CHANNING TATUM MOVIE BYTES: ‘Fighting’, ‘Dear John’, ‘Step Up 3-D’, ‘Guide’, and ‘G.I. Joe’

I have found a lot more news all over the internet about Channing Tatum’s films. Check out today’s Channing Tatum Movie Bytes to get the latest scoop. Enjoy!!!

FIGHTING

In ‘Fighting‘, Channing plays Sean Arthur, a young ticket scalper that is introduced to the world of underground street fighting. Although the date has shifted a few times, we have a new release date for the action drama, and I have a feeling that this one might stick. The film is now scheduled to release on April 24, 2009, which is just a couple of days before Chan’s 29th birthday.

Kevin Misher, Misher Films helmer and one of the movie’s executive producers, has told me that he’s extremely excited about the movie. I’m totally excited too, because both he and the NBC Universal team who is marketing ‘Fighting‘ have confirmed that Channing Tatum Unwrapped will be kept in the loop on any future news about this project, so stay tuned.

DEAR JOHN

The cast continues to grow over on the set of Channing Tatum’s romantic drama ‘Dear John‘, Lasse Hallstrom’s adaptation of Nicholas Sparks’ best-selling novel.

Last month, CarolinaAutism.org announced that a 6 year old Carolina Autism client has been chosen to star in ‘Dear John‘. They do not give his name, but confirmed that he will be playing the part of Alan. They said that the director chose a child with autism to play the part in a daring statement about authenticity and the ability of people with autism to work and participate in the entertainment industry. A person by the name of Phil Blevins, who works for Carolina Autism, has been retained to consult to the production on matters related to autism spectrum disorders.

A few days ago, we also learned from the Hollywood Reporter that the production has added veteran actor Richard Jenkins (’The Visitor’, ‘Burn After Reading’, “Six Feet Under”) to their cast. Jenkins will play the father of the young soldier John Tyree (Channing Tatum) who meets the girl of his dreams, Savannah Lynn Curtis (Amanda Seyfried), while on military leave.

Finally, Scott Porter (”Friday Night Lights”), who is rumored to be playing the character of Randy, recently mentioned in a TV Guide interview that Chris Cooper (’The Kingdom’, ‘Breach’) has also signed on to the cast, but did not mention what specific role he is playing.

‘Dear John‘, the epic love story that Chan is filming in South Carolina threw December, will be released in theaters some time around October 2009.

STEP UP 3-D

At the 2008 American Film Market (AFM), ComingSoon.net got their hands on some initial poster artwork for the highly anticipated ‘Step Up 3-D‘. AFM is where over 8,000 industry leaders converge in Santa Monica for eight days of deal-making, screenings, seminars, red carpet premieres, networking and parties. Fans can click on the image on the left to view the new poster in the Channing Tatum Unwrapped Photo Gallery.

Although (in my humble opinion) I don’t think that Channing will be making an appearance in the third chapter of the extremely popular ‘Step Up’ franchise, based on an announcement producer Adam Shankman made on the show ‘So You Think You Can Dance’, we do know for sure that ‘Step Up 2: The Streets‘ director Jon M. Chu and break out star Adam Sevani will be returning in ‘Step Up 3-D‘. I can’t wait to see the film that is set to hit theaters some time in 2009 or 2010.

A GUIDE TO RECOGNIZING YOUR SAINTS

Channing Tatum’s critically-acclaimed and award-winning drama ‘A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints‘ is being re-released on DVD next year in the US and Canada. Fans will be able to purchase the new A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints (Steelbook) edition of the film on February 3, 2009, but you can get more details and pre-order on Amazon today.

G.I. JOE: RISE OF COBRA

I’m not sure if this one’s real or rumor, but I hear that a teaser/trailer will be released for Channing Tatum’s highly-anticipated, live action blockbuster ‘G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra‘ in the next few weeks.

The treaser (not quite a trailer, but longer than a teaser) may have a debut during the previews of Keanu Reeves’ science fiction remake ‘The Day the Earth Stood Still‘ when it opens in US theaters on December 12, 2008, so fans should be on the look out for it. ‘G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra‘ is scheduled to hit US theaters on August 7, 2009.

