Alec Baldwin No Longer Appearing in MiB3

Alec Baldwin No Longer Appearing in MiB3

Movie News

By our guest blogger, Nick Hanover

Alec Baldwin confirmed to Vulture this week that he was no longer appearing in Men in Black 3, stating "I'm out of it; the schedule didn't work out." The news is just the latest depressing development out of the MiB camp after the Hollywood Reporter published an investigative report into the weird use of tax breaks by Sony to make the film in a way that is stifling, to say the least, and almost certainly the kind of "schedule" issues Baldwin was referencing.

The article by the Hollywood Reporter claimed that the film had originally started shooting in November 2010 with a plan to take a production break from December to February before. Instead the film's break has been extended through March. While this is apparently costing the studio millions it's also saving them a boatload because of New York state tax breaks. The budget for the film is said to be likely to break the $200 million mark but the last MiB film, which was released nearly a decade ago in 2002, grossed $440 million in theatres.

MiB 3 is supposed to appear in theatres in May 2012 in 3D, but these delays could push it back further in the summer months. The film concerns Will Smith's character traveling in time to 1969, where he encounters a younger version of Tommy Lee Jones' K (this time played by Josh Brolin). Tropic Thunder screenwriter Etan Cohen penned the film though David Koepp has apparently been brought in to doctor it. Barry Sonnenfeld remains the director.