I adore Alec Baldwin (from afar) for many reasons. He's immensely talented. He makes me laugh without fail every week on 30 Rock. He's a fascinating performer to watch on stage. And now, I find out he's a doc lover! And not just any ol' doc lover, but one who with speaks with passion and knowledge about the genre. 

In this past Friday's Wall Street Journal, Baldwin penned the  article "Adventures in Reality" to help jump start the Hamptons International Film Festival's SummerDoc series, which is being presented. He talks about his long history with non-fiction films and his admiration for the filmmakers.

The first documentary program I recall watching was An American Family, the 1973 PBS series that depicted the Loud family of Santa Barbara, Calif., and their eventual disintegration. The program, while disturbing and sad, was also riveting. I was 15 years old and I was hooked.

Throughout the article, Baldwin brings up a wide variety of films that have affected him, from rock docs like Woodstock to Robert Drew's trio of films on JFK (Primary, Crisis: Behind a Presidential Commitment and Faces of November) to Jayne Loader, Kevin Rafferty and Pierce Rafferty's The Atomic Cafe. Baldwin actually produced and hosted a limited-run TV series in the 1990s called Raw Footage, where he interviewed documentarians such as David Van Taylor (Dream Deceivers) and R.J. Cutler (The War Room). 

The Emmy-winning actor, who is on the board of the HIFF, kicked off the SummerDocs series at Guild Hall by introducing the 2009 Sundance Audience Award winner The Cove. Baldwin also moderated a post-screening discussion with producer Fisher Stevens, director Louie Psihoyos and activist Ric O'Barry. Douglas Harrington covers the event in his article hamptons.com, including this description of one of the lighter moments from the evening: 

Although an important, serious and disturbing film, the evening's screening was not without its moments of humor, in large part thanks to moderator Baldwin. As the Japanese government imposes a news blackout regarding any stories concerning dolphin or whale hunting, both Psihoyos and O'Barry reiterated the importance of getting the film in front of the Japanese people. Offering to help promote the film, Baldwin, a long-time animal rights activist himself, was taken aback when O'Barry invite him to return to Japan with him in...July. “July? July - You don't understand, Ric, this is the Hamptons, we don't go anywhere in July but here. We don't go anywhere for three months." Baldwin elicited more laughs from the audience when he asked O'Barry if he could use his marine mammal training techniques to keep the deer out of his organic garden.

FOR MORE:
-Alec Baldwin's "Adventures in Reality" article in the Wall Street Journal
-A description of the evening and event pics: "Baldwin Kicks off SummerDoc Series with 'The Cove'" by Douglas Harrington
-The 2009 HIFF will take place from October 8-12, 2009. Click here for the official festival website. 

Trailer for The Cove