Oscars, Baldwin — angry at Walker for reporting he’d screamed at Tina Fey on the set of “30 Rock” — told the Times of London the veteran columnist was a “whore” and a “queen.”

Walker vents in this week’s Enquirer: “Here’s my headline: ‘Alec Baldwin — Raging Closet HOMOPHOBE!’ Grab your pitchforks and torches, Hollywood — the monster lurks among ye!”

Baldwin, who says he never screamed at Fey, doesn’t seem to be afraid of a gay backlash. He told us yesterday, “Yes, he [Walker] is a goat-footed, wheezy, old queen, and all my male lovers agree with me.”

Walker states, “Just for the record: I am not gay, as my wife will attest. Right honey? . . . HONEY?? Hey Alec: Stay tuned.”

[From Page Six]

I mean, yes, this is funny. This makes me like Alec a little. “Goat-footed, wheezy old queen” is almost poetry. But it also underlines the simple point that Alec is a crazy, angry, intemperate bastard. And you should never pick fights with gossip columnists. Especially over something so trivial, like a random report that you yelled at Tina Fey. Unless, of course, there was truth to it and Alec didn’t like that. Hmm…?

Last week, Alec Baldwin was briefly hospitalized after it is believed that he threatened suicide over the phone to his 14-year-old daughter Ireland. Initially, the report was that Ireland was in New York with her dad, but now the evidence suggests that she was with her mom, and that it was an argument over the phone that triggered the incident. Anyway, Alec didn’t actually take anything (except maybe an Ambien, according to the Enquirer). After Alec was released from the hospital, he was certainly well enough to attack a photographer. In any case, this Enquirer report is mostly a rehash of that incident, with one new twist: Alec Baldwin is blaming everything on his ex-wife, Kim Basinger. Of course.

Alec Baldwin believes his bitter ex-wife Kim Basinger is trying to sabatoge his big night co-hosting the Oscars, say sources.

“Kim’s trying to throw me off my game – but I’m going to do a superb job,” Baldwin vowed to a pal.

Baldwin, who’s headlining the March 7 telecast with Steve Martin, was “still steaming days after landing in the hospital following an embarrassing 911 call by his 14-year-old
Daughter Ireland – an incident he believes was engineered by Basinger, say insiders.

Ireland, who was in LA, reportedly had a phone argument with her father while he was at his New York apartment – and he allegedly told her: “I’m tired of this. I’m going to take some pills. I’m going to end this.”

Ireland tried to call back, and when he didn’t answer, she called 911, saying she feared a “possible alcohol or drug overdose” according to a published report. Baldwin was rushed to Lenox Hill Hospital and examined for 45 minutes before being released.

“Alec admitted taking only one Ambien sleeping pill, which isn’t life-threatening,” an NYPD source told the Enquirer. “He simply wanted to go to bed after what he called a ‘typical’ father-daughter fight ‘about next to nothing.’ It’s his contention that Ireland told her mom about the call, and Kim told her to call 911 to embarrass him. Obviously, there’s no love lost.”

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, March 1 2010]

Now, I’m not on either side, Team Alec or Team Kim. I think they’re probably both huge tools. But in this particular incident, I’m Team Kim. What kind of douchey father tells his daughter (the “rude, thoughtless little pig”) that he’s going to commit suicide after a fight about nothing? My original view of this incident is unchanged: Alec is a passive-aggressive drama queen who needs to get a grip.

A few days ago, I put this Gawker story in the links, and it’s worth another look. It’s an examination of why Hollywood is still in Alec Baldwin, even though it’s pretty clear, in Gawker’s Brian Moylan’s words “Baldwin clearly has a very troubling approach to parenthood.” The eventual verdict? It’s because liberal Hollywood likes Baldwin’s liberal politics, and oh yeah, he’s a good actor too. It’s a pretty interesting piece.

Alec Baldwin and Ireland on January 25, 2009. Credit: WENN. Alec “attacking” the pap in New York on February 11, 2010. Credit: Mauceri/Donnelly/INFphoto.com

Yesterday we heard that Alec Baldwin had some sort of medical emergency, initially thought to be an overdose, for which his daughter called 911. He was rushed to the hospital, released shortly afterwards, and his rep called it all a “misunderstanding.” Kaiser speculated that Alec might have threatened to take some pills, had an Ambien, and then caused his daughter to worry when she went to check up on him. It turns out that Alec did have an Ambien, but that his daughter probably wasn’t even with him when she called 911. Fox News reports that “A source familiar with the situation now tells Fox411 that Ireland was not with her father in New York at the time of the 911 call.”

