On Wednesday, October 29th at Jacob Burns,
Alec Baldwin paid tribute to fellow actor and close friend Paul Newman with
Janet Maslin of The New York Times. Of
course, well versed on everything from politics to paternity, he took the
opportunity to entertain the audience to tears after a screening of “A Long Hot
Summer,” which also starred Joanne Woodward.
But the emotional exhibition that stood out most among all the laughter
clearly belonged to the 50 year old actor.
Marveling at the chance to witness Newman and Woodward
falling in love on screen, he couldn’t help but voice his feelings at the sudden
end of their amazing life together.
“Seeing this movie breaks my heart,” he said in sincerity.
In a more lighthearted tone and only in the way a true
friend could do, he had an objective opinion about Newman’s good but not great
performance in the Faulkner classic.
That progression didn’t happen, he said, “until he got some tarnish on
the chrome.”
Conversely, he pointed out that the sighs of greatness
were already showing. In numerous
scenes, Newman was stuck on the side staring off into what
Baldwin called the “cinematic abyss.” More difficult than it may sound, he
clarified, “You’ve go to have something going on to pull that off and he had
something going on.”
Still, any mention of Newman requires recognition of what
he did off screen. It’s not about the money raised from salad dressing, he said,
“It’s the way he spent it.”
With nine Newman camps around the world, he recommended
that people visit the “Hole
in the Wall Camp” for
children with life-threatening diseases in Easton ,
CT.
In Baldwin ’s last visit there, he hoped he would
see his friend at the annual gala, but the 83 year old actor proved too sick to
attend. Missing Newman’s presence,
friends did their best to give the philanthropist a last connection to his
legacy.
Fellow actors stood in imitation of other famous
performers and video taped mocked up screen tests of Newman’s most memorable
roles. “It seeez heerre-uh,” said
Baldwin doing his best Pacino, “I feel like a cat on a
hot tin roof.” If the audience’s
reaction was any indication, Newman was probably left felling as though his
legacy was safe in the hands of friends willing to carry it.
Unfortunately, preserving the state of film and acting
isn’t going to be so easy. The rise of
multimedia conglomeration, for him, signifies something that shows a clear
decline in the product, beginning around 1980.
Studios used to protect their stars. Today, you could be filming at a studio like
Paramount , and down the hall at
Entertainment Tonight, who is probably owned by the same company, they’re trying
to “out” you from the closet. “It’s a
weird dynamic,” he said in pursuit of profits at the expense of the star.
He also lamented the feature role actors must play in the
promotion of films. “They run the flag
up the pole with ‘Bob’s’ name,” he said, “and if it fails, the actor goes down
with it.”
Of course, an Alec Baldwin appearance means politics, and
politics that leans left. Instead, he raised a disturbing trend that doesn’t
swing toward the trunk or the tail.
Nullifying voters from the roles far outweighs democratic traditions to
increase turnout. In swing states like
Ohio , both parties have a thousand
lawyers, spending millions of dollars, he said, in preparing for a “litigation
bloodbath.”
Not taking asides again, he took criticism from his ilk
when he appeared with Sara Palin on SNL.
Brushing aside such a sentiment, he told them he was appearing with the
Republican candidate for Vice President not David Duke.
Describing her as very gracious, he brought back a little
blind siding that his conservative leaning brother Steven had conspired with the
Alaska governor. Doing a Sara
Palin that would have impressed Tina Fey, he conveyed her light hearted jab at
him. “Your brother and I have been talking about knocking some sense into you,”
he whined, but it’s probably safe to say that they could knock – only his sense
will keep him from answering.
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