Mixed signals! Top 30 Rock thesp Alec Baldwin has made clear his disinterest in acting in a recent chat with Men's Journal. He alludes mostly to a film career--replete with such hits as Notting Hill and Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within behind him--that continues to recede further and further into his past. His thesis is simple: "I don't have any interest in acting anymore."

Sheesh. Drama queen, much? 30 Rock has never been sunnier, bouncing back from last year's slight creative decline, and flourishing largely on the backs of the comedy's core cast. It's not 30 Rock he's jaded by though, it's the sputtering machinery of Old Hollywood. He reflects on his big-screen foibles with contempt. He adds, "The goal of moviemaking is to star in a film where your performance drives the film, and the film is either a soaring critical or commercial success, and I never had that." So as a result, utterances like "I don't have any interest in acting anymore," probably relate only to the strained relationship between him and feature films, best summed up by quips like "I consider my entire movie career a complete failure."

Meanwhile, Hollywood, having found cheaper and more willing superstars, like in the entire cast of Twilight for example, is continuing to wean off stars who need their paychecks to reflect their prestige. Especially those stars who don't need the option of a franchise to keep their own careers going.

But while this probably isn't the death knell for Jack Donaghy, it does signal a dramatic shift. Not only for Baldwin, but for similarly venerable actors who, wearying of unrealistic competition, supporting roles, and thinning paychecks, have decided to defect to prime-time pastures, where the competition's slimmer and their celebrity cachet can go a lot further.