Baldwin Initially Rejected Kennedy's Doc, Now Embraces It — SkimNews
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- "The Trial of Alec Baldwin" opens in Los Angeles on Friday after debuting at Oregon's Bend Film Festival, with director Rory Kennedy saying she — not Baldwin — initiated the project
- The documentary's on-screen text states Baldwin received "no editorial control, nor did he provide any financial support or receive any compensation," directly countering rumors he sought to rehabilitate his image
- The film traces Baldwin's legal odyssey: he and armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed were charged with involuntary manslaughter in January 2023, the charges against Baldwin were dropped, then a grand jury re-indicted him on felony charges in January 2024 before the case was dismissed mid-trial
- Director Rory Kennedy frames the prosecution as driven by the special prosecutor's personal animus toward Baldwin as a Hollywood star, noting the prosecutor cited his reputation — including the 2007 voicemail to his then-11-year-old daughter Ireland — in private communications expressing loathing
- Baldwin and wife Hilaria initially disliked the film because it includes paparazzi confrontations and the 2007 voicemail in which Baldwin called Ireland a "rude, thoughtless little pig," footage Baldwin thought was extraneous
- Baldwin has since warmed to the documentary after hearing viewer feedback, with Kennedy reporting, "this film is important and in many ways redeems him and also really helps people understand him and understand the injustice of what happened to him"
Why it matters: The documentary recasts Baldwin's prosecution from a negligence narrative to one of celebrity-targeted overreach, arguing the special prosecutor pursued Baldwin for his volcanic reputation rather than the evidence. Baldwin's mid-trial dismissal vindicated that thesis before deliberation — and the very voicemail the prosecutor cited against him is what Baldwin's own film uses to explain her hostility.
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