IN THE PRESS: Channing Tatum Chosen as One of the Top 50 Hottest Young Actors

Film site TheMovie-Fanatic.com recently polled their readers to see who are the Top 50 Hottest Young Actors in Hollywood.No surprise to all of us fans here at CTU, Channing Tatum has landed on their list yet again, and has even moved up 5 spots from his previous ranking.

Here’s what TheMovie-Fanatic.com has to say about the up and coming actor who is climbing the popularity charts one film at a time..

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tMF Top 50 Hottest Young Actors - THE TOP 20

Top 50 status: Ranked #21 on the previous list.

Biggest roles so far: As Young Antonio in A Guide to Recognizing your Saints, as Tyler Gage in Step Up, as Sgt. Steve Shriver in Stop-Loss.

Why he made the top 50: One of Hollywood’s most exciting new talents, former model Channing Tatum is being touted to be the next ‘big thing’.

“With my career in general, I feel like I’m finally getting to do the roles that I’ve always wanted to do. It’s a slow build; you can’t ever get the roles that you want in the beginning of your career because you don’t have the buzz or the heat, or whatever the hell it is you need for the agents and the studios to be happy. They want you to do a little bit at a time until you get the chance to work out and do the roles that really mean something to you.”

Many were surprised by his amazing performance in Ditto Montiel’s A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints. But Tatum is just waiting for the right time and the right role to make people take notice.

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For the record (and I’m sure this will come as no surprise to anyone here at CTU), I think Chan deserved a higher spot on the list. It would be safe to say that I’m a little biased. But I digress…

I do agree that Chan’s portrayal of Antonio in ‘A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints‘ was definitely a defining moment in his career and his upcoming roles in 2009’s ‘Fighting‘, ‘Public Enemies‘, ‘G.I. Joe‘, and ‘Dear John‘ are more than likely a direct result of it.

Rest assure, the industry has already taken notice.

New Photos of Jenna Dewan at the Lucky Magazine and Instyle Events This Past Week

People Magazine caught up with Channing Tatum’s fiancee Jenna Dewan Thursday in route to one of the three events the busy starlet attended that night.

They tried to get some dish on her recent engagement to Channing, and without giving too much away, she let them know how excited and happy she is about it. You can CLICK HERE to check out the article. You can also keep reading below to get more scoop on all of the events Jenna recently attended.

Although we only have photos from two of the three events that Jenna went to on Thursday October 2nd with friends (since Chan is working on ‘Dear John‘ in South Carolina right now), we know that she dropped by Lucky Magazine’s launch party for Kim France and Andrea Linett’s new book “Lucky Guide to Mastering Any Style” in Los Angeles and InStyle’s party for Tommy Hilfiger’s Bravo TV special “Ironic Iconic America” at the Thompson Hotel in Beverly Hills.

Jenna then wrapped up the night by signing autographs for fans after attending the one year anniversary for the dinner club One Sunset in West Hollywood with celebrities like Lauren Conrad, Kim Kardashian, Lance Bass, David Arquette, and Emmy Rossum.

You can check out all of the new photos of the always adorable Jenna Dewan below. Enjoy!!!

In case you don’t know, Jenna just had an awesome guest appearance on ABC’s hit show ‘Dancing with the Stars‘ and will soon start filming her next movie ‘Virgin on Bourbon Street‘ with Rob Schneider.

REMINDER: Channing Tatum’s ‘Battle in Seattle’ Premieres in Over 20 More Cities and CTU Gets Exclusive New Movie Clip!!!

As you can see in the graphic on this post, Channing Tatum’s drama ‘Battle in Seattle‘ was recently featured in the October 6, 2008 issue of US Weekly Magazine. You can click on the graphic to read a short interview that director Stuart Townsend did for the mag.

I also want to remind all of Channing Tatum’s Fabulous fans that ‘Battle in Seattle‘ just premiered in the following cites across the country:

• Irvine, CA
• Rancho Niguel, CA
• Santa Barbara, CA
• San Diego, CA
• Nashville, TN
• Denver, CO
• Charlotte, NC
• Huntington, NY
• Cleveland, OH
• Eugene, OR
• Portland, OR
• Philadelphia, PA
• Austin, TX
• Dallas, TX
• San Antonio, TX
• Houston, TX
• Plano, TX
• Madison, WI
• Milwaukee, WI
• Chicago, IL
• Great Barrington, MA
• New Haven, CT
• Baltimore, MD
• Santa Fe, NM

Fans can CLICK HERE to get a complete list of approximately 40 cities, theaters, and times where the movie is currently playing in the US.

