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Tina Fey hearts NBC

NBC has suffered terrible press of late from the forced departure of late-night host Conan O’Brien, but at the Screen Actors Guild Awards on Saturday, the network got a big wet kiss from “30 Rock” star Tina Fey.

After taking the stage to claim her award for best actress in a TV comedy, Fey had nothing but good things to say about the network behind her show, even though “30 Rock” is itself no stranger to spoofing NBC.

“I just want to take a moment to say to everyone at NBC, we are very happy with everything and happy to be there,” Fey deadpanned, as the audience laughed.

It was more than just a joke, as the awards-laden “30 Rock” has in the past struggled to survive on NBC due to lackluster ratings. But in the wake of one of the biggest public relations disasters in the last-placed network’s history, during which O’Brien and other comedians lambasted NBC, Fey got some laughs for going the reverse route.

Last week, at the Golden Globe Awards, NBC fared much worse, even though the show was broadcast on that network, as Fey joked that the rain was “God crying for NBC” and host Ricky Gervais quipped, “Let’s get on with it (the show) before NBC replaces me with Jay Leno.”

Now that NBC has officially replaced O’Brien with Leno, and given O’Brien a $32.5 million payout, really laying into the network with a biting quip might have looked like kicking a dog, and the network escaped unharmed. This year’s SAG Awards were broadcast on cable networks TBS and TNT.

Backstage after winning her award, Fey was earnest and not quick to joke about NBC.

Oscar hires Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin … Huh?

They aren’t exactly Laurel and Hardy, or Hope and Crosby, or Lewis and Martin (that’s singer Dean) or even Rowan and Martin (as in Laugh-in’s Dick Martin). So when Oscar organizers on Tuesday named Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin as the co-hosts of the upcoming Academy Awards, it left more than a few Hollywood watchers scratching their heads. You can read the story here.

After all, their only two pull quotes from the press release issued by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences ranged from Martin’s mildly funny “I am happy to co-host the Oscars with my enemy Alec Baldwin,” to a decidedly mixed statement from Baldwin, “I don’t play the banjo but I’m thrilled to be hosting the Oscars — it’s the opportunity of a lifetime.”

Baldwin’s first reference is, of course, a joke about Martin’s love of the banjo, but the last half of the statement sounds rather serious.

It seems like salt and pepper, oil and water, but maybe that’s exactly what Oscar organizers are hoping for. And, if nothing else, it looks to generate some publicity and maybe even some controversy given Baldwin’s history with social and political activism. Yet, no matter how you slice it, it’s an odd pick and left more than one or two Hollywood publicists scratching their heads in Hollywood.

So, we leave it to you. Martin (the standup comedian) and Baldwin (the actor) co-hosting the world’s top film awards. Good choice? Bad? Or somewhere in between, which in some ways would be the worst choice of all because it might not elicit any reaction. And if they were successful, could it be a new comedy team: Martin and Baldwin? Or would it be Baldwin and Martin? We’d love to be a fly on the wall in that conversation among Hollywood agents.

Tina Fey wants to “be done” with Palin after November

Tina Fey’s hit comedy series “30 Rock” may have picked up 4 Emmys, but backstage at the TV awards show the show’s creator and star faced almost as many questions about her recent portrayal of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin on “Saturday Night Live” as she did about her award-winning show.

As it turns out, Fey would rather not see Palin become a regular character on “SNL.”

“I want to be done playing this lady November 5th,” Fey said when asked backstage about how she feels about the election. “So, if anyone can help me be done playing her on November 5th…”

The U.S. presidential election is November 4th.

Fey added that Palin “seems like a perfectly nice lady,” but that she had been reluctant at first to admit that they look alike.

“I was very resistant to acknowledge that there was a resemblance,” Fey said. “Then my kid saw Sarah Palin on TV and said ‘That’s Mommy.’”

As for “30 Rock,” Fey said co-star Alec Baldwin had told her that her award for best actress in a comedy series meant she could now “stop apologizing for being an actor and being on the show.”