Tuesday, April 24, 2007

latimes.com

Alec Baldwin leaves CAA

The actor's action comes on the heels of the disclosure of his voicemail tirade directed at his daughter.

Baldwin
By Gina Piccalo
Times Staff Writer

April 25, 2007

Alec Baldwin left Creative Artists Agency on Monday. A CAA spokesman confirmed that Baldwin had parted ways with longtime agents Matt DelPiano and Michael Rosenfeld. No reason for the split was provided.

Baldwin has been with CAA since 2002. During his time with the agency, he appeared in critically acclaimed roles in feature films "The Cooler," "The Departed" and "The Aviator"; had a recurring role on "Will & Grace"; and won the Screen Actors Guild Award and a Golden Globe for his role on NBC's "30 Rock."

"This is strictly for personal reasons," said Baldwin's publicist Matthew Hiltzik. "It has absolutely nothing to do with his extremely talented agents who've done great work with Alec."

The firing comes as Baldwin finds himself in the public eye since a voicemail tirade he left on his daughter's cellphone last week was made public Thursday. Baldwin's ex-wife, actress Kim Basinger, released a statement Monday denying that she leaked the angry and threatening voicemail to TMZ.com. Basinger, who is repped by CAA, also called Baldwin "unstable" and "irrational."

In the voicemail, Baldwin calls 11-year-old Ireland a "rude, thoughtless little pig" because she didn't answer her phone when he'd called at a pre-arranged time. He also threatens to fly out to Los Angeles to "straighten" the child out.

A family court judge heard the message and barred Baldwin from contact with Ireland. A hearing is scheduled May 4 on Baldwin's visitation rights in light of his obscenity-laden voicemail.

Shortly after the voicemail became public, Baldwin posted an apology on his website, AlecBaldwin.com, acknowledging he has been "driven to the edge by parental alienation for many years" and suggesting Basinger was to blame for the leak.

"Certain people will go to any lengths to embarrass me and to disrupt my relationship with my daughter," he wrote.