Carpetbagger Debuts

“I’m totally under Steve Martin’s wing,” Mr. Baldwin said, referring to his co-host. “He’s done it twice. I’m there to assist, like a magician’s assistant. That’s how I feel. I’m going to wear like a magician’s assistant costume.”

Before the Bagger could quiz him on whether he’d go skin-tight or glitzy, Mr. Baldwin adopted a tone of utmost gravitas and added: “The thing to remember, though, is that there’s two audiences. There’s the television audience for the program, and then there’s the people in the room for whom this is the highest level of achievement in the film industry, and you have to kind of keep a certain amount of dignity to that.”

Melena Ryzik’s first Carpetbagger piece.