CHANNING TATUM MOVIE BYTES: ‘Dear John’, ‘Public Enemies’, ‘Fighting’, and ‘G.I. Joe’

I keep finding little snippets of information all over the internet about Channing Tatum’s films. By themselves, each piece of info would make for one very short article, but as they say, there’s power in numbers. Together, they all have become a new CTU article series I will affectionately call “Channing Tatum Movie Bytes“. Enjoy!!!

DEAR JOHN

Dear John author Nicholas Sparks is currently promoting his newest #1 New York Times best seller The Lucky One all over the country, and he recently shared insider tales about his books and movies with over 200 high school students in Northern Arkansas. From his 90 minute Q&A session we learn that ‘Dear John‘, the movie and the epic love story that Chan is filming right now in South Carolina, will be released in theaters by October 2009. If you’re a fan of the extremely popular author, CLICK HERE to read more highlights from his talk.

PUBLIC ENEMIES

MovieTickets.com spent this summer surveying thousands of movie fans to select the most anticipated movies through Summer 2009. Channing Tatum’s real-life crime drama ‘Public Enemies‘ ranked #4 overall and #2 amongst female movie-goers. With Channing Tatum, Johnny Depp, and Christian Bale all in the same cast, it definitely doesn’t take a psychic or a survey to predict they’re not going to have any trouble getting people into the theaters for this one. ‘Public Enemies‘ is set to hit US theaters on July 1, 2009, and the last I heard, they were trying to release a trailer this Winter. You can CLICK HERE to read more about the survey.

FIGHTING

Channing Tatum’s ‘Fighting‘ co-star Terrence Howard has been promoting his new album and was recently interviewed by the Australian magazine Babble Baby. In the interview, he confirms that the film is still scheduled for a Spring 2009 release, so hopefully that means that the possible purchase of Rogue Pictures by Relativity Media I mentioned in a recent article will not affect the release date of the film.**fingers crossed**

G.I. JOE: RISE OF COBRA

Uber producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura was recently interviewed by MTV.com. The ‘G.I. Joe‘ executive producer had the following to say to MTV News about some of the early scenes he’s been working on with director Stephen Sommers,

“We are in post-production, and it’s looking really good…It’s going to be really fun, and it’s going to be big…There is going to be two or three really large sequences in it that are really going to blow people away. But I think that, more than anything, what differentiates it from a lot of these big movies is that there are eight or nine very well-drawn characters.”

I hope this means we are still on schedule to see a ‘G.I. Joe‘ trailer during the holidays as we were previously promised, but rumor has it that we may have to wait until Oscar season instead. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recently announced an end to a long-standing ban on movie advertisements played during their Oscar night, and it’s considered to be a big deal in the industry. Many feel that ‘G.I. Joe‘ would be a great candidate for Paramount to promote during the telecast, but nothing has been confirmed yet. The one thing we do know is that ‘G.I. Joe‘ is scheduled to hit theaters on August 7,2009.

CHANNING TATUM PROJECT UPDATE: ‘Dear John’, ‘Fighting’, ‘Stanford Prison Experiment’, and ‘Step Up 2’

In a recent post, I updated you all on some of Jenna Dewan’s current projects. In addition to a rumored switch from the talent agency William Morris to United Talent Artists with his long time theatrical agent Louise Ward, there’s been a lot of different things going on with Channing Tatum and his movies too. Fans can read below to get all of the latest scoop.

DEAR JOHN

Channing has been filming his romantic drama ‘Dear John‘ all over the beautiful Charleston, South Carolina beaches. In this past week alone, numerous lucky fans have seen him and the cast filming on Isle of Palms beaches on October 20th and on Folly Beach on the 23rd.

In addition to Channing playing the role of John Tyree and Amanda Seyfried playing his love interest Savannah, we recently learned that Scott Porter has also joined the cast. I initially thought he was playing the role of Tim, but have since learned that he may actually have been cast as John’s nemesis Randy.

What we do know for sure is that Henry Thomas, who famously played Elliot in E.T., has been cast in the Lasse Hallström directed love story which is based on a Nicholas Sparks novel that follows a soldier on leave (Channing Tatum) who falls for a college student (Amanda Seyfried) only to reenlist in the Army after 9/11. They are saying that Thomas plays the older man who has an affair with Savannah while John is away. Based on what I know about the storyline, I think that means Henry may have been cast in the role of Tim.

FIGHTING

The Associated Press is reporting that Relativity Media is currently in talks with Universal Studios to acquire Rogue Pictures. The sale would include Rogue’s 30-title library, four films that are set for release in 2009, and its entire development slate.

