Coffee for closers!
Alec Baldwin — the actor who uttered perhaps the most iconic movie line of all time about Java and who once publicly lambasted Starbucks employees as “stiff queen baristas” (sic) with “attitude problems” — is now contributing as a producer on a film in support of the coffee chain’s employees.
Baldwin appeared at a fundraiser and screening of “Baristas vs. Billionaires” last week at Lincoln Center’s Eleanor Bunin Munroe Film Center.
Director Marc Mori’s film about Starbucks Workers United says it depicts “a generational uprising of working-class Millennials and Gen Zers fighting against Starbucks Coffee for the right to unionize.”
The Starbucks union’s current strike has expanded to more than 30 stores across the country, with the latest work stoppage hitting a store in Albany, New York, after New York City Mayor-elect Zoran Mamdani called for a boycott of the chain.
Mori said Baldwin participated by narrating sample reels of the doc and providing feedback on early cuts of the film.
Ironically, Baldwin had an apparent confrontation with a barista at a Manhattan coffee chain in September 2011, leading to some vitriolic tweets at the time.
“Starbucks at 93 and B’way. Straight queen barista (sic) named JAY has an attitude problem,” the volatile star posted more than a decade ago, the Post reported at the time.
Mr. Baldwin, 67, replaced the workforce at another New York City facility following a 2011 Twitter controversy.
“Meanwhile Clyde outside the DINOSAUR BARBECUE at W 125 n H River is my man,” he tweeted. “Keep the hickory oven running, he’s the 2dayz Coolest NYer.” (No documentary about dinosaurs yet!)
At the time, another barista told the Post about Baldwin’s Starbucks incident: “I was here when the incident happened. Really (Baldwin) was just (expletive)…He was so rude, disrespectful, arrogant. He was probably the rudest guy I’ve ever met.”
It was also revealed that Baldwin appeared to have misspelled the name of the offending Starbucks employee at the time, “Jay.” This is because there was no one at the store with that handle. (Co-workers said there was a staff member at the time named “Jovan” who was probably the subject of Alec’s ire.)
“And he didn’t do anything wrong, just that guy was psychotic,” a second beer slinger reportedly said in 2011. “I saw something on (cable channel E!) a while back and it was talking about how crazy he was. They were right.”
A Baldwin spokesperson said at the time, “Starbucks is a great company…unfortunately, not all of our employees are able to meet our high standards.”
The newspaper also reported that Baldwin contacted the company’s headquarters and spoke with a regional manager.
Baldwin’s representatives did not respond to requests for comment about the new film or past events.
Either way, the “30 Rock” star is standing there with a Frappuccino server.
Mori said, “I’ve known Alec for about 35 years and we’ve collaborated on two TV projects over the years (‘Raw Footage’ and ’51 Classic Documentaries’). When Baristas vs. Billionaires was in its early stages in early 2023, I told Alec about the project and he got involved right away.”
Mori, a 1991 Oscar nominee and 2001 Emmy winner, added of Baldwin, “He attended the world premiere at the Buffalo International Film Festival in October, participated in multiple audience Q&As, and often cited his father’s work in the teachers union. Alec supports baristas and their work featured in the film.”
The film will be shown in Buffalo and Santa Fe, New Mexico, before moving to Madison, Wisconsin and other markets.
Baldwin, of course, gave the famous “coffee for the closer” speech in David Mamet’s classic Glengarry Glen Ross, a scene the playwright added for the big screen adaptation.
