CHANNING TATUM GETS GROOVE BACK IN “MAGIC MIKE XXL”

Press release

Channing Tatum reprises the title role and again serves as a producer on Warner Bros. Pictures' “Magic Mike XXL,” the highly awaited sequel to the 2012 worldwide hit “Magic Mike.”

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.

Three years after Mike Lane (Tatum) quit the stripper spotlight for a different kind of life, he’s come to realize he traded one grind for another. The business he launched isn’t exactly crushing it, and the girl he thought was the one…wasn’t. But it’s more than that. Tatum explains, “You definitely get the sense that something vital is missing. He’s just not ‘switched on’ the way he was when he was dancing.”

For Mike, it was never just about the money. Or the women, or the parties, or the fame. It was his passion. And the crew he left behind? They were the best friends he ever had.

Describing the new story, Tatum says, “The first movie was more about him rejecting that life because he feared maybe it was holding him back from seeing what else he could do. But now that he’s stepped away and some time has passed, he remembers everything that was good and cool and fun about it and, most of all, about the guys who were on that wild adventure with him. It might not have been perfect and neither were they, but he loved those guys and they had some great times. Mike has been working very hard since the closing frame of the first movie, and we catch up with him at the point where he realizes he needs a little bit of that old mojo. He needs some of that crazy life to shake things up for him again.”

It’s time to get out there and have some fun, doing what he does best. So, when the former Kings of Tampa look him up on their way to the stripper convention in Myrtle Beach – an event that is every bit as outrageous as it sounds – Magic Mike can’t resist. He’s in.

It was vital that for “Magic Mike XXL” the dance routines were not only original, sexy and breathtakingly intense, but integral to the story and the characters. Director Gregory Jacobs affirms, “We wanted the dances to connect thematically to each of the guys and reflect some kind of character development with a big payoff at the end.”

“Channing, honestly, has the most incredible ideas; he’s so instinctual and a lot of it comes from him,” choreographer Alison Faulk says. Offering a couple of examples, “Adam plays on the machismo element and he’s athletic, so we challenged him with some hip-hop moves and a kip-up, which is a kind of full-body rising movement from the floor that requires a lot of abdominal strength.”

Tatum lent his expertise, working closely with Faulk and Jacobs to craft the most powerful dance performances, not only for himself but for all the roles – a process that could have been far more awkward if not for the fact that he and the choreographer share a longtime association. “We spent hours in a room, trying to figure out the right dance moves,” he says. “We were saying things like, ‘Don’t put your crotch here; put it more over here.’ It was ridiculous.”

Their dedication was evident throughout, starting with the first beats of Tatum’s opening number, a stirring freestyle solo that Mike executes in the garage where he makes furniture, triggered by Ginuwine’s “Pony” on the radio. As Magic Mike, it was his signature song, and hearing it still sets his body irresistibly in motion. Alone, he moves seemingly for the pure pleasure of it, ingeniously incorporating the drills and sanders of his trade while gliding across workbenches and spinning off chairs as the music guides him – perhaps reminding himself that dancing is still a part of who he is.

Not that there was any doubt. “Channing’s performance is unbelievable,” Jacobs states. “It’s really impossible to take your eyes off him when he starts to move. And it’s there, in that first dance, when he hears that song and the call of this trip is so strong that he can’t pass it up.”

Opening across the Philippines on July 15, “Magic Mike XXL” is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment company.

CHANNING TATUM SHOWS FUNNY SIDE IN “21 JUMP STREET”

Channing Tatum

One of Hollywood’s most sought after young actors today and has established himself among the next generation of leading men. Best known for action thrillers (“G.I. Joe”) and romantic dramas (“The Vow,” “Dear John”), Channing Tatum now stars in his first comedy film ever, Columbia Pictures' hilarious high school send-off, “21 Jump Street.”

 

             In the film, Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Jenko (Tatum) were enemies in high school who became unlikely friends in Police Academy. While they may not be the best cops on the beat, they have a chance to turn it around when they join the police department's secret Jump Street unit, run by Captain Dickson (Ice Cube). They trade in their guns and badges for backpacks and use their youthful appearances to go undercover...in high school!

 

             Looking for a foil for Jonah Hill's nerdy character, the filmmakers searched for an actor to play Jenko – a guy for whom everything went right during high school who discovers that things aren’t so easy the second time around. Who could be handsome and an alpha male, but funny, too?

             “When we met Channing Tatum, we realized he’s perfect for the role because he’s naturally funny and sincere,” says co-director Christopher Miller.

             “Channing Tatum hits all the right notes,” co-director Phil Lord shares. “Everyone knows he can pull off the heroic stuff, but there’s an underlying kindness to him that makes a nice contrast to his performance. And he’s so much funnier than people expect. We knew that the actor who plays Jenko had to be somebody who could be comedic and have a twinkle in his eye, and Channing has that.”

 

             Tatum, who also signed on as an executive producer, says, modestly, “I’m the biggest fan of comedies, but I’m terrified of them. I’m so envious of guys like Jonah – so when he called and he said, ‘We’re doing 21 Jump Street, and we want you to be in it,’ I really thought I got the wrong call. Comedy is just so different – not only do you have to worry about being honest in the scene, but you also have to figure out where the funny beats are and punch them, then drop and stop talking. It’s a fine art. Fortunately, I was surrounded by comedy writers and stand-up comics who really knew what they were doing – I learned an enormous amount.”

