1 ottobre: TALKING MONEY WITH ALEC BALDWIN. Living Paycheck to Paycheck (All of Them Big). The actor Alec Baldwin at his home in Amagansett, N.Y., on Long Island. Much of his investing has been focused on real estate in New York. WHEN Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger married in 1993, they did not sign a prenuptial agreement. "My ex-wife was someone I could never imagine getting divorced from," Mr. Baldwin recalled. "My advisers all told me to get a prenup," he said, but "I thought it was forever. We were very naïve." The couple divorced last year and are now resolving financial and custody disputes. Mr. Baldwin, the square-jawed, handsome actor who can be unusually combative, said this divorce was one battle he could have skipped. Mr. Baldwin's marital problems have convinced him that all engaged couples need prenuptial agreements, especially when they have significant amounts of money that can become the focus of conflict. He has added that rule to others he tries to follow when he considers his finances, he said. Though Mr. Baldwin would not be specific, he has accumulated a large amount of money: perhaps $20 million to $23 million, with about $14 million of that in real estate, according to real estate agents and people close to him. Mr. Baldwin built such a fortune without ever reaching megastar heights. A well-respected actor, he is still best known for his role in "The Hunt for Red October," the 1990 film. His other film credits include "Malice," "The Edge," with Anthony Hopkins, and "Glengarry Glen Ross." In recent years, he has attracted attention as an outspoken political liberal as well as for several public outbursts. The divorce disputes with Ms. Basinger have also received press attention. Mr. Baldwin is convinced that a prenup would have calmed the waters. "Having a prenup is not about segregating assets," Mr. Baldwin said during an interview at his Art Deco-style office on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The office is in the same building where he owns an apartment that is his primary residence. "`It is about: while you and I respect one another, why don't we hammer out this agreement pragmatically," said Mr. Baldwin, dressed in slacks and a white sports shirt. "In divorce the goal is to change partners and dance. A prenup helps people move on." Without a prenup, Mr. Baldwin may soon pay Ms. Basinger several million dollars, according to people close to him. Still, he appears to be disciplined about holding on to a decent chunk of what he earns. Mr. Baldwin has a crucial piece of advice for actors: Set aside your money for taxes so you don't make what he calls I.R.S. movies. "You get paid a gross amount; it's up to you to manage your withholding account," he said. Otherwise, he added, "by the fall, you've spent everything you have earned, and you are chasing money to pay the I.R.S." The same principle applies to anyone who is self-employed, he said. Cash problems can leave performers prey to whatever project comes along. "If the only movie you can get to do is bad, it may be the last movie you make," Mr. Baldwin said. He is leery of assuming that the amount of money he makes in a particular year is what he will continue to make. "Actors get on a path where they make $250,000 and then $500,000 and then $1 million and they get seduced into thinking they are going to have that growth," he said. "People start living like they are going to make more money and they don't." TO handle his own money, Mr. Baldwin talks regularly with Stephen Smith, an accountant who heads his own firm and oversees Mr. Baldwin's financial affairs, including taxes, budgeting and writing checks. Mr. Smith also monitors Mr. Baldwin's various sources of income, including residuals, the amounts paid when older films reach certain revenue goals. Occasionally, Mr. Baldwin has picked stocks, but generally with poor results. "I bought a lot of Global Crossing," he said, because a colleague knew a lot of people who worked for the company, which eventually filed for bankruptcy protection. "All the buys that were based on ideas from friends of mine have not done well," he said. Mr. Smith discourages investment autonomy for Mr. Baldwin. "If he came to me after Sept. 11 about buying a railroad stock, I would say to him: `Shut up and go do a voiceover,' " Mr. Smith said. "Creative people should not be picking stocks." Fortunately for Mr. Baldwin, his main focus has been New York real estate. He paid about $2.5 million for his two Manhattan apartments in the early 1990's, and they are now valued by a Manhattan real estate agent at about $6.5 million. 