Woody Allen Tells Alec Baldwin His Acting Days May Soon Be Over

Alec Baldwin and Woody Allen have a shared love for cinema and a shared concern for the direction in which the film industry has moved.

On Tuesday morning, Baldwin chatted with the 86-year-old director during an Instagram Live session, and during the nearly hour-long interview, the actor asked Allen about his future in the movie-making business.

That's when Allen revealed he may not have much of a future in it at all.

"I’ll probably make at least one more movie, but a lot of the thrill is gone because it doesn’t have the whole cinema effect," Allen remarked.

In particular, he was referencing the shared theater experience that was once commonplace pre-pandemic. Now films rapidly go from the silver screen to the small screen — or straight to the latter — which Allen notes is "not as enjoyable" for him.

"People love sitting home with their big screen and watching on their television sets, and they have good sound and a clear picture," he noted. "But it’s not the same as when I went into the movie business, so it’s not as enjoyable to me. I don’t get the same fun as doing a movie and putting it in a movie house. ... It was a nice feeling to know that 500 people were seeing it at once. "

Baldwin, 64, said he understood exactly what Allen meant.

“Now what people want is to press pause and go make a pitcher of martinis, and press pause and go get some more guacamole, and press pause and go make a phone call or go to the bathroom," he responded. "They care infinitely less about experiencing the film in real time, the way the filmmaker intended."

So what's next for Allen if he really leaves the screen behind one day? Writing.

"I might want to turn to writing," said Allen, who just released his latest book, “Zero Gravity,” earlier this month.

Baldwin has collaborated with the Oscar-winning director and screenwriter on projects in the past, including “To Rome with Love” (2012), “Blue Jasmine” (2013), and the 1990 film “Alice,” which also featured Allen’s former partner Mia Farrow.

If their affable exchange Tuesday is any indication, the pair appear to have maintained an amical relationship over the years.

Baldwin initially announced his interview with the director in a video shared on his Instagram. In anticipation of potential criticism over the interview, the actor underscored his position in the caption of the post.

“Let me preface this by stating that I have ZERO INTEREST in anyone’s judgments and sanctimonious posts here,” he wrote in the preemptive caption. “I am OBVIOUSLY someone who has my own set of beliefs and COULD NOT CARE LESS about anyone else’s speculation. If you believe that a trial should be conducted by way of an HBO documentary, that’s your issue.”

Baldwin’s post referenced renewed backlash angled at the director since the release of the HBO docuseries “Allen v. Farrow.” The 2021 docuseries laid out sexual assault allegations first made by Allen’s former partner and actress Mia Farrow and their adopted daughter Dylan Farrow in 1992.

Allen has denied the claims since they were first made in 1992 and has never been criminally charged.

Baldwin has also made controversial news as of recent. In October 2021, while on the set of the Western film “Rust,” a prop gun being held by Baldwin killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injured the project’s director, Joel Souza.

The investigation regarding the incident is still underway. In February, Hutchins’ family filed a wrongful death suit against the actor and others involved in the film, and currently no criminal charges have been filed. An attorney for Baldwin responded to the lawsuit saying that any claims stating the actor was reckless were “entirely false.”