Alec Baldwin is courting controversy already. “I want exciting, fizzy, dynamic people. I want interesting people,” the actor told The Hollywood Reporter in a recent interview, discussing the vision he has for his new MSNBC talk show, Up Late With Alec Baldwin, premiering Oct. 11. “I want controversial people. I don’t want to get a bunch of wonks together and just wonk-ify some issue.” Asked if anything will be off-limits, the Emmy winner and now former podcast host admitted he didn’t know just yet how it would all play out. “I guess we’re going to find out,” Baldwin said. “It’s a news network, so as long as it’s not indecent, we can say just about anything.” That sounds like an important advantage for MSNBC, considering another popular, hour-long, say-just-about-anything show—Real Time With Bill Maher—also airs on Fridays at 10 p.m. over on HBO (where Bill really can say just about anything—and with F-bombs!). “Let’s face it: This is a very saturated market,” Baldwin also noted to THR. “It’s something I had tremendous hesitation about and still do. We’re doing longer-format [interviews] with our guests to try to replicate the podcast on TV, but the minute you put a camera on people they become somewhat self-conscious.” Baldwin also has someone new to think about the next time he might be inclined to get hot under the collar in 140 characters or less. “The thing I like about [MSNBC president Phil Griffin] is, he’s going to tell me exactly what’s on his mind,” the actor otherwise known as @ABFoundation said. “So if anything happens [on Twitter] that Phil is unhappy with, he’ll tell me.” Asked about what it feels like to join the cable-news universe, the father of infant Carmen and 17-year-old Ireland said that he doesn’t really see himself as “part of anything,” per se. “The people at MSNBC said, ‘We want you to do something different, with a different tone,'” he recalled. “I think they’re trying to diversify what they have. It’s highly unlikely that it’s going to be me exhorting people at the end of some commentary. The show may change, the show may grow, but we’re not going to do any of that. ” Well, count us among those who can’t wait to see what Baldwin is going to do!