Why should this tidbit of information matter to Channing Tatum fans? I’ll try to explain…

Channing Tatum’s underground mix martial arts drama ‘Fighting‘, which also stars Oscar nominee Terrence Howard, is one of those four Rogue Pictures films that are set to release in 2009. Initially I had read that ‘Fighting‘ may be released early in 2009, but the fact that Rogue could be purchased by Relativity makes that release date a little more uncertain. We may now have to wait until later in the year to see the film.

I’m really looking forward to seeing this one, so I hope the release date ends up being sooner rather than later, but sadly that’s all up to the studio gods (whoever they end up being).

STANFORD PRISON EXPERIMENT

I hate to be the harbinger of bad news today, but the Stanford Daily is saying there may be a delay in another one of Chan’s potential projects. (On a side note, delays are very common in the entertainment industry, so it’s something I’m starting to get used to.)

They are reporting that the ‘Stanford Prison Experiment‘ is still in the works, but the big-screen Hollywood retelling of Stanford Professor Philip Zimbardo’s famed 1970’s prison experiment continues to hit roadblocks.

The film was originally delayed when Christopher McQuarrie, the director and co-writer of the film with Tim Talbott, went abroad to Berlin to work on Tom Cruise’s upcoming movie “Valkyrie” (a film about the assassination plot against Adolf Hitler) as a writer, producer and assistant director. Additional delays were also caused by a now settled law suit over distribution rights for the film.

With the delays hopefully behind him, McQuarrie is currently at the casting stage. He is searching for actors to play the prison guard ensemble, Professor Zimbardo, Carlo Prescott (an ex-convict and chief consultant for the experiment who has raised objections to the making of the movie) and psychologist Christina Maslach (the film’s heroine).

Despite previous rumors that Ryan Phillippe, Kieran Culkin, Paul Dano, Jesse Eisenberg, Charlie Hunnam, Ben McKenzie and Channing Tatum would be starring in the movie, no main characters have yet been completely confirmed.

The real Professor Zimbardo, a senior consultant for the movie who works closely with its writers, conducted the experiment in 1971. He assigned student volunteers to the roles of prison guards and prisoners, but the study was ended prematurely due to the intense reactions of the subjects to their roles.

Although the film was originally slated to be released in 2009, the ‘Stanford Prison Experiment‘ is currently considered to be on hold without a release date. Fan’s shouldn’t fret, because Chan has plenty of other projects in development to keep him and his fans very busy in 2009 and beyond.

STEP UP 2: THE STREETS

To end this movie update on a happier note, I want to let Channing Tatum’s Fabulous Fans in Sweden know that his highly successful dance hit ‘Step Up 2: The Streets‘ was just released on DVD in your country this week!!!

Fans can CLICK HERE to buy the DVD and can get more info on the Swedish movie site LoveFilm.se.

What’s next for ‘Step Up 2: The Streets‘? The film will next release on DVD in Denmark on October 28, 2008.

Learn More About Channing Tatum and His Upcoming Movie ‘Fighting’ from Director Dito Montiel

Dito Montiel, the director of Channing Tatum’s critically acclaimed ‘A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints‘ and his upcoming 2009 action drama ‘Fighting‘, was recently interviewed by UK sight FutureMovies.com. In the interview snippet below we learn why Dito thinks Channing is like a “young Steve McQueen” (the ultra-cool and Oscar-nominated male film star of the 1960s).

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Dito Montiel on Fighting, Clapping and Being an Unlikely Filmmaker

“Writer, director and musician Dito Montiel first came to the public’s attention in 1989 when his hardcore band, Gutterboy, signed to Geffen Records for $1million. In 2003, he published A Guide To Recognising Your Saints, a memoir of his life growing up in Queens, New York, during the 1980s hardcore punk scene, which chronicled his time touring, his brief modelling career and his old neighbourhood

Adapting aspects of the best-selling book into a screenplay, he was persuaded to direct it by Robert Downey Jr., who starred in the 2007 film adaptation as the adult Dito, alongside Shia LaBeouf as his younger self and Channing Tatum.

Montiel’s second novel, Eddie Krumble Is The Clapper, about a professional audience member who’s transformed into a celebrity by Jay Leno was published last year. His second film, Fighting, starring Tatum and Terence Howard as underground street fighters, is released in 2009.