2 ottobre: Little Shell advertiser carries success home. Renowned advertising director Joe Pytka, fourth from right, films a commercial on the Rocky Boy's Reservation for the Center for Disease Control. Michael Gray, president of the company making the advertisement, hopes Pytka's involvement will lure other productions to Montana. As a student at Paris Gibson Middle School, Michael Gray developed an interest in commercial art. At 36, he's landing six-figure contracts as the president of a national advertising firm, one of a handful of Indian-owned, full-service ad companies in the country. Now Gray of Albuquerque, N.M., is bringing his success back home. When his company, G&G Advertising, landed a contract to produce a television ad for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, he arranged to shoot the spot on the Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation where he went to elementary school. To direct the ad, Gray called the most powerful name in his phone list, Joe Pytka. One of the premier directors in the advertising world, Pytka worked on last year's Super Bowl Pepsi ad staring Britney Spears singing through the decades. He directed Michael Jordan in the movie "Space Jam," also starring Bugs Bunny. "One thing I'm a strong believer in is a promoter of the state," Gray said after the shoot at Rocky Boy's earlier this month. "... People are going to say, 'Well, Joe (Pytka) shot in Montana. I'm going to go shoot in Montana.'" Gray's allegiance to his home state has come full circle. His company bought the 1907 Masonic Lodge in Billings in March and plans to move in as early as next spring after a $1 million renovation. He plans to make the Billings location his company's headquarters within two years. "I just see Montana is going to continue to grow," he said. "Cities like Billings. Cities like Great Falls." The renovation will preserve the stately exterior of the Masonic building, across the street from the Alberta Bair Theater. "But on the inside you'll feel like you landed on Madison Avenue," Gray said. "We're going to put a camper in there, street lights, all kinds of weird stuff." The '50s-era camper will look like it crashed through a wall, still hooked to the truck hitch. Clients will be able to relax inside, make private phone calls or check their e-mail. Employees can fit in some exercise on a half-court basketball gym. "They spend more time here than they do at home so we want to create an environment that's like, 'Well, I want to spend even more time here,'" Gray said. In his business, appearances are everything. "The place you call home has to show your creativity without saying a word," he said. "Someone walks in and says, 'Wow, these guys are the right fit.'" Friday, Gray's Albuquerque office, a remodeled bank building, was transformed into a set for the Joel Zwick film "Elvis Has Left the Building." Starring Kim Basinger, the movie is about a cosmetics saleswoman who travels from Memphis to Las Vegas, leaving behind a trail of dead Elvis impersonators. Producers liked Gray's office because of its New York atmosphere. He wants his Billings digs to be equally impressive. Technology will help bridge the distance between the Billings headquarters and Gray's clients on the East and West coasts. And Montana has allure for clients, said Gray, who will maintain his Albuquerque location as a satellite office. "It's a positive for clients because they get to go to two beautiful places, go to Montana or go to Albuquerque," he said. Gray was plugged into the advertising business as a marketing director for the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe. Through that job he met David Kennedy, owner of the Wieden and Kennedy Ad Agency in Portland, the advertising firm for Nike. Kennedy was a board member for the American Indian College Fund when he met Gray. He became a good friend and nudged Gray into advertising work. "He told me to just do it," Gray likes to joke. Kennedy introduced him to Pytka, who has directed about 10 commercials for Gray. Kennedy also was a mentor. "David was a big reference book," Gray said. "Now and then I'd have to pull him off the shelf." But Kennedy considers Gray just as important to his work. "I look to Michael for guidance in a lot of the work I do for the American Indian College Fund, he being a Native American," Kennedy said. "So I depend on Michael to tell me, is this kosher or not?" But it was Kennedy who encouraged Gray to diversify his business. As a high-profile, Native American advertiser, Gray wants to avoid being pigeon-holed into Indian-themed work. "Just because of who we are doesn't mean that's all