Channing Tatum Wraps Up ‘Dear John’ Press Tour in NYC and Takes Theaters By Storm Across the Country
February 7, 2010
In case you missed it, Variety and tons of other news outlets are reporting that Channing Tatum’s romantic drama ‘Dear John‘ is now officially the first movie to take on Avatar and WIN!
Against all estimates, odds, rain, and what’s being call “the storm of the century” in the North East, Chan’s fans showed up in droves to the sold-out midnight screenings all over the country and packed theaters during the day to help the film reach $13.8 million on Friday. The movie is now projected to make over $30 million for the entire weekend, beating everyone’s original estimates by leaps and bounds.
Regardless of the final weekend number, ‘Dear John‘ has already set records. It’s the highest Friday opening for Screen Gems and is also the highest opening for a Nicholas Sparks adaptation. The last two Sparks films, 2008’s “Nights in Rodanthe” and “The Notebook,” charted opening weekends just north of $13 million, which is what ‘Dear John‘ made on Friday alone.
I couldn’t be happier for Chan and everyone involved with the film. Their hard work is paying off and fans are loving the movie. This kind of success doesn’t come easily and both Chan and his ‘Dear John‘ co-star Amanda Seyfried have been working non-stop to promote the film across the country.
They just wrapped up the New York leg of their ‘Dear John’ press tour yesterday after stops in Fort Bragg, Charleston, Philadelphia, Toronto, Chicago, San Fransisco, and Los Angeles.
Below you can check out some of the new photos from fans and the media for this interview-packed stop that included appearances on Regis and Kelly, The Today Show, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, and a fan Q&A with Amanda Seyfried at the Soho Apple Store. Enjoy!!!
Fans can also CLICK HERE to check out a ton more photos from New York City and HERE for the entire ‘Dear John’ press tour in the CTU Photo Gallery.
Here’s what one fan had to say about her fan encounter with Chan outside the Soho Apple Store appearance on Thursday…
- “I went to see Channing Tatum at the Soho Apple Store for the Dear John Q&A. I actually got to meet him on his way in, he was generous enough to pose with fans and chat up a bit. The Q&A was not allowed to be recorded or anything, and will be available on itunes soon. Channing has such an amazing charm that made the Q&A so much more entertaining. I hope to meet him again soon enough! - Chelsea”
Chelsea also sent a couple of videos from that day. You all can watch videos of Chan and Amanda graciously signing autographs for all the fans both inside and outside the packed event…
As Chelsea said, fans were not able to record the Q&A, but I talked with Apple and they are planning on posting an enhanced podcast on iTunes with audio and photos from the event early next week. I’ll let you all know when that’s available for download.
You can also check out videos of Chan from his Fallon, Today Show, and Regis and Kelly appearances (both inside and outside) this past week below. Enjoy!!!
You can CLICK HERE to watch the entire show and see Chan’s first segment with Jimmy.
Thanks to Chelsea for the great fan encounter and videos from the Soho Apple Store event!
Tag Cloud
UNWRAPPED PHOTOS | New Pics of Chan and Jenna at ‘Dear John’’s L.A. Premiere
February 4, 2010
I honestly don’t know where Channing Tatum gets the energy. He’s one of the hardest working people I know and manages to do it all with a smile on his face.
After two premieres in Fort Bragg and Charleston, countless stops in Philadelphia, Toronto, Chicago and San Fransisco, and launching a new website, the press tour for Chan’s romantic drama ‘Dear John‘ finally made it to the Los Angeles red carpet premiere at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre on Monday night.
Fans can check out new photos I added to the CTU photo gallery, which include pics of both Chan and Jenna Dewan-Tatum from fans and the media and a few articles that also featured the event.
There are a ton of interviews out right now, but below you’ll find some of my favorites. You can check out interviews from MaximoTV, Pacific Rim Video Press, ReelzChannel, and a local news interview Chan told me he did the morning of the premiere for KTLA…
I can’t embed them in this post, but you can also check out a couple more red carpet interviews at RadarOnline.com and EOnline.
The movie will hit theaters tomorrow, February 5, 2010, and tells the story of John (Channing Tatum), a young soldier home on leave and Savannah Curtis (Amanda Seyfried), the idealistic college student he meets during her spring vacation.
‘Dear John‘ is based on a Nicholas Sparks book by the same name, helmed by Lasse Hallström, written by Jamie Linden, and wrapped filming in the Charleston, South Carolina area in December 2008.
