Talking Oscar with Alec
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When I spoke with Alec Baldwin at the Ritz Carlton last week, he spilled some secrets…
Since it was recently announced that Baldwin is hosting the Oscars this year. Let’s talk Academy Awards.
- How did that idea with you and Steve Martin hosting the awards together come about?
- I don’t know how they arrived at that, but I know that I went to the Women in Film, the Women in Hollywood dinner about a month or so ago, a little bit more. That used to be hosted by ‘Premiere’ Magazine and now it’s ‘Elle’ Magazine that’s the sponsor of this. They asked me to do this because I have friends at ‘Elle’ magazine. They asked me to do this event and I was surprised at the women that showed up there. They had these incredible women. Robin Wright [Penn] and Julianne Moore and they had these fabulous women there. I was the host. Carol Burnett gave an award to Julie Andrews and when she was there she pointed to me and said, ‘He should host The Oscars.’ One of the men who’s a producer of The Oscars was in the audience. I think that was the beginning of the planting of that idea and then two weeks later they called me and asked me to do it with Steve. But I’m grateful I’m doing it with Steve.
- Why is that?
- Well, he’s done it twice before and I think that The Oscars…even if I wasn’t doing it I’m glad he’s doing it because The Oscars need to be funny, maybe. Or they need to have some kind of entertainment value because it is a television show for three hours that you’re showing to people but it also has to be distinguished because it is the most significant honor in the motion picture business. You have to always remember that you play to the television audience in one way but in the room it’s very different because for many of the people in that room, some of them their lives are going to change that night. Many people think that Kathryn Bigelow might get nominated for an Oscar for the movie ‘Hurt Locker’.
- You think an Oscar can change a life?
- Well, just to finish this thought, Kathryn Bigelow might get nominated and if she wins she’d be the first woman to ever win an Academy Award as a director ever. No woman has ever won an Oscar as best director, ever. So there’s a lot of interesting possibility to this year. They have the ten different films as Best Picture. They’ve expanded that category. They have two hosts for the first time. I don’t know if they’ve ever had two hosts or it’s been a while. [Hugh] Jackman was alone last year. But they did it with two hosts many years ago. I’m forgetting who. Jack Benny and somebody. It was many, many years ago, in the old days. But do I think that Oscars change people’s lives? Of course they do. My God, are you kidding me, especially if you deserve it.
- Of all the films that you’ve seen this year which ones are you tipping for Oscar success?
- I’m not allowed to discuss that.
- I am your friend. I won’t tell.
- They’ve been very, very clear with us about that one.
- Are you aware of what’s going on for the show?
- We just had our first meeting the other day. We just had our first meeting, Steve and I, with the producers and we talked about some ideas. In the Oscar broadcast it’s about thirty five minutes of stuff like that, musical numbers, comedy and then the remainder of the program is advertising and awards. It’s only thirty five minutes of programming that we could do with us or other people onstage performing any kind of material. Then the remaining time is advertising and ceremony. So we know that we have to do a half hour show, so to speak. Then of course they have the greatest writers. They’ve hired so many writers, great writers. They took some writers from the show that I’m doing now, two writers from ’30 Rock’ came in to help and we already have some pretty funny idea.
Check out It’s Complicated this Christmas. It’s very funny.
By: Kjersti Flaa
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