The Museum of the Moving Image Salutes Alec Baldwin

Alec Baldwin on the red carpet at Cipriani.

Photo by: Brooke Niemeyer

By: BROOKE NIEMEYER
The Museum of the Moving Image saluted Alec Baldwin Monday night for his years of acting in film and television.

"I'm very honored to be here," Baldwin said as he walked the red carpet at Cipriani in Midtown. "I've been doing this for a while and when you start to get old like I am, they start giving you these awards. I've got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame now too. I'm getting old."

For many years, Baldwin mainly took on film roles, but now is in his fifth season alongside Tina Fey on the hit NBC series "30 Rock."

He revealed his secret to Niteside of how to be a successful comedic actor.

"I had an opportunity to do a TV show and most comedy involves one central thing -- you have to make an ass of yourself," Baldwin said. "It's not about looking good. You're not playing James Bond. I would love to be James Bond, but I'm not James Bond. They hired somebody else for that, so I make an ass of myself on the show and we've had a lot of fun."

With his experience in both film and television, Baldwin said being a part of "30 Rock" has been one of the best things for him.

"Sometimes the hardest thing to get in movies is an audience, but TV people stay with you," Baldwin said. "They like the show and they watch it every week and we have a great response with our show."

This story ran on NBCNewYork.com's NiteSide.

Jimmy Fallon Shares His Best Alec Baldwin Memory With Niteside

Jimmy Fallon came to support his SNL friend Alec Baldwin.

Photo by: Brooke Niemeyer

By: BROOKE NIEMEYER
Jimmy Fallon has worked with Alec Baldwin on "Saturday Night Live" and so he was on hand to celebrate the Museum of the Moving Image salute to Baldwin Monday night.

Fallon explained to Niteside why he was instructed to call his family immediately after meeting Baldwin for the first time.

"I remember when I first started on 'Saturday Night Live,' he said, 'What's your name, new guy?' I said, 'It's Jimmy Fallon' and he goes, 'Jimmy Fallon I'm going to say your name more than anyone has ever said your name on television tonight. So tell your parents to watch and all your friends.'"

Fallon added, "I counted six times he said my name that night and I was just freaking out. My parents and everyone was calling the next day. It's a big deal when you're first starting out. I'll never forget that."

There was no question that Fallon appreciates Baldwin, not only as an actor, but also as a friend.

"He's the greatest guy in the world," Fallon said. "He's a gentleman and a great guy."

This story ran on NBCNewYork.com's NiteSide.

Actress Amy Ryan Hopes to Return to Broadway

"The Office" star Amy Ryan at Cipriani in Midtown.

Photo by: Brooke Niemeyer

By: BROOKE NIEMEYER
Amy Ryan came out to support her friend and fellow actor Alec Baldwin last night at the Museum of the Moving Image's Salute to Alec Baldwin, where she revealed to Niteside that she would like to return to her acting roots on the stage.

"I would like to do a play again before I forget how," Ryan said on the red carpet at the Cipriani in Midtown. "I want to stay home in New York. I've been traveling a lot so if I could find a job here that would be fantastic."

She was nominated twice in 2000 for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play for her role in the Broadway show "Uncle Vanya" and again in 2005 for her role in "A Streetcar Named Desire."

Ryan has a film called "Win Win" due out later this month, which she stars opposite Paul Giamatti. She can now be seen opposite Steve Carell on "The Office" and said she just returned from shooting her final episode on the show.

"I am very sad to leave it," Ryan said. "But all good things must come to an end, I suppose."

This story ran on NBCNewYork.com's NiteSide.

Stars Salute Alec Baldwin

Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin share a laugh on the red carpet.

Photo by: Brooke Niemeyer

The Museum of the Moving Image Salute to Alec Baldwin was held at the Cipriani in midtown Monday night, honoring him for his work in films and television - including his roles in It's Complicated, 30 Rock, Saturday Night Live, and Along Came Polly. Baldwin is the 26th Honoree of this award.

What an evening. I met Alec Baldwin, Tina Fey, Amy Ryan, Jimmy Fallon, Ben Stiller, Richard Gere, Bob Balaban and many others. Check out the photo gallery I created from the night for NBCNewYork.

Whoopi Goldberg Says Working With Barbara Walters is "Amazing"

Whoopi Goldberg and Barbara Walters

Photo courtesy of Getty Images

By: BROOKE NIEMEYER
Whoopi Goldberg is known for her standout performances in films like "Ghost," "The Color Purple," and "Sister Act," and now as a television host. She began her current role as co-host and moderator of the daytime talk show "The View" in 2007 and revealed to Niteside last night that, even after all this time on the show, she still gets awe-struck sitting across the table from Barbara Walters.

