Alec Baldwin Says Americans “Know Little Or Nothing About the World” at Turin Film Festival

“You know what’s going on from the news, but information in America is driven by money. It’s a business,” Alec Baldwin begins at the Turin Film Festival, where he is the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award.

“That’s why there’s a void in information on the biggest issues in the world. Americans know little or nothing — on climate change, on Ukraine. That void is filled in part by the film industry, by documentaries and narrative films.”

Baldwin, star of the recently-premiered Rust and guest of the TFF, does not mention Donald Trump, but he is critical about the situation in his country.

Asked by The Hollywood Reporter about his concerns and hopes after the Trump administration takes office, Baldwin darts around the T-word with a generalized answer on Monday.

“There are many challenges to face,” he says. “The environment, the problem of plastic, of permafrost: there are plastic molecules in every corner of the planet. These are the real problems to solve.”

“It will be necessary for every building to have an alternative energy component,” the actor continues. “Every hospital, school, airport, and government building will have to have photovoltaic panels on the roof. We must force states to work on alternative energy sources. But we will never get rid of oil and gas. Can you imagine an ambulance car or a fire department car that runs on electricity and has to be refuelled at a charging station?”

He doesn’t talk about Rust or the tragic accident that cost the life of the film’s cinematographer three years ago, on the set. When Baldwin, handling a prop pistol that was supposed to be loaded with blanks, accidentally fired the gun, he caused the death of Halyna Hutchins. How the real bullet ended up in the barrel of the gun remains an unsolved mystery.

But there was a trial and Baldwin was acquitted. The film had its world premiere at Camerimage Film Festival in Torun, Poland and was warmly-welcomed with a long applause. But Baldwin wasn’t there. He agreed to come to Turin, guest of honor at the festival, on the condition that no would would talk about the Rust shooting.

On the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, Baldwin — who has played many roles of macho, “real men” — is questioned about the importance of female directors.

“In the cinema of the ’80s and ’90s, out of 100 directors there were 98 men and 2 women,” he replies. “Now, it’s not like that, and that’s a good thing. Of course, for some films you need an energetic director who moves the camera continuously and maybe a male director is better: but for a comedy or a drama with a lot of talk, what’s the difference between a male director and a female director? In fact there’s more introspective capacity in a female director.”

“I recommend a film and a book,” he adds. “The book is called Black Box, written by a Japanese journalist who was raped and wrote about it in her book which reveals the sexism in Japanese society. Then, she made a film from that book, Black Box Diaries. It’s a documentary you can’t miss: the story of a woman who is a rape victim and who is met with hostility from everyone, women who scream at her: ‘You’re a whore!’ But she didn’t stop there. She made this film with private footage of her personal experience.”

His idols are the great actors of the past. “Humphrey Bogart, William Holden, Paul Newman. The great stars of the past.” He goes a little more towards the present when he says: “Today, I admire Robert Redford, Warren Beatty, Jack Nicholson, Anthony Hopkins. They are the salt of life. And of course, Robert De Niro.”

“We did The Good Shepherd. Bob De Niro looked at me and he didn’t say anything. He made one of those grimaces of his” — Baldwin imitates the De Niro grin — “and another pause. Then he said to me, ‘Good. But try saying the lines a little slower. Okay?’ And he walked away. I left with my hands shaking.”

The Hunt for Red October will premiere Monday night in Turin, a film by John McTiernan that Baldwin starred in alongside Sean Connery in 1990.