Channing Tatum’s Improvised Scene in AGTRYS…The Redux

I previously posted a blog entry about the infamous scene that Channing improvised and remained in the final cut of AGTRYS. Fabulous Channing Tatum Fan Miguel R. sent me a link to an article that actually details the entire incident through the eyes of the writer and director Dito Montiel. Here is the article:

A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints by writer/director Dito Montiel

Making this film was the strangest thing I’ve ever done. And I’ve done a lot of strange things. I realize now that getting a movie made requires a combination of relentless madness and basically complete and utter delusion—a sort of autopilot type of delusion. Think Sweet Pea in a Popeye cartoon, sleepwalking while construction planks position themselves just in time!

See, I wrote a book and that in itself was a bit of a ridiculous venture—a bunch of ramblings on paper that before my eyes, to me at least, began to take form, shape. One day I looked at it and said, man, this kinda looks like a book. Of course the movie was a bit more planned but not all that different.

With all this James Frey stuff going on I get asked a lot about the whole “memoir” thing. If I had actually read Frey’s book I’m sure I’d have an opinion, but my case was, well, my case. My book was about people I knew. People I loved. Maybe not then as much as I’ve come to love them now, understand them and understand myself more. Writing about anyone can be tricky. With my movie I desperately tried not to “cartoon-ize” anyone. I’ve learned that writing about anyone, with even the noblest intentions, is a bit of a contradiction in itself. As I mentioned, my book was my memory of a time and people—certainly not theirs or my autobiography. Scorsese, one of the greatest directors in the world, did a film on a guy who flew airplanes and that was a tough sell for me, so a film on me was not an option!

The way I approached the book and the film was with a scattered, rose-colored and convenient memory. I set out to simply tell a story, using my book as a landscape—an emotional bank of sorts. Whenever I needed something I’d dip back in and remember the way my childhood friend Antonio looked at me the day he got out of prison. All those years of friendship taken away from us, looking like someone who knew exactly what he wanted to say but there was no way he was ever gonna say it.

The memory of that look from Antonio haunted me during the entire movie. Channing Tatum, who plays the role of Antonio, had it down. We never even discussed it but he did. Special things can happen in moviemaking. Unexplainable things. Here’s one: On our first day of filming everyone was a bit nervous. We had no rehearsal time and the majority of the people were meeting on set. One of the first scenes we were doing was where Monty (Chazz Palminteri) has a seizure. His son Dito (Shia LaBeouf), best friend Antonio (Tatum), girlfriend Laurie (Melonie Diaz) and mother (Dianne Wiest) are all there.

Before filming Channing asked me what he could do. What are the limitations? I was like, listen man, we don’t put marks on the ground and all I know is if I was as nervous about losing a person like Monty to a seizure, well, I’d flip out and I don’t know…probably kill someone in the room, not knowing what to do with myself. Channing was like, “Okay, but I might really flip out!” I was like, not as much as I would. So we do the scene with no words for fun. I read out the lines and was curious if that might force the aggression issue a little more. Because we didn’t have to care about sound, all the actors were free to ask questions and talk out loud while filming the scene.

Next thing you know Channing is yelling to me, Dito (the director) not Shia (Dito the actor), “Dito I’m gonna f**king bug out! I’m gonna really bug out!”

I scream back, “Do what you gotta do!”

Melonie is appropriately nervous, Shia is confused and when Chazz hit the ground Channing flipped out for real! He grabbed a table and threw it through the glass door! Glass shattered all around on a barefoot Dianne Wiest, who never broke character for a second. Her blood is on the ground, everyone is screaming…crying…man, I was in heaven!

We rolled until the film ran out.

The second we cut everyone ran in, screaming at me and Channing. “What, are you people freaking nuts?!” Before I could even think to take Channing’s back, Chazz stepped right up and did it. I sat back and watched Chazz tell everyone to leave Channing alone. He’s just a kid acting out a scene. Shia looked concerned about why he wasn’t involved, Dianne was not entirely sure if this guy was dangerous or not and Melonie was shaking. I get the chills thinking about it because what I witnessed was Monty, Antonio, myself, Laurie and Flori all mixing fiction, reality, film and real life. I sat back, looked and was like, man, this is kinda startin’ to look like a good movie.