The NY Daily News has more, including the details that Alec and Ireland were fighting over the phone and that it was Alec’s ex wife, Kim Bassinger, who encouraged her daughter to call 911:

At 12:55 a.m. [Baldwin] was rushed to Lenox Hill Hospital after his 14-year-old daughter, Ireland, dialed 911, sources said.

“I’m tired of this,” Baldwin said, his daughter told the dispatcher. “I’m going to take some pills. I’m going to end this.”

When cops arrived at Baldwin’s pad on Central Park West, the actor told them he took an Ambien sleeping pill and had “no intention” of committing suicide, sources said.

Baldwin, who is due to emcee the Oscars on March 7, told cops he and Ireland had been arguing over the phone and that his daughter was “put up” to dial 911 by her mom, actress Kim Basinger, sources said.

Still, cops had Baldwin checked out and doctors released him after deciding he was no threat to himself, sources said.

When the “30 Rock” star returned home, he found reporters on his doorstep.

“This is another example of Kim’s sickness,” a buddy of Baldwin’s told the Daily News. “Alec came back from the hospital and there were cameras outside his house at 2 a.m. Gee, I wonder how they found out?”

Baldwin went to work at 7 a.m., and when he came home around 5:30 p.m. the reporters were still there.

[From The NY Daily News]

What’s more is that Baldwin is said to have flipped out at a paparazzo waiting for him outside his place in New York after he got off work at 5:30. Supposedly a photographer only “lightly tapped Baldwin on the arm,” and Baldwin yelled “Don’t touch me! I’m calling the cops!” Given the things that paparazzi shout at celebrities, the guy probably talked some smack before Baldwin yelled at him. It’s not like Baldwin launched into a tirade and his response sounds pretty normal given the situation. The NY Daily News doesn’t have much evidence of this on their website, and only has a video of a disheveled-looking Baldwin being led into his building by the doorman. There’s a photo at the top of the article, but it shows the photographer looking upset while Baldwin appears pretty calm. I saw some more photos on photo agency INF’s website, and Alec does look like he’s grabbing the photographer. The guy definitely has a well established anger management problem, but unless I saw the video I wouldn’t be able to judge if his response was over the top.

Was Baldwin’s ex out to give him a hard time or were his ex wife and daughter genuinely concerned for his well being? It’s hard to tell given their complicated, acrimonious history. The fact that Bassinger probably alerted the media doesn’t make it seem like she has Baldwin’s best interests at heart.

Alec Baldwin “attacking” the pap in New York on February 11, 2010. Credit: Mauceri/Donnelly/INFphoto.com

Ugh. In light of Alexander McQueen’s suicide, this story just doesn’t seem as urgent, you know? Because basically I have no idea what is going on in Alec Baldwin’s head. Baldwin was briefly hospitalized early this morning because when his daughter tried to wake him up, he was “unresponsive” and he had apparently threatened to take “some pills”. But, he’s fine now and already back at work:

Alec Baldwin is “completely fine” after he was examined at a New York City hospital, a spokesperson for the actor said Thursday.

Early Thursday morning, NYC’s WNBC News reported that Baldwin, 51, was taken to Lenox Hill Hospital after his 14-year-old daughter, Ireland, called 911, claiming that the 30 Rock star was “unresponsive” in their West Side apartment.

A law enforcement official tells the Associated Press that Baldwin and his young daughter had argued and she told 911 he had threatened to take pills. (The official spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the person wasn’t authorized to speak publicly.)

“This was a misunderstanding on one person’s part,” Baldwin’s rep said in a statement. “Alec was quickly released from the hospital he’s completely fine and will be at work today.”

In 2008, Baldwin blamed a bitter custody battle with ex-wife Kim Basinger in part for the stress he was feeling when he called their daughter “a pig” in an irate 2007 voicemail.

Last year, he told Playboy that he contemplated suicide after the phone message was leaked to the press. “I spoke to a lot of professionals who helped me … If I committed suicide [Basinger's side] would have considered that a victory. Destroying me was their avowed goal.”

[From Us Weekly]

Here’s what I think happened: Alec and his daughter had a fight, and Alec, being a bigger drama queen than his teenage daughter, yelled “Fine, I’ll just go take some pills and then you won’t have to worry about me ever again!” And he took one Ambien or something and went to sleep. Ireland was upset and tried to wake him early, and he was still really groggy and sleepy, and she feared the worse and called the paramedics. Doesn’t my version sound totally possible? My father does this to me too. The passive-aggressive guilt, the vein of drama-queen self-pity. I hate it. And it’s hell on daughters.