In my previous post, I announced a new CTU contest for free tickets and a free movie poster from the film. Now, the film has sent us another exclusive special treat. Fans can also check out an new clip from the film that ‘Battle in Seattle‘ has again created just for us here at CTU. Enjoy!

Thanks again to BIS for the great clip and fans make sure to go checkout ‘Battle in Seattle‘ in theaters this weekend!!!

IN THE PRESS: Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan Featured in This Week’s US Weekly Magazine

It’s been all over the entertainment news for the past week, so it should be no surprise, but Channing Tatum and his fiancee Jenna Dewan are featured in the “Hot Pics” section of the September 22, 2008 issue of US Weekly Magazine, because of their recent engagement in Maui.

In case you all have not seen it yet, Fabulous Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan fans here in the US can pick up an issue of the mag on newsstands this week. Fans can also CLICK HERE to see even more photos of the happy couple in Maui.

Jenna Dewan’s New ‘Magdalena’ Interviews from MTV’s Splash Page

One of the things that Channing Tatum’s longtime girlfriend Jenna Dewan and I talked about when I saw her last was how excited she is about her newly announced role of comic book heroin Magdalena.

It’s a dream project for the humble actress who fell in love with the idea of the film quickly and is very hopeful that fans will respond to it well.

To get fans familiar with ‘Magdalena‘ way ahead of time, the film’s production team is doing a lot of pre-promotion, even before the script is done. I was excited to see that MTV’s Spash Page now has a week long series on Jenna’s new film.

Fans can read the first two articles and watch the video interviews below:

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This week is “Magdalena Week” here at Splash Page. Each day we’ll be giving you an exclusive look at “Magdalena,” the upcoming big-budget adaptation of the Top Cow comic book starring Jenna Dewan and Luke Goss. Today, learn about the character and where the film will diverge from its source material.

Before Wonder Woman, or Red Sonja, before She-Ra or She-Hulk, one female comic book super hero is going to make it to the big-screen to kick butt and take names, to thwart evil and kill the wicked.

And she’s gonna do it all in Jesus’s name (Amen).

Well, sort of, laughed recently cast Jenna Dewan, the actress set to fill the giant shoes — and monster lineage — of Patience, the holy warrior protagonist of the upcoming comic flick “Magdalena.”

Wait, who?

Wielder of the mighty Spear of Destiny, the Magdalena refers to any of a number of distant descendents of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene who fight on behalf of the church. Thanks to her bloodline, she possesses preternatural fighting abilities and (quite literally) sacred blood – think “The Da Vinci Code” crossed with “X-Men.”

In the comics, several Magdalenas throughout history are given stories. Conversations between Dewan and producer Gale Anne Hurd, however, have made it clear to the actress that the movie will more or less follow the comic origin of one Magdalena, Patience, the last in the long line of warriors and the current champion of the world.

“They’re going to follow that comic pretty closely,” Dewan said of the planned plotline.

In the comic story, Patience grows up in a nunnery before becoming a homeless runaway on the streets of NYC. When presented with her destiny, she’s initially hesitant, circumspect, rebellious. “She has this streak in her, a free spirit,” Dewan explained. All of which makes her the perfect fit for the film version of Magdalena, the 27-year-old former “Step-Up” star said.

“What’s interesting in the comic is that Patience is the only one that they mention who questions. She doesn’t just instantly go into ‘Oh, the Catholic Church is right and I know what I’m doing.’ She says I’m very strong in what I believe in, I believe people are doing bad things,” Dewan told MTV News. “I want to fight that because I feel like inside of me that’s what I want to do. But she doesn’t attach herself to any symbols or labels or anything like that.”

Avoiding labels is actually a big challenge for the filmmakers, Dewan confessed, given the heavily sacrilegious nature of the character. Solution? While the recently announced movie version of the heroine will certainly honor her heritage, it won’t necessarily focus as much on the religious aspects of the character, Dewan insisted.

“When I started this I said I didn’t want it to be a religious movie - the Catholic Church versus everyone else. I wanted it to be somebody who knows she has something inside bigger [than herself], this spiritual want to help people,” Dewan said. “That’s really what we’re focusing on - fighting the darkness for the light, rather than the Catholic Church and religion. There is that element of it but it’s more about fighting people who are evil in this world.”