"I sometimes sit across from her and think, 'Wow, am I really hanging out with you?'" Goldberg said. "The most amazing thing is that, you think back to what she did and you kind of get blown away by it, because she really was the first. You don't get to meet many firsts in your life, so it's kind of amazing."

Goldberg has her own status as one of the rare recipients of all four major performance awards - an Emmy, an Oscar, a Grammy, and a Tony. Her name was recently left off a list of past black Oscar winners published in The New York Times, despite her win in 1991 for her role in "Ghost," and she has not hidden her disgust for this omission.

"Oh no, I don't think you read about me there," Goldberg said, rolling her eyes, at the mention of the article during a talk at the 92nd Street Y in the Upper East Side.

The New York Times released a statement on Monday responding to Goldberg's upset, saying that the "point of the piece was not to name every black actor or actress who has been awarded an Oscar" but instead to compare the number of winners prior to those who have won since.

Goldberg produced "Sister Act: The Musical," which will open on Broadway this March. The show originally began in London in 2008, which forced Goldberg to travel abroad - something she doesn't typically do since she doesn't like to fly.

"I didn't fly for 15 years - I have my bus," Goldberg said. "But Tom [Leonardis] says to me, off the cuff, 'We're going to London next month for the show' and I said, 'We're going to have to get an anesthesiologist."

Now that her fears are somewhat under control, thanks in part to modern medicine, Goldberg announced Thursday that she will be heading back overseas in the coming months for a royal interview.

"I'm being interviewed by Prince Edward at Windsor Castle," Goldberg said. "I know him, so it's a comfortable situation for me, and for him too."

As for if she'll return to England again for the upcoming nuptials between Prince William and Kate Middleton -- don't count on it.

"I'm not going to the wedding," Goldberg said. "I don't want to go -- no hot dogs."

As a well-known activist for equality and gay rights, Goldberg has participated in many LGBT rallies and also helped with the launch of Cyndi Laupers "Give a Damn Campaign," and says she doesn't understand those who oppose any marriage.

"I don't understand this idea that you have to separate it and it can't be called marriage," Goldberg said. "My feeling is, if you don't like gay marriage, don't marry a gay person."

A version of this story also ran on NBCNewYork.com's Niteside.

"30 Rock" Star Judah Friedlander: Tina Fey Is Always "Several Steps Ahead"

Judah Friedlander refers to himself as "the world champion."

Photo courtesy of Getty Images

By: BROOKE NIEMEYER
Judah Friedlander, who is best known for his role as Frank on the hit NBC series "30 Rock," revealed over the weekend that his favorite part of working on the show is interacting with the other actors and writers -- especially Tina Fey.

"Tina is great, and she she's so smart," Friedlander told Niteside. "She's such a clever writer and is always thinking several steps ahead. It's so nice to work on a project like '30 Rock' where they've thought ahead on just about everything."

Alec Baldwin is also someone Friedlander said he enjoys working with on the show, especially when they joke around on set.

"He's so much fun to hang out with and goof around with on the set," Friedlander said. "He's got great energy and great charisma and when you get to work with him, he brings out the best in you."

Friedlander, who did two stand-up comedy shows at Comix in the Meatpacking District Saturday night, also said that he personally designs all of the iconic trucker hats his character wears on the show.

"Some are jokes I've thought out in advance, others are jokes I've thought of last second and some are inspired by what's going on within the script," Friedlander said. "One to three times per season, [the writers] will write the hat and work it into the storyline and do some jokes with it, but pretty much it's me doing all of these."

He added, "I always try to make it add to the show and not to distract from it."

Friedlander recently released the book "How to Beat Up Anybody," which teaches readers how to fight foes such as ninjas and Bigfoot and even your very own shadow.

He often refers to himself as "The World Champion" and said he has an "extra dark black belt" in karate.

This story ran on NBCNewYork.com's NiteSide.

Joel McHale "Excited" to See The Boss

Joel McHale on the red carpet at the New York Comedy Festival.

By: BROOKE NIEMEYER

On the television sitcom "Community" Joel McHale plays the leader of a motley gang of community-college students, but in real life last night he was psyched to meet another top dog -- The Boss.

"I'm excited about seeing Bruce Springsteen," said "The Soup" host of one of the evening's performers at the fourth-annual Stand Up for Heroes benefit for American war veterans, kicking off this year's New York Comedy Festival. Jon Stewart, Jerry Seinfeld, Tony Bennett, and Rosie O'Donnell also appeared.

The Bob Woodruff Foundation partnered with the New York Comedy Festival to put on the event, held at the Beacon Theatre on the Upper East Side.

"I think any time you can get anyone out and laughing it's a good thing," McHale said.