He speaks to Future Movies about genuine fight scenes, the grim reality of being a television clapper and his latest project, based on real, unsolved murders.

Is it true the film company made a trailer for Fighting before they’d even seen the movie?
Yeah, it’s hysterical and beyond me how that’s possible. I think they just got the footage and decided well, Channing looks good without his shirt, we’ll go with that.

Is it like Fight Club?
No, not at all. Originally, they had a script that was horrible. I thought it was pretty bad at least, about basketball players that gamble. What, everyone’s broke but they own Hummers?! One of those.

So they asked me if I’d rewrite it for them and I said, “if you’re talking about guys from the street, the most I’ve ever seen change hands is $20”. I’m more interested in the idea of two people meeting who need each other because they’re a little bit lost.

Now, I like basketball, but there’s only so many ways you can dunk a ball. And when they called up and said, “turn it into fighting”, I told them they were crazy. This would be good for someone else to make but not me.

Still, I started writing it and really had fun with it, referencing retro films like The Warriors. I figured if you’re going to go for it, why not have some fun? So I said look, Terence Howard is itching to do something, let me get him and Channing together, plus some other actors I really like, say Roger Smith and Luis Guzmán. I didn’t want it to be one of these “I’m gonna kick your ass” movies. I wanted it to be something fun that we’re all glad we made.

Do the characters of Sean (Tatum) and Harvey (Howard) bond through fighting?
Yeah, sort of. The first time you meet Harvey, he’s complaining about someone charging him too much for a soda. They just kind of strap onto each other, start roaming together and when they get thrown into this thing, the mentor needs another guy. But the idea of Harvey being a mentor should surprise the audience because he’s someone who’ll argue about the price of a pizza.

As the film is set in New York, do you bring a degree of authenticity to it?
As with my last movie, I think that if you bring relatively real things to a movie, it’s more fun. A lot of things I see in movies … I don’t mind a guy flying, because I know that’s not real. But if you try to portray a reality and you make it really corny, that’s shit. So instead of making them guys who were excited to fight and wanted to be the champion of the world, they would rather just hang around together. But they suddenly get thrown into it and the fights end up being crazy, which is fun because I’ve never done that before. In Saints I had two little fights and I let them really beat each other up. In this movie, at first the producers kept telling me ‘well, you can’t let them do that’. But of course, it looks more real, because they’re really fighting. So we let them really fight and we got some crazy footage. It was very exciting.

Channing’s a maniac. Really crazy, but in a good way. And he’s turned into a really good actor. I joke with him all the time. When I met him I didn’t think he was right for the last movie. And then, when they praised him, I told him ‘I don’t know what the hell they’re praising you about, you weren’t that good’.

I mean, I thought he was good, but the character was quite close to who he was, I don’t know if you’d call it acting. Now though, I think he can really act. He reminds me of a young Steve McQueen. I haven’t seen a guy in a movie like this in a long time.

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‘Fighting‘ is set to hit theaters some time in 2009, but in the meantime, fans can read my exclusive interview with Chan on set last year and check out tons of photos and videos from the set of the film below:

NEWS FLASH: New Release Date for Channing Tatum’s ‘Fighting’

Channing Tatum’s underground street fighting drama ‘Fighting‘ was initially scheduled to release on September 26, 2008. I’m now hearing from 2 different sources that the film’s release date has been pushed out to some time in 2009. I also recently heard that they have possibly have been doing some re-shoots in the past few weeks in the New York area. All of which is leading me to believe that the release date push is accurate and we’re going to have to wait a little longer to see the film.

In ‘Fighting‘, Channing Tatum will play Shawn MacArthur, a New York counterfeit merchandise salesman (aka ticket scalper) whose life is changed after a chance encounter with veteran underground street-fighting coach, Harvey Boarden, played by Terrence Howard.

A few weeks back, the production had a test screening and fans can CLICK HERE to check out the glowing reviews the screeners gave Channing’s performance in the film.

You can also check out an interview Channing Tatum did on the set of the film last fall:

Although we may have to wait a little longer to see Chan in ‘Fighting‘, fans can look forward to the limited release of his film ‘Battle in Seattle‘ on September 19, 2008 and Chan will also begin filming his romantic drama ‘Dear John‘ in mid-September.