[Article Source]

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Channing Tatum’s MTV.com Interview on New Movie Battle in Seattle

Today Movie File at MTV.com published a quick interview they recently did with Channing Tatum on his new movie Battle in Seattle. Here you go…

[You’ve heard of Ali and Foreman’s Rumble in the Jungle — now get ready for the “Battle in Seattle,” a film written and directed by actor Stuart Townsend about the 1999 World Trade Organization riots. “Step Up” lead Channing Tatum will star in the film based on one of America’s most incendiary political uprisings in recent history, and he said “Battle” is “very ‘Crash’-esque,” centering on “six or seven people and their stories going through these three days of chaos.”

Tatum, who plays a SWAT officer alongside Woody Harrelson as his partner, said the film shows “what everybody went through — what the cops went through, what the kids went through, what the politicians went through. It was just nuts.” At more than 40,000 people strong, the intense protest of globalization led Seattle police to eventually use tear gas, rubber bullets and pepper spray to clear the crowds. As a SWAT officer, then, does that make Tatum the bad guy? “That’s kind of what the film’s about,” the 26-year-old actor said. “Everyone was right in their way, but everyone was wrong in their way too.” “Battle in Seattle” hits theaters in December.]

You can learn more about the movie on the new official Battle in Seattle website and at MovieSet.com to get all of the behind-the-scenes scoop.

[Article Source]

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RANT OR RAVE?: Channing Tatum’s Amazing Talents (A Professional Opinion)

If you have read this blog before, then the title pretty much gives away that this is a Rave. Since my opinion is a little biased, I figured that I would find out what true professionals (directors, actors, producers) in the industry are saying about Channing Tatum instead and let then handle the raving for once.

Here are three professional’s observations on Channing’s abilities as an actor after they had the priveledge of working with him on A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints:

DITO MONTIEL (Director)

“When Channing came to the picture the first thing I said was, ‘This guy looks like a Bruce Weber model! This is a disaster. No!’ I said to Trudy, ‘Trudy this isn’t going to work, I know he’s a nice guy but it’s not going to work.’ Everything reeked of wrong. I’m glad I lost that argument.”

“What Channing brought that was incredibly special to the role, which was a very difficult one, was this little Of Mice and Men thing where he’d break your neck [and go] ‘I didn’t mean to break your neck, let me fix it now.’”

“He’s a great looking guy. He is also a very good actor, and a decent person too. And they go hand in hand, I’ve learned. Channing went for me during the making of this film from a good-looking guy to a beautiful person.”

CHAZZ PALMINTERI (Actor)

“Chan and Shia are both young actors who are immensely talented. They have this whirlwind of energy, and they’re fearless too because they don’t know any better, they can do anything. And I like that.”

“Channing’s is going to be a big star. He’s a big star already. He’s done a couple of movies that are terrific. The world is at his feet. It’s up to him to pick the right material and stay focused on his career, there’s no limit to him.”

TRUDIE STYLER (Producer)

“Even though he’s a big boy and sort of looks like he’s a toughie, he has such a softness in his eye and a huge heart. I was very passionate that our Antonio needed to be somebody who would break your heart.”

“Channing really transforms Antonio into someone that we come to love.”

“I think Channing’s path is set. I think he’s set to be a star. He’s got everything going for him. He’s a good-looking young man, he can dance like Fred Astaire, he’s extraordinary in the facility that he has in so many areas.
And I think he proves himself in this movie to be an extraordinary actor of great depth.”

So let’s recap…

Extraodinary Actor [Check]
Exceptional Dancer [Check]
Huge Heart [Check]
Very Driven and Passionate [Check]
Drop Dead Gorgoeus Looks [Quadruple Check]

So I guess all of the raves I have been giving Channing day after day on this blog have been absolutely on point. Not that I am surprised, but I hate to say I told you so…

Stay tuned to Channing Tatum Unwrapped, because the movie AGTRYS is supposed to hold it’s UK premiere in London tomorrow (March 1, 2007) and as usual, we will post any information and/or pictures as soon as we get it.