we can do," he said. Though Gray is sought after for work in Indian Country, "it goes beyond that," Kennedy said. "I think Michael's developed into a great advertising talent ... He communicates with people on a personal level. I think that's what separates him from most of the garbage out there." Gray is a gifted writer, as well as an art director and designer, Kennedy said. "Those people are few and far between." Gray's clients include the Santa Fe Opera, the Coca-Cola Fountain group and the University of  New Mexico athletic department and hospital system. Gray's brother, Gerald Gray Jr., is the firm's vice president. University of Montana graduate Scott Sylvester is the account director. Gray's New Mexico office employs about 18 and he plans to hire 20 to 25 more for the Billings office. In keeping with his effort to give back to the community, volunteer work is a requirement for employees, he said. "I think the best way to get involved in our community is to be part of that community."  3 ottobre: 100 Sexiest Stars of All Time Selected by Celebrity Skin Magazine. Can you count to 100 slowly? That's what you'll want to do as you feast your eyes on the pages of Celebrity Skin's latest -- and hottest -- issue ever. Our editors took a long and very hard look at the sensuous sirens dominating the silver screen, the small screen and pop music charts to offer readers full exposure on their picks for the 100 Sexiest Stars Of All Time. Who's sexy and provocative enough to make our exclusive list? Well, award- winning wenches Jennifer Connelly and Halle Berry are surefire entries ready to warm the cockles of any man's heart. The magazine adds a little "zing" by baring the classic beauty of Raquel Welch (there's a reason they call her The Rock) and Brigitte Bardot. Steamy poses from Madonna and J-Lo are paired against nubile shots of Britney and Christina -- you decide who wins the test of time. Charlie's Angels' Cameron Diaz and Drew Barrymore vie for position against Bond girls Kim Basinger and Denise Richards while Salma Hayek and Ashley Judd compete for sexiest celluloid siren. Of course, no diva list is complete without Pamela Anderson. Celebrity Skin shows two reasons why she's still queen of the mountain and one hot bombshell. The Most Shocking Nude Scenes On Film rounds out this issue. Steamy -- sometimes controversial -- shots of today's hottest stars include Italian amorata Monica Bellucci (Irreversible), the sensuous Sherilyn Flynn (Boxing Helena), spectacular Tara Reid (Body Shots) and curvaceous Heather Graham (Killing Me Softly). You'll want to replay these are scenes over and over again. Celebrity Skin #120 is available at newsstands nationwide on September 25th. 5  ottobre: Stuck on you: Ned's gets decal for aiding Elvis flick. Who knew that places within a two-mile radius of Albuquerque's Downtown Sheraton Hotel could double as movie scenes from four other states? Director Joel Zwick did. Zwick began filming "Elvis Has Left the Building," a comedy starring Kim Basinger and John Corbett, on Sept. 15 and says it probably won't be the last time he'll use the city as his movie canvas. "If I can have a movie even closely related to New Mexico, I'll be back," he said during a quick break in filming Monday. Although scenes of the film are set in Tennessee, Arizona, Nevada and Texas, Zwick says he has been able to shoot most of it in the heart of Downtown Albuquerque. But while the filming can be good for the economy in the long run, several local businesses have been inconvenienced, Mayor Martin Chavez said, To recognize those who have been put out, the mayor has begun the Albuquerque Film Ambassadors program. Any time local business owners go out of the way to help directors film movies, Chavez will present them with a certificate and a window decal. Monday, the first decal was presented to the management of Ned's Downtown, a restaurant/bar/dance club whose whose portion of Central Avenue has been closed to traffic on and off for the past three weeks. "We want to recognize people who have to put up with that inconvenience," Chavez said. On Monday, director David Greenspan began shooting "Mall Cop," a low-budget film about a security guard, at Winrock Mall. Although the film has a limited budget, the city's film liaison, Ann Lerner, said any up-and-coming director like Greenspan is of value to the city. "He could be the next Stephen Spielberg and have such a wonderful experience here, he'll want to come back," she said. Zwick said he hopes his future films will require Albuquerque's "interesting" landscapes, neighborhoods and Downtown scenes. "Ned's here is terrific. It's