Stay tuned to Channing Tatum Unwrapped to get all of the lastest news on all of Channing Tatum’s projects!!!

CTU EXCLUSIVE: News on Channing Tatum’s Upcoming Drama ‘Fighting’

It was really exciting to get an update on Channing Tatum’s 2009 romantic drama ‘Dear John‘ this past week, but I have some equally exciting news about Channing’s upcoming film ‘Fighting‘ too. News you can only get here on CTU…

Fabulous Channing Tatum Fan Bernice wrote me the following email that is the basis for my excitement:

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First off I want to start of by saying that I love your site! I think your doing an amazing job. I want to write you a message to let you know that I saw an advanced screening of Channing’s new movie “Fighting”! He did such a great job. I also noticed that you have a photo of him from the set, your very lucky! I love love love your site! Thanks for all the updates and keeping us, all the fans up with all the news!

Sincerely ,
Bernice V.

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Inside Scoop on the Screening

If you know anything about me, then you will not be surprised that I quickly put my interviewer cap on to get the goods on the screening. Bernice was nice enough to give us the inside scoop. Here’s what Bernice had to say about the first official screening of ‘Fighting‘:

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Where and when did you watch the screening of Channing Tatum’s movie ‘Fighting’?
I saw the screening on May 7, 2008 in the city of Northridge in California at the Pacific Theater.

How did you get invited to the screening?
I went to the movies to watch “Maid of Honor”, and then I noticed a man giving out free movie tickets for advanced screenings. At first, I wasn’t really interested, but then out of nowhere he flipped over his clip board and I saw Channing’s face on the board. So my sister and I immediately said yes and that’s how it happened!

Was it a test screening? Did they ask you to give feedback about the movie afterwards?
I do believe it was a test screening, because they told the whole audience that we were the first audience in the country to watch the movie. We had to fill out the question form after the movie was over.

Did the director or any of the actors attend?
Sad to say I don’t think Channing was there! I looked for him everywhere because I know sometimes the actors do attend, but there was no sign of him or anyone else. There were a bunch of directors there, but they came in once the movie had already started, so it was hard to tell who they were.

Did they mention a target release date for the film?
They didn’t really mention a date of release. They just said that they were still in the process of finishing the film by editing it and changing a couple things depending on the response of the audience.

What did you think about Channing’s performance and about the film in general?
I think Chan did an amazing job in this film. He really committed to his role. During the fighting scenes and throughout the film you can see his determination and his desire to win. I think he did an outstanding job in his role. We haven’t seen him in a role like this until now, and I’m sure well see him in many more. He also looked very fit and well trained for the role. The film was also great. I like the story line; it was a bit original. I also like how the love story wasn’t too forced or overdone. It was just right. The atmosphere in the movie was great. Overall the movie and all of the actors were amazing!

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Peter, who went to a screening the next day at the same theater, had the following to say about the film:

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“I saw this tonight [May 8, 2008] at a pre-screening…When I found out it was directed by the guy who did “A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints”, I knew it probably wouldn’t be as run of the mill as usual. I was right. The movie has some of the most “electric” fight scenes in recent memory that literally put you on the edge of your seat…The interaction between the characters is authentic and there are little idiosyncratic things added in similar to “Saints”. It’s a great movie that I recommend to anyone who likes Underdog stories where the fight scenes are not run of the mill and straight forward.

The movie has some of the biggest crowd reactions that I’ve heard, spontaneous applause wise and there were at least 5 times when that happened. And on top of that, people were reacting to every movement in certain fight scenes, it was definitely a great movie going experience, audience participation wise.

There is one scene involving a famous martial artist that had the entire audience yelling and clapping - the ENTIRE audience. I’ve never seen people so enthused in a theater - maybe AS enthused, but never more. If they market this correctly, it could be a sleeper hit. Terrence Howard is great and Luis Guzman as well. Channing Tatum…There’s one scene where he loses it that is raw power by definition.

I was part of a focus group afterwards and when asked to raise their hands if they liked the movie, all 24 people raised their hands…”

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CTU On the Set of ‘Fighting’

From what Bernice and Peter had to say about the film, it looks like we have yet another amazing Channing Tatum performance to look forward to when ‘Fighting‘ has its theatrical release on September 26, 2008.