While many major stars turned out, McHale said the ones who deserved the most attention were the veterans.

Injured troops need lifelong care and there needs to be awareness of that and more funding for that," McHale said. "They have made such an incredible sacrifice that it's the least we can do."

And to those who might wonder why it works to mix comedy with such a serious subject, McHale simply said, "Why not?"

This story ran on NBCNewYork.com's NiteSide.

Comedian Tom Green Reveals 2011 Movie Release

Me with Tom Green at Comix on Friday night.

By: BROOKE NIEMEYER

Tom Green hasn't disappeared, he's just been hanging out in his living room -- with thousands of fans.

The comedian and actor, who was briefly a tabloid fixture of 2001 for his short-lived marriage to Drew Barrymore, has in fact been very busy as of late. Green continues to host a popular internet show out of his house, he began a stand-up comedy world tour earlier this year, and on his stop in New York City this weekend, he told NiteSide that he just wrapped filming a movie, "Prankstar," which he wrote, directed, and stars in.

"It will be coming out in a year or so," Green said before his Friday night show at Comix Comedy Club in the Meatpacking District. "[Movies] have always been something that I enjoy doing, but it takes such a lot out of you when it comes to directing and writing a movie. It's a little bit too slow of a moving machine for my attention deficit disorder, so I think I'd like to do one every few years."

As for other people's pictures, Green said he would like to see the latest "Jackass" movie, but his tour schedule has prevented him from going.

"I like 'Jackass' and I know some of those guys," Green said. "I'm sure it's awesome."

In 2006, Green started an online talk show, "Tom Green's House Tonight," where he interviews celebrities at a studio he built in the living room of his Los Angeles home.

"It's the longest running online talk show in the history of the Internet and the highest rated," Green boasts. "I was the first one to do it and I'm still going."

Green starred in the MTV his series of the late 90's, "The Tom Green Show," which was well known for its shock humor, but was discontinued around the time that Green was diagnosed with (and later successfully treated for) cancer. Now he says that even though he enjoyed doing the show, he doesn't really miss TV.

"I get literally just as many viewers on the web show," Green said. "[Now] I have nobody really telling me what to do and I can basically do whatever I want creatively and that's a lot of fun. I'm really in control of my own little business."

This story ran on NBCNewYork.com's NiteSide.

Russell Brand: "I Am Excited About Getting Married"

Katy Perry and Russell Brand are expected to wed soon.

Photo courtesy of Getty Images

By: BROOKE NIEMEYER

British comic Russell Brand said he was thrilled about his upcoming nuptials to pop starlet Katy Perry.

"I will say I am excited about getting married," Brand said Wednesday night at Barnes and Noble in Manhattan while promoting his new book "Booky Wook 2: This Time It's Personal."

"It's a lovely thing to get married. I think it's a peaceful thing and I'm very happy about it."

The couple got engaged last year, but Brand remained mum on the details and did not reveal a specific date or place for the wedding.

In lieu of a traditional reading, Brand interacted with the wall-to-wall crowd -- answering their questions and telling jokes. He humorously informed fans "that man on Facebook is not me."

While Brand's fiance is busy with her concert tour, the "Get Him to the Greek" star started a weekly radio show on the UK station talkSPORT earlier this month, which follows him on his book tour for the next 20 weeks.

Brand also revealed last night that before too long he will have another radio show to tune into -- this time it will be in the states.

"There will soon be a new radio show on Sirius," Brand said. "Look out for that."

This story ran on NBCNewYork.com's NiteSide.

Comics Still Reeling From Loss of Greg Giraldo, Says Pal

Comedian Joe DeRosa at Comix.

Photo by: Brooke Niemeyer

By: BROOKE NIEMEYER

The New York comedy community is still reeling from the shocking death of "Last Comic Standing" comedian Greg Giraldo, according to fellow comic and pal Joe DeRosa.

"It was a very hard thing to wrap your head around," DeRosa told NiteSide at Comix in Manhattan this weekend.

"He's definitely left a tremendous void in the business, and I think particularly in the New York comedy scene because he's here. I feel lucky to have known the guy in the way that I did."

He added, "He was the life of the party, would light up a room, always had a smile on his face, always funny, always charming, and one of the best comics ever to grace the business. He's very, very missed."

DeRosa met Geraldo, who passed away on Sept. 29 at age 44 of an accidental drug overdose, after he moved to New York from Philadelphia a few years ago to pursue a career in comedy. DeRosa said he stumbled into the business by accident when a club manager in Philly asked him to tell jokes during Monday Night football halftime breaks.

"I always enjoyed trying to be funny, and making people laugh is nice," DeRosa said. "But the thing to me that was always so incredible is that a group of people would listen to your thoughts and opinions."