doubling as an interior of a Las Vegas showroom," he said. And the rest of Albuquerque, Zwick said, is already growing on him. "Now I know (the area)," he said. "I can almost remember where I am most of the time." 6  ottobre: Variety. Zwick pic shoots in New Mexico. Laffer 'Elvis' to star Basinger, Corbett. LONDON -- If it's Tuesday, it must be Albuquerque. Fresh from the world premieres of Woody Allen's "Anything Else" at Venice and Robert Altman's "THE COMPANY" in Toronto, the U.K.'s Capitol Films continued its whistle-stop world tour in New Mexico last week, where Joel Zwick has started shooting "ELVIS HAS LEFT THE BUILDING." Capitol is financing the Zwick pic (his first since "My Big Fat Greek Wedding") in return for worldwide distribution rights. Romantic leads Kim Basinger and John Corbett have been joined by a supporting cast including Angie Dickinson (as Basinger's mother), Billy Ray Cyrus, Denise Richards, Sean Astin and Annie Potts. Pic, a screwball comedy about a cosmetics saleswoman who accidentally becomes a serial killer of Elvis impersonators, has already been sold to Entertainment in the U.K. and Scanbox in Scandinavia, but no U.S. distrib is yet in place. The project is also backed by German fund Equity Pictures and the New Mexico Film Commission. Capitol, run by co-founders Sharon Harel and Jane Barclay, is London's longest-established sales company, founded in 1989. While the rest of the foreign sales sector has been going through a period of contraction and consolidation in London and Los Angeles, Capitol has so far maintained its independence, pushing ahead with a slate of high-profile international movies. Helmer, star set for big fat Elvis project. Zwick, Basinger to begin shooting Sept. 15 in New Mexico. LONDON -- Kim Basinger will star as a cosmetic saleswoman whose life is strangely entangled with Elvis Presley in Joel Zwick's romantic comedy "ELVIS HAS LEFT THE BUILDING." Pic, which starts shooting Sept. 15 in New Mexico, is Zwick's first feature since he hit the jackpot with "My Big Fat Greek Wedding." Basinger will play the hapless Harmony, born during an Elvis concert and ever after linked in some way to the King. While on the road hawking lipstick, she accidentally kills a couple of Elvis impersonators and ends up on the run from the FBI. So, in an unlikely coincidence, does a depressed advertising executive whose path intersects romantically with hers as the pair head toward the pic's climax at an Elvis convention in Las Vegas. The movie is fully financed by London-based Capitol Films, which is handling worldwide distribution. Producer is Tova Laiter ("Varsity Blues"), with a screenplay by Adam-Michael Garber and Mitchell Ganem. "We are excited to be working with Joel Zwick, Kim Basinger and the rest of the team," said Capitol co-founder Sharon Harel. Basinger will shoot "ELVIS HAS LEFT THE BUILDING" before moving on to her next leading role in the New Line thriller "Cellular." She has just finished Tod Williams' "The Door in the Floor" for Focus. Further down the line, Zwick is attached to "Fat Albert" at 20th Century Fox and Mandalay's "Centerfold." 10  ottobre: Two low-budget films begin production in Albuquerque. Production crews for the film “Elvis Has Left the Building” closed several streets for filming in Albuquerque over the past few weeks. Mayor Martin Chavez says the economic benefit is worth the inconvenience. New movies are in production in Albuquerque, and city officials hope a to welcome even more filmmakers to town. Mayor Martin Chavez announced Monday that two low-budget films would be in production in the city. The first, an $800,000 production called “Mall Cop,” began production Monday at Winrock Center. It also plans to shoot scenes around downtown. The second production, called “Formosa,” is a $250,000 film directed by New Mexico native Noah Kadner, a graduate of Albuquerque Academy. The announcement comes as production on the film "Elvis Has Left The Building" wraps up its final two weeks in Albuquerque. The film features Kim Basinger as a cosmetic saleswoman who ends up on the run from the FBI after she leaves a train of dead Elvis impersonators. Chavez admitted that such productions can cause inconveniences for residents, such as closed streets and traffic disruption. However, the mayor insisted the economic gain for the city by welcoming Hollywood was too great to ignore. To encourage more businesses to be open to filmmaking, Chavez introduced the Albuquerque Ambassadors to Film program Monday morning. The program recognizes local businesses who support film production in the city with a window decal and a certificate.