If you’ve been reading CTU for a while, then you already know why I’m excited about the release of this film. It’s the only movie set I have ever visited, and I got to meet Channing for the first time when he invited me to spend an unforgettable day on the New York set with him and the cast and crew of ‘Fighting‘. I can’t wait to see if the scene I watched makes it into the film. CLICK HERE if you want to read all about my day on set with Chan.

Thanks so much to Bernice for showing CTU some love and for sharing her experience with Channing’s fans around the world. As always, stay tuned to Channing Tatum Unwrapped for the latest news on Chan’s film ‘Fighting‘ (and almost everything else Channing Tatum for that matter)!

Channing Tatum Pictures of the Week: Fabulous Fan Drawings

Each week Channing Tatum Unwrapped will post one or more of our favorite pictures of the uber hot Channing Tatum.

Today’s Pictures of the Week were submitted by Fabulous Channing Tatum Fan Brad from Atlanta, Georgia who continues to create the most awesome original artwork for Channing Tatum Unwrapped. The original photos below come from a Channing’s personal life, his newest war drama ‘Stop-Loss‘, and his upcoming underground fighting film ‘Fighting‘.

Here are Brad’s most recent works of art with the original photos he used to create them:

As always, I want to thank Brad for creating and sharing these beautiful drawings with all of us. You can CLICK HERE to see a slideshow with all of the artwork that Brad has been sending to CTU over the last few months.

Channing Tatum has tons of talented fans all over the world. You can find these drawings and so much more in the Fan Art Set in the Channing Tatum Unwrapped photo gallery.

If you have a favorite picture from this blog, our photo gallery, a picture you have made or a picture that you have found on the net that you would like us to consider, send the picture or a link to the picture to potw@channingtatumunwrapped.com and tell us why you like it. We will post it and your explanation on the blog. If you like or don’t like today’s picture (for some completely insane reason), let us know that too by clicking on the comments link below.

Channing Tatum Pictures of the Week: Fabulous Fan Photo Submission

Each week Channing Tatum Unwrapped will post one or more of our favorite pictures of the uber hot Channing Tatum.

Today’s Picture of the Week was submitted by Fabulous Channing Tatum Fan Makala. This photo was taken when I had an unforgettable day on the New York set of Channing’s upcoming film ‘Fighting‘.

Here’s what Makala had to say about her pick for Picture of the Week:

There are so many good photos of Channing but I would have to say that this one is my favorite. I love this photo cause of Channing eyes and his gorgeous smile. Also cause it has Q in it! I also love it cause its hows how much he cares about his fans. We love you Channing!!

XOXO: Makala

Love you Q!!

I can speak from personal experience about the fact that Chan truly does care about his fans, so thanks for submitting the great photo, Makala! You can CLICK HERE to view all of the photos I took when I was on set and when I was lucky enough to meet with some of Chan’s biggest fans in New York.

You can also check out the photos in the video below that is set to Cassie’s “Is It You?” from the ‘Step Up 2: The Streets’ soundtrack. Enjoy!!!

If you have a favorite picture from this blog, our photo gallery, a picture you have made or a picture that you have found on the net that you would like me to consider, send the picture or a link to the picture to potw@channingtatumunwrapped.com and tell me why you like it. I will post it and your explanation on the blog. If you like or don’t like today’s picture (for some completely insane reason), let everyone know that too by clicking on the comments link below.

FAN ENCOUNTER: Channing Tatum Hanging Out with Fans at Pre-Oscar Party

Although I don’t think Channing Tatum attended the 80th Annual Academy Awards ceremony, thanks to Fabulous Channing Tatum Fan Hilarry we now know that he scored an invite to the star-studded Pre-Oscar party thrown at the Beverly Hills Hotel on Saturday night.

And being the fan friendly celebrity that Chan is, he was more than willing to take this photo with Hilarry and her friend Jaimi.

Below you will notice that I kept most of Hilarry’s story and highlighted the Channing parts. Her celebrity encounters that night were pretty amazing, and I thought you all might enjoy reading it. Here’s how it all went down…

“…Later that night, we decided to go to the Beverly Hills Hotel where the “Night Before” the Oscars party was being held, to see if we could spot any celebs in the lobby. I don’t know what we were expecting but it exceeded our wildest dreams!