He idolized the acts of men already in the industry, including Giraldo, and also George Carlin, who DeRosa had a brief phone conversation with a few years ago.

"When I tell you that is probably my most robust comedy memory, I'm not exaggerating," DeRosa said. "I just admired the man at such a level that even just to talk to him for five minutes ... that moved worlds for me."

Comic Katie Schorr: I'm Proud of My Role in Trojan Ad

Me and Katie Schorr backstage at Joe's Pub

By: BROOKE NIEMEYER
Comedic actress Katie Schorr, who has appeared in CollegeHumor videos, said last night that she's proud of what has become perhaps her best-known gig: her role in Trojan condom commercials.

"I just liked that it was such an earnest and sincere person talking about a really grottie thing," the 27-year-old funnywoman told NiteSide at her solo show "Did I Do That?" at Joe's Pub in Manhattan on Monday night.

"I feel like I look earnest and sincere, but I can talk about less palatable things and make them funny."

Schorr said she is focused on establishing a career out of making people laugh, with her current focus on writing a new web series called "Efficient Officiant."

"It's about a wedding officiant and his girlfriend manager who are failing to make a business out of marrying people," said Schorr, who co-stars in the series with boyfriend Lance Rubin. "I love to do things that I think are genuinely funny like this."

Rubin also joins Schorr on stage as a backup band member during "Did I Do That?," which recounts an eight-month period during Schorr's college years where she focused on losing her virginity. She recalls stories from a fraternity formal, a spring break trip in Jamaica, and negative experiences she had while volunteering in the Dominican Republic.

Aside from her web series, Schorr said that right now she is most interested in acting on a TV drama, specifically playing the comedic relief character.

"I love the people on dramas who bring in their sense of humor and add a little comedy to what is a really bleak world," Schorr said. "Although, if 'The Office' wants to hire me, I'll do it."

This story ran on NBCNewYork.com's NiteSide.

"30 Rock" Actor Dean Winters: I'm Indebted to Tina Fey

Me and Dean Winters at Lucky Strike Lanes

By: BROOKE NIEMEYER
"30 Rock" actor Dean Winters, who had a brush with death after his heart stopped one year ago, said he is indebted to co-star and pal Tina Fey.

"Tina Fey is the most caring woman I've worked with in this business," Winters told NiteSide last night at Lucky Strike Lanes during nightlife kingpin Matt DeMatt's birthday bash.

"When I was going through a really hard time she pulled me out, and I have a debt of gratitude to her I'm not sure I can ever repay."

A bacterial infection caused Winters to collapse and his heart to stop beating for two minutes on June 19 of last year. Fey was instrumental in bringing him back to the set of the NBC show, he told the "New York Post" last year.

The health scare is a terrifying incident the actor, also from "Oz" and "Rescue Me," told NiteSide that he is still struggling to recover from.

"Life was rocking and rolling for me and then it just stopped," Winters said. "So now I'm learning how to press the play button again."

The 45-year-old said he values relationships more than he did before the incident.

"I learned what love is and what friendship is and those are things I think I took for granted for a while," Winters said. "Whatever I went through in this past year, it was worth it."

He also said that his roles on "30 Rock" and "Oz" were dream jobs -- but Winters still has at least one career goal.

"I just would love to rumble with Clint [Eastwood]," he said. "I would like to play his son or his long-lost son or whatever."

This story ran on NBCNewYork.com's NiteSide.

"The Office" Star B.J. Novak: Working With Steve Carell Is the "Greatest Privilege"

B.J. Novak, aka Ryan from The Office, was the host of this years Webby Awards.

Photo by: Brooke Niemeyer

By: BROOKE NIEMEYER
"The Office" star B.J. Novak, who hosted the 14th annual Webby Awards in Lower Manhattan last night, said working with sitcom co-star Steve Carell is the highest honor in the business.

"Working with him is the greatest privilege in comedy," Novak said on the red carpet at the Webby Awards.

The actor, writer, and comedian confessed he was nervous to fulfill his hosting duties for the award show that closes out Internet Week because celebrity critic Roger Ebert was in the audience.

"I'm so scared to host tonight because Roger Ebert is going to be in the audience," Novak said. "The entire time, I will be watching his thumbs for any movement in the right direction."

He added, "I will be composing his review in my head so my mind will be going."

Hosting duties at this year's award show isn't the only recent connection the actor has had with the Internet. On this year's season finale of NBC's "The Office," Novak's character, Ryan, decided to create a social networking site called "Woof" that links up all other social networking sites for a monthly fee of $12.95.

"It's the worst idea I've ever heard," Novak said, laughing. "But he's a smart guy and it will be good for him."

This story ran on NBCNewYork.com's NiteSide.