[GenuineRisk]

So, here's some dirt on the situation- a friend of mine is the daughter of an actress who works quite a bit and has some friends in the same circles as Baldwin. What she told me was that Basinger is well known as being out of her mind and the angry phone call was the result of years of fighting over custody. They fully admit Baldwin is in his own world, but said he has been fighting Basinger for several years now over rights to see his own kid- his anger on the message, while admittedly overblown, is not a result of one missed phone call, but a result of years of protracted legal battles over seeing his own daughter and having very limited visitation due to Basinger doing everything she can to not let him see her, and, apparently poisoning the girl against her dad (and don't tell me that doesn't happen- much as my husband honors his late mother's memory, he remembers her turning him against his dad in the wake of the divorce. His dad and he were estranged for years as a result.)

And now Baldwin goes on The View tomorrow to say he's trying to get out of his "30 Rock" contract and wants to retire and leave the country. He's really embarrassed about all this. I hope he rethinks the "30 Rock" thing- he's a riot on that show.