We didn’t even think we would be able to get in but we just waltzed right up the red carpet and into the hotel! It was so crazy. There were obviously no paps there and there were only a few other people in the lobby who were not celebs! We were kind of standing around in the lobby for a minute or two when we realized we were standing next to Cher! Random! Within 5 minutes, GEORGE CLOONEY walked right by us!! A minute or so after that, JENNIFER ANISTON and ORLANDO BLOOM walked by!!! When I say walked by, I mean within 5 feet of us! Seriously! We made Jaimi take notes of everyone we saw on her blackberry and the final list is 68 people long!!

Most of the celebs we saw were totally A-List….P.Diddy, Steven Spielberg, Cameron Diaz, Meg Ryan, Will Smith, Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart, Josh Groban, and the list goes on and on! Really, it does! Click here to read the entire list.
So many of the celebrities were totally cool! Cameron Diaz said hi to us, Katherine McPhee gave us her swag bag, Channing Tatum who I love more than life, stopped to talk and introduce himself to us, Ricki Lake said “Hi honey!” to me, Dave Annable from Brothers and Sisters high-fived us, Josh Groban asked us how we were doing, and John Krasinski from the Office took a picture with me!! I totally interrupted John Krasinski talking to Laura Dern and Ben Lee! It was so tacky, I know, but he is the ultimate for me! I had to! I begged Scott to go with me and take my picture. He was SOOOOOO nice and really friendly! He was definitely the coolest celeb I have ever met.

I wish I had more pictures but it was a private party and we were attempting to be discreet. I was good up until Channing Tatum. There was no chance at being discreet at that point! Seriously, it’s so crazy….John Krasinski and Channing Tatum are my favorites ever and I totally got to meet them both!

Jaimi and I with Channing Tatum….my face says it all. Hilarious, huh? I was freaking out!! A security guy came over to tell us we couldn’t take pictures and Channing shoo’ed him away! I told Channing I saw Step Up 8 times in the theater! I think he was impressed…or scared ;)… “

If you’ve been reading CTU for a while, then you know that this type of behavior is Chan’s M.O.. In a nutshell, that’s why Chan’s fans love him so much. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a star that is as cool with his fans as Chan (no matter where he is or what time of day it is) and that’s the #1 reason why I started and love doing Channing Tatum Unwrapped.

• Scott Rudin – This uber producer’s film ‘No Country for Old Men’ just won Best Motion Picture of the Year at the 2008 Oscars. He has won another 4 awards (including an Emmy) and has 12 other nominations for various awards. Scott is also a producer on Channing Tatum’s highly anticipated film ‘Stop-Loss’, which releases March 28, 2008 and is already getting Oscar buzz for 2009.
• Marion Cotillard - This actress just won an Oscar at Sunday’s ceremony for Best Actress for her portrayal of Edith Piaf in ‘La Mome‘. She has won 19 other awards and also has 9 nominations under her belt and will next be working with Channing in his 2009 crime drama ‘Public Enemies’.
• Johnny Depp – This extremely popular actor has accumulated 3 Oscar nominations, 36 awards (includes a Golden Globe), and 34 additional nominations during his successful career. Channing will also be working with him on ‘Public Enemies’ when they start filming in Illinois and Wisconsin in March 2008.
• Terrence Howard – This actor was nominated for an Oscar for his role in 2005’s ‘Hustle & Flow‘. He has had 18 other wins and 28 nominations and can be seen in Channing Tatum’s action drama ‘Fighting’ that is set to release this summer.
• Michael Mann – This well-known director, producer, and writer has been nominated for 4 Oscars, won numerous Emmys, and has had another 15 wins and 19 nominations during his career. Mann chose Channing for his new role of Duke Hauser in 2009’s ‘G.I. Joe’, a movie that Chan is currently filming in California.

• Oliver Stone – This well-respected director, producer, and writer has 3 Oscars, 36 other wins, and 34 nominations on his long pedigree and chose Channing to play hero Hugh Thompson in his war drama ‘Pinkville’. Although this film has been postponed, it’s postponement has allowed Channing to do both ‘G.I. Joe’ and ‘Public Enemies a>’, so alls well that ends well.

Working with the above list of award-heavy directors, actors, and producers would be awesome for any actor, much less one that just burst on to the scene a short while ago. As a matter of a fact, most actors would give their left arm to work with almost anyone on that list and Channing has been given the rare opportunity to work with all of them.

Finally, I would like to give a BIG thanks to Fabulous Channing Tatum Fan Hilarry for the awesome story and CTU Reader Hannah for telling me about this fan encounter!!!