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Yesterday, Jenna Dewan gave us the scoop on her upcoming comic book adaptation of “Magdalena,” the story of the butt-kicking last scion of Jesus, put on Earth to fight crime and preserve the innocent.

Maybe you hadn’t heard of “Magdalena” before this. Maybe that caused you to look her up elsewhere. Maybe that caused you to find this. It’s a costume that’ll send a million mouths a’drooling. So is the trashy, vampy, very revealing costume going to make its way to the film? Settle down, boys. The answer, unfortunately, is no.

“I think the goal of this movie – we don’t want to do ‘Catwoman.’ I don’t think I’ll be walking the street in a thong and leather chaps,” Dewan said, laughing. “That’s not gonna happen.”

It’s as if millions of fans cried out in horror, and were suddenly silenced.

But all is not lost, Dewan said. While she won’t be wearing a thong and leather chaps, the costume WILL still be quite sexy, she insisted, telling MTV News that the ultimate version will be some kind of compromise.

“We’ll be making a sort of blend. We want it to be more based in reality, more ‘Matrix’-y. Not necessarily superhero,” Dewan said. “[But] I probably will have a flavor of the comic counterpart. In my personal opinion I like movies that touch on that.”

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Congrats again to Jenna on this awesome new role! This world can definitely use another heroine, and I can’t wait to see her kicking butt and taking names. Stay tuned to Channing Tatum Unwrapped, and I’ll make sure to post the rest of the MTV Splash Page interviews later this week.

NEWS FLASH: Thanks to Channing Tatum’s Fabulous Fans People.com Has Given Him a Celebrity Central Page!!!

Recently, I asked you all to vote for Channing Tatum on People.com to help him be chosen as the next celeb to get their own page added to the site’s Celebrity Central celeb directory.

By my count, Chan’s fans have banded together to help him win at least three different awards in the past year since CTU has been his official site…You voted like crazy to help him officially be declared the hottest man alive, and you all helped him win Choice Dramatic Actor and ‘Step Up 2‘ win Choice Drama at this year’s Teen Choice Awards.

And Channing Tatum’s Fabulous Fans have done it yet again! Not that we needed any more proof that we are a force to be reckoned with, but through your votes, fans have now helped Chan to get a his very own page in People.com’s Celebrity Central celeb directory.

Because of you all, Chan has now joined a select group of People.com’s A-List celebs like Brad Pitt, Angelina Joilie, George Clooney, Madonna, Beyoncé, and Will Smith. Fans can now check out Chan’s new page, bio and photos and get recent news on the profile too.

Congrats to Channing for getting the new page and thanks again to all of you Fabulous Fans around the world for helping him get it! Job well done and see you all at our next mission!!!

Channing Tatum and Girlfriend Jenna Dewan Featured on People.com

Fans always love candid photos of our favorite couple Chenna, and I’m sure today’s cute pic of longtime couple Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan will be not different.

The happy couple was snapped by photogs out and about in Beverly Hills on Sunday, and People.com has decided to feature them in their Star Tracks article today.

Fans can click on the image to check it out for yourself at People.com and you can CLICK HERE to see and/or download the photo.

Thanks to my best friend Lis and CTU readers Jan and Brandi for the heads up on People’s post.

IN THE PRESS: Vote for Channing Tatum to Be Added to People.com’s Celebrity Directory

Every few weeks People.com adds a new celeb to their small Celebrity Central directory by letting readers vote on which star should get their profile next.

Thanks to Fabulous Channing Tatum Fan Jan from Oklahoma for letting me know that fans can now vote for Channing Tatum to be the next celeb to get a profile on their site!!! He’s currently beating Wentworth Miller and Mario Lopez, but we want to make sure it stays that way.

CLICK HERE to vote for Chan today, and you can check People.com on September 1st too see if Chan won!

CHANNING TATUM VIDEOS OF THE WEEK: 2008 Teen Choice Awards & Jenna Dewan E! Interview

Today’s Videos of the Week were submitted by Fabulous Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan Fans Naz from London and Tina from the Phillippines.

Naz has submitted the first video which features Channing Tatum’s interview in the press room after he won the Choice Dramatic Actor Award for his role in ‘Stop-Loss‘ at this year’s 2008 Teen Choice Awards. In the video, Chan talks about surfing, dancing and the biggest challenge for kids today. Enjoy!