 

             Tatum’s character, Jenko, is the living opposite of Hill’s Schmidt. “They went to high school together, and the first time around, Jenko was the popular kid, the jock who got the girls,” says Tatum. “When they go back, they find that everything has changed in 10 years. It used to be all about picking on kids, being a bully, sleeping through class. Now everyone’s a vegan, running their cars on vegetable oil… they’re into everything that Jenko thinks is BS. Jenko ends up hanging around with the nerds, and for the first time, sees that all the stuff that nerds do – learning – is actually cool.”

 

             The fact that they are opposites is one of the reasons they work so well together, according to Hill. “Even a two-shot of us is funny, because we’re such different types – you wonder how we even met each other, let alone became best friends. It was clear right from the table read that the two of us would work well together – Channing surpassed all of my expectations of how cool and talented he is.”

 

             “One of the things about Jenko – I think if you asked him why he wanted to be a cop, he wouldn’t have an answer. I’m guessing he just watched a lot of cop movies and thought it would be really cool,” says Tatum. In a way, Tatum and his character had similar childhoods. “My friends and I would get an old Civic, one guy would drive it and the other would roll across the hood, to see who could do the fastest one. I don’t think Jonah did that kind of stupid stuff.”

 

             “Channing told this crazy story about hanging with his buddies from childhood – they partied really hard, then went out to the desert and shot guns, and then they all got tattoos, and then they went over to another friend’s house and scared him, and then they all got crazy together,” says Lord. “I said, ‘Wow, when did this happen?’ and he said, ‘Saturday.’ I love this guy – he is Jenko.”

 

              “21 Jump Street” will be distributed in the Philippines by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International. Visit http://www.columbiapictures.com.ph for trailers, exclusive content and free downloads. Like us at www.Facebook.com/ColumbiaPicturesPH and join our fan contests.

CHANNING TATUM MUST WIN HIS WIFE BACK IN “THE VOW”

Channing Tatum in The Vow

One of Hollywood’s most sought after young actors who have established themselves among the next generation of leading men, Channing Tatum (“G.I. Joe,” “Dear John”) now stars opposite Rachel McAdams in Columbia Pictures' inspiring romantic drama “The Vow.”

             In the film, newlyweds Paige (McAdams) and Leo (Tatum) were struck by tragedy shortly after their marriage. A car crash puts Paige in a coma, where she is cared for by her devoted husband. When she comes to, without any memory of her husband or their marriage, the husband must woo her and ultimately win her heart once again. 

             Tatum is a self-proclaimed hopeless romantic, and felt the script told an authentic story about a once in a lifetime love and what people will do to hold on to that. “Falling in love is the easy part!” notes Tatum. “Getting on with your life together and making sure you stay in touch and connected because life can get in the way sometimes, that’s the tough part. I think that a huge part of Leo and Paige’s journey is based on the fact that not only do they make each other intensely happy and support each other, but that they pushed each other to grow and when you do that it really does take you to the next level in a relationship and in life.”

             The actor admits that he found the role emotionally difficult at times because, as a young husband himself, he couldn’t help but imagine himself in this situation: “I hope I would be as brave as Leo is; it’s heartbreaking for him, but he has the faith to let Paige find her own way. And this role is great because Leo is so truthful about his love, he doesn’t hold it back, and I can relate to that. I love love! It’s harder to play than running around with guns and being physical, but it’s very satisfying.”

             Tatum says it made total sense to him to work so hard to win Paige back: “If my wife (actress Jenna Dewan) lost her memory of me, I wouldn’t just be like ‘Okay, alright, well, see you later, good luck’. No. I’d be fighting tooth and nail and plug away at this until it comes back. No matter what.”

             He continues: “It’s so frustrating for Leo because there’s nothing visibly wrong with his wife; she talks like Paige, she walks like Paige, everything is exactly the same, but it’s just her memory of her husband is completely gone. And it’s that much more painful that she remembered other people, her family, but just not her husband and everything they had been together.”

             For director Michael Sucsy, casting Tatum was a case of finding the soldier of love in an established movie warrior. “The Leo role is a knight in shining armor, and prior to this I’d only seen Channing’s work where he’d been in tough, military roles. So I went to meet him, and we sat down, and I called the producers afterward and I said, ‘He is the guy. He’s Leo. It’s perfect for him.’ I got the sense that his heart was bigger than his chest cavity. He’s got a huge heart, Channing does, and so does Leo, and that really comes out when he has to keep sticking with his wife through the ups and downs.”

             From Rachel McAdams’ point of view, “Channing Tatum is the perfect guy for this role because he’s a real renaissance man; chivalrous and gentlemanly. He’s playing someone who would do anything to win back his wife’s heart and that’s very much, I think, who Channing is. He’s a very heroic kind of guy, so yeah, and I know he loves love and really believes in it and I think he made Leo a really stoic character that you just fall in love with and believe that he’s definitely the rock in the relationship throughout. He added such lovely little touches to Leo.”

             All in all, Channing Tatum sums up the core of the movie’s message this way: “It’s a big deal to vow yourself for life to somebody and mean it. It really is something.”

             Tatum will next star in a contemporary motion picture adaptation of “21 Jump Street” opposite Jonah Hill. Tatum and Hill are also executive producers on the project, which is directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller.

             “The Vow” is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International. Visit www.columbiapictures.com.ph to see the latest trailers, get free downloads and play free movie games.