[Source: Wireimage]

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New Pictures of Channing Tatum and Girlfriend Jenna Dewan at Giorgio Armani Pre-Oscar Party

Oscar weekend is all about the pre-parties and there is nothing more A-list than the annual pre-show bash hosted by Giorgio Armani.

The legendary designer’s pre-Oscar fashion show was held at gazillionaire Ron Burkle’s estate on Sunday night. The evening also included a showing of the Giorgio Armani Privé Spring Summer 2007 Collection and our favorite love birds Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan.

Check out all of the pictures in the Channing Tatum Unwrapped photo gallery. All of the High Quality images are marked with an (HQ) in the title.

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Channing Tatum Trivia Question of the Day

If you know the answer to the following Channing Tatum Trivia Question of the Day, just add a comment to this blog entry and show the readers your Channing smarts.

If you don’t know the answer, feel free to research it on this blog or online. Here is the question:

Here is a picture of Channing Tatum at the 2006 Sundance film festival where I believe his movie A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints was first introduced to the world. I just recently found out that Channing’s award-winning movie almost did not get made.

Trudie Styler (aka Sting’s wife), one of the movie’s producers, said that the movie was dogged with a lot bad luck, bad energy and bad people prior to being made. She also was recently quoted saying, “The movie industry is full of people who say yes, and then fall out at the last minute, along with their money, and when you lose a pot of money, the whole deck of cards comes tumbling down…”. If you have seen the movie, then you are probably as grateful as I am that the producers kept trying.

How many times did the producers of Channing Tatum’s movie A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints try to get the movie made before they were successful?

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CHANNING TATUM FOR DUMMIES: Where can I buy the DVD for Channing Tatum’s movie A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints?

I am starting to think it’s some kind of consipracy. I can’t tell you how many times I have gotten this question since Channing’s movie A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints came out on DVD February 20th in the US. It’s almost like the movie company doesn’t want us to see it or something, because the normal stores (i.e. Target, Walmart) don’t have copies yet or ordered a small number of copies.

Even people in the major cities (i.e. Los Angeles - movie capital of the world) are having trouble finding it. I guess it wasn’t enough that the movie had a very limited theatrical release in the US. Now they are making it just as difficult to get the movie on DVD too. What kind of backwards logic is that? I thought the goal was to make it easier for people to see the movie, not harder.

I personally bought my copies of the movie from Amazon.com. So if you have not been able to find a copy in your local stores and are impatient like me, I suggest you try to buy online from any reputable store. In case you are still on the fence on whether you should get the movie or not, you should read the glowing review of AGTRYS at MoviewWeb.com by the popular Evan “Mushy” Jacobs and then make your decision.

I have also had CTU readers from Canada and Australia ask me when or if the movie will premiere in those countries. I have heard a rumor that there is a Canadian release March 6th, but I have not gotten any information that can confirm that date. Canadians can actually buy the DVD on Amazon (Canada). Studios don’t normally have theatrical releases after a DVD releases, so Canadians may have to buy the DVD to see the movie.

Australia had a limited release in November of 2006, so I will need to see when the DVD will release there. Currently, the DVD has only been released in the US, US Territories and Canada regions. I will let you know if I am able to get any definitive answers.

The only two other theatrical release dates that I know right now are the UK and Ireland on March 2nd and Italy on March 9th. If any CTU readers have information about release dates in Canada or Australia (or any country for that matter), please leave a comment here or send me an email to answers@channingtatumunwrapped.com.

As a side note, I will be posting new pictures of Channing and Jenna later today from this weekend’s festivities, so stay tuned to Channing Tatum Unwrapped!!

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Channing Tatum’s Movie Step Up Gets Released on DVD in UK Today

This is just a friendly reminder to CTU’s UK readers that you can now run out to your stores and get Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan’s popular dance movie Step Up on DVD where you can watch the hot couple fall in love on screen over and over again!

His next movie, A Guide to Recognising Your Saints, will premiere in the UK on March 2nd, but Channing should hopefully attend the March 1st premiere in London. I hope you get a chance to see Channing’s amazing performance in the AGTRYS, because you will not be disappointed.

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