Source: Think Pink

NEW Channing Tatum Photoshoot for March 2008 Vogue Magazine

In addition to being featured in three different Uk-based magazines this month, Channing Tatum has a ten-page spread in the March 2008 issue of US Vogue.

In the issue, you will find some amazing new photos of Channing taken by photographer Steven Klein with model Caroline Trentini. The article is called ‘The Way She Moves’ and Channing is pretending to help Caroline move into her upscale apartment. Can you imagine if Channing showed up at your door as your mover?

In addition to the gorgeous new photos, there’s also a short article where Channing talks about the boot camp he went through to prepare for his next film ‘Stop-Loss‘, how co-stars Ryan Phillippe and Joseph Gordon-Levitt (who also stars with Chan in ‘G.I. Joe‘) are like brothers to him, and how he learned a little about old Hollywood style from Oscar-nominated ‘Fighting‘ co-star Terrence Howard.

You can check out all of the high quality scans of the article below:

CHANNING TATUM FOR DUMMIES… Everything You Ever Wanted to Know

Channing Tatum for Dummies is a series of articles where I try to answer the most frequently asked questions about Channing Tatum that I receive from readers or find on message boards all over the internet.

Here is today’s Channing Tatum most frequently asked question and answers:

Fabulous Channing Tatum Fan Nanci C.’s Question:
Can you find out about his workouts? I mean we all really appreciate his obvious assets, but how does he enhance those assets by working out?

CTU Answer:
Here’s what Will, Channing’s trainer from Billion Dollar Bodies, Inc., had to say about his training regimen for his most recent film ‘Fighting‘…

What type of workout routine did you recommend for Chan to help him prepare for his role in the film?

To maximize Chan’s results within the short time frame I was given to work with, our sessions basically consisted of a variety of high intensity circuit workouts. To keep his body from getting used to one particular routine, we did some weight training indoors as well as some bodyweight exercises outside at a local park. Now for those who are not familiar with circuit training, simply put, it’s stringing a number of exercises back to back with very little or even no rest in between. In my opinion, circuit training is the most effective method of exercise when it comes to changing body composition simply because it keeps the heart rate elevated throughout the duration of the workout and it enables your body to burn fat at a very high rate for an extended period of time after your workout it over.

Chan told me that he lost 30lbs with your workout and diet regimen. How quickly did he have to lose the weight?

When I was contacted to work with Chan, it was about 5 weeks prior to shooting. He got started on his nutrition plan immediately which helped him drop 5-10lbs, however we didn’t start working out until 2 weeks later. So basically Chan dropped an additional 20 lbs in only about 3 weeks of training! When preparing a client for an event I usually spend about 8 to 12 weeks with them, so I can definitely add this one to my list of last minute miracles ;).

What type of diet did you have Chan on to help him maintain his weight through out the 2 month film shoot?

Chan’s diet was by far the most important factor in his weight loss. I believe in allowing my clients to eat the things they enjoy, just modified versions which contain more protein and fiber with less fat and calories. I think going on crash diets and/or eating bland foods in the name of weight loss only sets you up for failure. I have an amazingly talented chef on my team who can take any food you like and create a healthier version that tastes just as good, so basically Chan was eating burgers, lasagna, french toast, etc., everything was just made with low fat, whole wheat, and organic ingredients. And plenty of veggies!

Thanks to Will for taking the time to answer my questions and thanks to Nanci for submitting her question! If you want to submit a question about Channing Tatum, email it questions@channingtatumunwrapped.com and I will try to get it answered for you in the following Channing Tatum for Dummies article. I cannot guarantee that I will have an answer for every question, but I will tell you what I know (or at the very least give you an opinion on the subject).

Channing Tatum Pictures of the Week: Fabulous Fan Drawing Submissions

Each week Channing Tatum Unwrapped will post one or more of our favorite pictures of the uber hot Channing Tatum.

Today’s Pictures of the Week were submitted by Fabulous Channing Tatum Fan Brad from Atlanta, Georgia and Channing Tatum Unwrapped’s newest resident artist. Brad does such an incredible job of recreating the following photos that most of his drawings look like black and white photo copies of the original photos from Chan’s public appearances, ‘Step Up‘, ‘Stop-Loss‘, and ‘Fighting‘.

Here are Brad’s most recent works of art with the original high quality photos that he used to create them: