The movie Alec Baldwin called “a complete disaster”
Over the course of his career, Alec Baldwin has starred in projects that have become an integral part of popular culture as well as complete duds. Having collaborated with the likes of David Mamet and Martin Scorsese, Baldwin’s filmography has multiple masterpieces that justify the numerous accolades that he has received. However, there are some films that the actor heavily regrets and considers to be grave professional mistakes.
Given the horrifying incident that took place on the set of Rust, it’s safe to say that no other project has been as devastating for Baldwin as his latest film. However, that’s not the only production the actor has publicly denounced. While he has performed in some truly terrible films, such as Fun with Dick and Jane, there’s one movie that Baldwin unhesitatingly referred to as a “complete disaster” while talking about his regrets regarding the role.
That project is none other than the 2012 critical and commercial failure Rock of Ages, starring Julianne Hough as a small-town girl who moves to Los Angeles while pursuing her dream of becoming a star. Directed by Adam Shankman, the film failed to replicate the fading magic of the dated genre, which made it seem like an uninspired, bastardised version. Baldwin played the role of a club owner named Dennis Dupree, starring alongside Russell Brand.
During a conversation with Collider, Shankman revealed: “When I talked to Alec, he said, ‘What would I do in the movie?’ I said, “You’re a guy from the ’60s who started this hot rock club. You fostered all these people and nurtured them, but you’re really stoned. You started getting stoned in the ’60s but never stopped getting stoned. You’ve been so stoned for the last 27 years that you didn’t realise you were gay.’ And he was like, ‘I’m so in! That’s amazing!’ And then, with Russell, I said, ‘You play Alec Baldwin’s lover,’ and he just went, ‘I’m in!'”
While talking about the project and its evolution, the director added: “That was that. I started with all these people who lived in the ’80s, but it was really fun to take Julianne and Diego and explain to them who they were and how they fit in and educate them. I had to kick the country out of her voice and kick the boy band out of his voice. I sent them to rock star college. The whole movie was just such an adventure in that way. It was just a joy.”
Although Baldwin was initially excited about the premise of the project, he later admitted that the entire production was a mess. During an interview that took place at the American Magazine Media Conference, Baldwin called Rock of Ages a “horrible movie”.
He continued: “It was a complete disaster… A week in, you go, ‘Oh God, what have I done?'” Despite the hopes he had for the film, he knew that it was going to be a flop when he started working on it. The actor described the experience as: “The plane is buffeting, the engine is on fire.”