Believe it or not, Chan still has more ‘Dear John‘ promotions coming up, which includes, but is not limited to, the following…
- Thursday (February 4th): Soho Apple Store Q&A with Amanda Seyfried
- Thursday (February 4th): Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
- Wednesday (February 10th): Ellen Degeneres
As always, stay tuned to CTU and I’ll let you know if I find out about any other appearances for the tour!
Tag Cloud
Channing Tatum’s ‘Dear John’ Press Tour Takes Over San Fransisco
February 1, 2010
After stops in Fort Bragg, Charleston, Philadelphia, Toronto, and Chicago, the regional press tour for Channing Tatum’s romantic drama ‘Dear John‘ made it’s last stop in San Fransisco this past Friday.
On today’s post we have new pics and a video from last Friday’s Macy’s fan meet and greet at Union Square and behind-the-scenes photos of Chan doing press with co-star Amanda Seyfried while in town. You can check out a few of the pics below, and you’ll find the rest in the CTU photo gallery…
While in San Fransisco promoting ‘Dear John‘, Chan told the mob of excited fans all about his new site, PostTheLove.com. You can check a video Chan made while at the tour stop below…
And don’t forget…Chan has a busy week of ‘Dear John‘ promotions coming up, which includes, but is not limited to, the following…
- Tuesday & Wednesday (February 2nd and 3rd): Hosting Two Nights of MTV from 7pm - 10pm Central
- Wednesday (February 3rd): Live With Regis and Kelly
- Thursday (February 4th): Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
- Thursday (February 5th): ‘Dear John‘ Hits Theaters
- Wednesday (February 10th): Ellen Degeneres
As always, stay tuned to CTU and I’ll let you know if I find out about any other appearances for the tour!
Tag Cloud
Channing Tatum’s ‘Dear John’ Press Tour Hits Philly
January 28, 2010
The ‘Dear John‘ press tour started out at Fort Bragg, moved on to Charleston, had to skip over Atlanta because of bad weather, and moved strait to Philadelphia, which prompted Chan to tweet…
- “Yo tweeters in Philly doing press for Dear John. It’s a little cold but three words philly cheese steak… Ballin!…I love my life and I keep waiting to wake up. I’ve had a crazy life been way down at times and way up at times…To all the tweets reading I love you guys and can’t quite find the words to say thank you but THANK YOU!!”
In case you missed it, Chan had a full-on tweet session with over 160,000 of his closest fans on Tuesday to thank you guys for all of the support. I told you all it could happen at any time, so hopefully you didn’t miss it and got a response from him before he jumped on a plane to Toronto, the next stop on the multi-city press tour.
Below are a few behind-the-scenes pics from the Philly stop on the tour…
You can also check out more pics in the CTU Photo Gallery.
One of Chan’s many press stops in Philly was at The 10-Show. Fans can CLICK HERE to check out the interview with Amanda Seyfried. You can also watch a couple of interviews they did while in town for the local CBS affiliate and the Chio in the Morning radio show and a new “First Look” at ‘Dear John’ courtesy of Trailer Addict below. Enjoy!!!
I also thought I’d share this great comment about ‘Dear John‘ and Chan from Twilight Saga author Stephenie Meyer…
- “Finally, a movie recommendation: Dear John comes out Friday the fifth of February. Thanks to my cool friend Wyck (who many of you have seen in various Twilight Saga interviews, as he is one of the producers on our movies, and who is a producer on Dear John) I got to see this one early. I will confess, I cried. Also, I discovered Channing Tatum, who I’ve somehow missed until now. Likey. Lots. Amanda Seyfried is entrancing as always, and the chemistry (chemistry is always the crux of a movie for me) between them is lovely. Though the chemistry between Channing Tatum and Richard Jenkins (who plays his father) was my favorite part.”
In addition to the Twilight Saga’s screenwriter, sounds like Chan has converted yet another and all those fans who still hope to see him in a Twilight film, may just be one step closer to getting your wish one day.
Chan also did a ton of press in Chicago today and will end this leg of the press tour with a stop in San Fransisco tomorrow that includes a meet-and-greet at Macy’s in San Fransisco’s Union Square.
Chan and his ‘Dear John‘ co-star Amanda Seyfried will be on hand to meet and greet two hundred fans from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the Impulse Department on the third floor of Macy’s at 170 O’Farrell Street.
After that, he’ll head home to get ready for another busy week of ‘Dear John‘ promotions, which includes, but is not limited to, the following…
- Monday (February 1st): Los Angeles ‘Dear John‘ Premiere at Grauman’s Chinese Theater at 6pm
- Tuesday & Wednesday (February 2nd and 3rd): Hosting Two Nights of MTV from 7pm - 10pm Central
- Wednesday (February 3rd): Live With Regis and Kelly
- Thursday (February 4th): Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
- Wednesday (February 10th): Ellen Degeneres
Stay tuned to CTU and I’ll let you know if I find out about any other appearances for the tour!
Tag Cloud
New Photos and Video of Chan and Jenna at the Fort Bragg and Charleston ‘Dear John’ Premieres
January 24, 2010
Channing Tatum’s version of Nicholas Sparks’ Dear John recently hit the No. 1 spot on the USA TODAY best selling books list. With hopes that the film will mimic that level of success, Chan and his wife Jenna Dewan-Tatum kicked off the ‘Dear John‘ Press Tour by attending a premiere at the Fort Bragg military base this past Saturday.
From there, the tour took Chan and Jenna from North Carolina to Charleston and will continue on through Philadelphia, Toronto, Chicago, and San Francisco before it lands back in Los Angeles for, from what I hear, a February 1st premiere. On today’s post, you’ll be able to check out a ton of new photos and video from fans and the media who attended the events. First up, FORT BRAGG…
The Fay Observer reports that hundreds of fans stood outside the York Theater on Saturday afternoon vying for a chance to hang out with the stars of ‘Dear John‘ at Fort Bragg. At the event, which was open to military ID holders, Chan told the Observer…
- “I just really hope that everybody likes the movie. We just really wanted to make a beautiful movie about two kids falling in love and extraordinary people in extraordinary circumstances.”
Chan and his co-star Amanda Seyfried arrived at the York Theater in humvees and made their way down the camouflage carpe, which was topped with a red carpet, to sign autographs, pose for pictures, and talk to fans who had been waiting for hours in some cases. Chan, Jenna, and Amanda also visited Womack Army Medical Center to meet with wounded Soldiers from the Warrior Transition Battalion.
Once inside the movie theater, Fort Bragg garrison commander Col. Stephen J. Sicinski presented the stars with miniature “Iron Mike” statues as a token of appreciation.
You can CLICK HERE or on the image above to check out a ton of new photos of Chan and Jenna from fans and media who attended the special event in the CTU Photo Gallery.
Here’s some footage and interviews from the Fort Bragg premiere…
Fayobserver.com also posted a really great review for ‘Dear John‘ . You can read a snippet of it below…
“Dear John” is everything you expect it to be - weepy, touching and downright sweet…Seyfried and Tatum are charming enough to hold interest in their leading roles. Tatum, who starred in the lesser “G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra,” can come off as wooden, but here he gives a believable, heartfelt performance. Seyfried, of the TV series “Big Love,” has those large expressive green eyes perfect for showing how it feels to find true love…The film, though, truly belongs to the terrific supporting characters and mainly to the great character actor, Richard Jenkins, who plays John’s father. Jenkins gives an engaging performance as a man who does not know how to behave in social situations nor, most heartbreakingly, how to embrace his distant son. The story is as much about John’s relationship with his father as it is about the love story between Savannah and John….Henry Thomas of “ET” also gives a stellar performance as Savannah’s neighbor, a single dad who is raising an autistic son. Thomas is an understated, deliberate actor who gets a lot of the film’s funniest and most touching lines….Yes, there are humorous parts in “Dear John” as well as a grand romantic gesture, but there’s also sadness and sacrifice which make it a true Nicholas Sparks tale.”
Next stop…Charleston, South Carolina…
After honoring the military at Fort Bragg Chan and Jenna headed on over to Charleston, South Carolina (where a lot of the movie was filmed in late 2008) to attend a star-studded fundraiser for Carolina Autism, a local nonprofit that provides services to children and adults with autism. Ticket holders received a private screening of the film and the opportunity to mingle with the actors at a party afterward at the S.C. Aquarium.
Phil Blevins, the Executive Director of Carolina Autism, contacted me this morning to share the following details about the very successful event which raised approximately $100,000 for children battling autism…
- “Had a blast. The movie had people crying. Channing and Amanda stayed for the afterparty and participated in the charity auction. Channing auctioned off his Armani scarf for a thousand dollars and even auctioned the gum he was chewing.”
You can CLICK HERE or on the image above to check out a ton of new photos of Chan and Jenna from fans and media who attended the charity premiere in the CTU Photo Gallery.
In the videos below, fans can check out footage and interviews from the event…
Recent Comments