I have mixed feelings about Alec Baldwin. I love him on 30 Rock, yet when I read any interview with him or mentally revisit the “rude, thoughtless little pig” incident, I get sick to my stomach. He can seem really abusive, sanctimonious, and douchey in print, or in taped messages to his daughter. But, yeah – brilliant comedic actor. Anyway, Alec gave a new interview to Men’s Health Magazine where he goes in detail about his career, and how it’s “over”. Alec claims that when his 30 Rock contract is up in 2012, he’s quitting the acting profession. Which means that I won’t have to have mixed feelings about Alec after 2012. I can just let my hate-on flourish, I suppose. Alec also talks about the infamous message left for his daughter (“I feel the consequences of that every day”) and how he recently broke up with his girlfriend of seven years (“I’d rather be lonely than wrong.”). Here’s more:

Alec Baldwin says he’s quitting showbiz after his “30 Rock” contract is up in 2012.

“I don’t have any interest in acting anymore,” the two-time Emmy winner from Massapequa, L.I., said in an interview for the upcoming issue of Men’s Journal. “Movies are part of my past. It’s been 30 years. I’m not young, but I have time to do something else.”

Baldwin, 51 and famously opinionated, has frequently mused about running for office. He has one more movie coming out: “It’s Complicated,” with Meryl Streep and Steve Martin, which opens Christmas Day.

Despite his critically acclaimed 1990s performances in “The Hunt for Red October,” “Glengarry Glen Ross” and “Miami Blues,” Baldwin said he has been unsuccessful.

“It’s a difficult thing to say, but I believe it: I consider my entire movie career a complete failure. I’ll tell you why. The goal of moviemaking is to star in a film where your performance drives the film, and the film is either a soaring critical or commercial success, and I never had that.”

He said he tried to quit his NBC show, a critical darling now in its fourth season, in 2007 after the humiliation of a nasty voice mail he left for his daughter – he called her a “rude, thoughtless little pig” – being made public.

“I feel the consequences of that every day,” he told Men’s Journal.

Baldwin, who has warred with ex-wife Kim Basinger over access to his daughter and wrote a book about parental alienation, says he considered suicide at the time. “I was going to put the hose in the most noxious of the cars I own, a Jeep, take some sleeping pills, and take a nice nap in the front seat of my car in the garage,” he said.

Baldwin’s battles with Basinger also led to a recent breakup with his girlfriend of seven years. “I don’t mind,” he said. “I’d rather be lonely than wrong.”

[From The New York Daily News]

Alec is giving this interview to promote his role in It’s Complicated, the film Meryl Streep is also promoting in Vanity Fair. Meryl and Alec play a divorced couple that might be reconnecting. The catch is that Meryl’s character is also dating Steve Martin. So it’s a romantic comedy for adults. I’d imagine that Alec and Meryl have a lot of chemistry together, and that they might even be a really hot onscreen couple. Personally, though, I want Meryl to do another film with Jack Nicholson. And Robert DeNiro. Those men can hold their own with her, and they seem to adore the hell out of her.

Alec Baldwin on the streets of New York on November 26, 2009. Credit: Pacific Coast News.

The Academy Awards have announced the 2010 hosts! They’ve named Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin as co-hosts of this awards season’s festivities. There were some rumors going around that the gig had been offered to 2009 Oscars host Hugh Jackman, who turned it down. There was also some mention that Neil Patrick Harris, Jon Stewart and Ricky Gervais might have gotten calls, or gotten mentioned in some meetings, but I don’t really believe any of them were seriously considered. Steve has hosted (solo) twice before, but this will Alec’s first time.

There are two hosts for the Oscars this year: Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin.

“I am happy to co-host the Oscars with my enemy Alec Baldwin,” Martin, 64, says in a statement.

Adds Baldwin, 51, “I don’t play the banjo, but I’m thrilled to be hosting the Oscars – it’s the opportunity of a lifetime.”

Martin previously hosted the 73rd and 75th Academy Awards. Baldwin was nominated for a 2003 supporting actor nominee for The Cooler.

Both have hosted Saturday Night Live.

“We think the team of Steve and Alec are the perfect pair of hosts for the Oscars,” said show producers Adam Shankman and Bill Mechanic. “Steve will bring the experience of having hosted the show in the past and Alec will be a completely fresh personality for this event.”

The 82nd Academy Awards air Sunday, March 7, on ABC.

[From Us Weekly]

Steve Martin is actually one of my favorite Oscar hosts of the past decade. I found him to be very witty, dry and professional during his previous hosting duties, and I think he’ll shine again with Alec as co-host. If they attempt any song-and-dance numbers (like Hugh Jackman did earlier this year), you know it will be chaos. Now if we can only get the Academy to not jam 50 pounds of crap into a five pound bag.