Alec Baldwin Still Expected to "Rock"?

Is the The Bourbon Room looking for a new owner?  Reuters reported earlier today that Alec Baldwin had dropped out of Adam Shankman's big-screen adaptation of the Broadway musical Rock of Ages.  Baldwin was set to play Dennis Dupree, the burned-out, ex-hippie owner of the endangered Sunset Strip nightclub where most of the story takes place.  No official reason was given to why Baldwin decided to leave the project.

However, BroadwayWorld is now reporting that those reports were inaccurate.  Quoting a statement from New Line, Baldwin "has a personal issue that is expected to resolve so he can do the movie, which begins shooting May 23."

So, hopefully crisis averted there.  Baldwin had been taking singing lessons to prepare for the role, which would have him singing a duet of REO Speedwagon's 80s power ballad "I Can't Fight This Feeling Anymore," with Russell Brand, who will be playing Rock of Ages narrator, Lonny.  Strange as that sounds, it was one of the funniest moments in the stage production (the audience was even given little pen-lights to use as lighters as they sang it), and the Baldwin/Brand pairing seemed so oddly perfect that I was actually looking forward to seeing that.

In addition to Brand, the Rock of Ages cast roster also includes Catherine Zeta-Jones, Mary J. Blige, Tom Cruise, Paul Giamatti, Malin Ackerman, Bryan Cranston, and Julianne Hough.  Newcomer Diego Boneta will star as wannabe rocker Drew.  It is scheduled to open in theaters on June 1, 2012.