Alec Baldwin Says Americans 'Know Little Or Nothing About the World' After Skipping 'Rust' Premiere

Actor Alec Baldwin does not seem particularly happy about the results of the U.S. election after former President Donald Trump prevailed over Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 Presidential election.

The "30 Rock" actor made his comments at the Turin Film Festival, where he is the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award. On Monday, November 25, his film "The Hunt for Red October" will premiere in Turin. Baldwin starred in the 1990 John McTiernan film alongside Sean Connery.

Following the results of the U.S. Presidential election, Alec Baldwin made comments about politics at the Turin Film Festival without ever mentioning Trump by name.

“You know what’s going on from the news, but information in America is driven by money," Baldwin told The Hollywood Reporter, insisting, "It's a business."

“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," he continued. "That void is filled in part by the film industry, by documentaries and narrative films.”

Like Harrison Ford, the "Beetlejuice" actor is a vocal supporter of environmental concerns.

“There are many challenges to face,” Baldwin said. “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 continued. “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 refueled at a charging station?”

In October 2021, Alec Baldwin was rehearsing a scene inside a church for the Western film "Rust." The gun that he was holding went off, striking and killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Director Joel Souza was also hospitalized as a result of the incident.

In January 2023, charges were filed against the actor but dropped in April 2023 pending further investigation into the firearm used in the shooting. After FBI testing concluded that Baldwin had to have pulled the trigger for the gun to fire, charges were refiled in January 2024.

In July, Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer dismissed his trial on the third day of witness testimony after she determined that prosecutors were in violation of the Brady rule and had withheld evidence from the defense that would have been beneficial to Baldwin's case.

"Rust" held its world premiere at the Camerimage Film Festival in Torun, Poland, but Baldwin did not attend the screening or the panel honoring Halyna Hutchins.

On the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, the "Supercell" actor was asked about the importance of female directors in the entertainment industry.

“In the cinema of the ’80s and ’90s, out of 100 directors there were 98 men and 2 women,” he told THR. “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 continued. “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.”

Although plenty of young actors have been inspired by Alec Baldwin, the actor named Humphrey Bogart, William Holden, and Paul Newman as some of his idols, calling them the "great stars of the past.”

“Today, I admire Robert Redford, Warren Beatty, Jack Nicholson, [and] Anthony Hopkins," he added. "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 and another pause," Baldwin recalled. "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.”