Tina taped and submitted the next video which shows a recent interview that Chan’s girlfriend Jenna Dewan did for E! Television when she was promoting her highly successful Lifetime Television movie ‘Fab Five: The Texas Cheerleader Scandal‘. It’s a cute interview that shows Jenna teaching dance to the kids at the Gabriella Charter School that recently awarded her with their Limelight Award. Enjoy!!!

If you have a favorite video that you would like me to consider, send a link to the video to votw@channingtatumunwrapped.com and tell me why you like it. I will post it and your explanation on the blog.

CTU EXCLUSIVE: My Dinner with Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan

Every time something amazing happens here at CTU, something else seems to top it, so I am now a true believer that anything is possible in this world. My dinner with Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan last week definitely would fall in the category of the seemingly impossible, but it really did happen and as you can see on this post, I even have pictures to prove it!!!

Just to recap for any new readers…last week I went to Los Angeles, California to visit my best friend and while I was there, I hung out with ‘Stop-Loss’ director Kimberly Pierce, had a ball at the 2008 Teen Choice Awards, spent an incredible day with Chan’s mom Kay, and topped off my trip with a fantastic dinner at a local LA hot spot with Channing Tatum and his girlfriend Jenna Dewan (aka Chenna).

Believe it or not, the dinner almost didn’t happen, because I was supposed to fly back home on Tuesday, August 5th. As luck may have it, an extremely small and fast moving storm decided to hit my hometown that day, so I postponed my departure to Wednesday to avoid any potential run ins with mother nature. Because of that day delay, it thankfully allowed me to have dinner with Chan and Jenna Tuesday night.

I had spoken to Chan the day before when I was hanging out with his mom, and he told me to call him the next day so we could try to meet up before I left. I called and left a message and Jenna called me back to see if I wanted to go to a restaurant called STK. Ironically, this was the same restaurant that I had taken my best friend to a couple of nights before.

Although I didn’t know when I made my reservations weeks ahead to make sure we would be able to get in, I learned from Jenna that STK is actually one of their favorite restaurants. If you’ve ever eaten there, then you totally know why, because the food and service are amazing. I went both with and with celebrities in tow and the people there were awesome. I’d like to give a shout to David and Chad! They were the best host and waiter EVER!!! OK back to the story…

Jenna offered to make reservations some place else, but since my best friend and I loved the restaurant so much, I was excited to go again. It was beyond surreal to think we would be going back to STK with Channing and Jenna.

Jenna had made an 8 PM reservation, and we arrived first. When I told the host that our reservation was listed under Dewan or Tatum, he looked up with a smile and said “Jenna Dewan?” and I happily told him “Yes” (trying really hard to stay cool and hold in my excitement).

We decided to wait outside in the restaurant’s small, trendy courtyard until Chan and Jenna arrived. Just a few minutes later we saw Jenna. We hugged, and she told us that Chan was running a little late from the meeting he had with the Hollywood screen legend I mentioned in my previous post. He was on his way, so we decided to go ahead and get seated while we waited for him to arrive.

We walked to the table and although I don’t think Jenna noticed, you could tell that people recognized her. One table in particular kept starring at us (and when I say US, I mean HER). We later found out why, because they came over to the table before they left. Jenna was carrying a bag and wearing a necklace she had gotten at the 2008 Teen Choice Awards gift retreat a couple of days before. The table of people actually worked for the company that provided them for the awards show, so they were totally excited that she had chosen their gifts and was wearing them.

As we were ordering our appetizers, Chan called Jenna to say he was a few minutes away. Jenna pulled out her phone to answer it, and I couldn’t help but notice the photo she used for Chan. She also turned the phone towards me so I could see the nickname. Again to protect the innocent, I’m not going to say what the name was. That’s between Jenna, Chan, and her phone, but I’ll just say that it was REALLY cute. As far as the picture she used is concerned, it seems that Jenna has the same taste in favorite Chan photos as many of us, because ironically, she chose the gorgeous ‘Stop-Loss’ promotional still to the left that fans have been drooling over since the movie released it. Seriously, can you blame her?

We ordered our appetizers and not too long after we got them, Chan arrived. The restaurant was all abuzz and people stopped him to talk to him while he tried to politely make his way to our table that was in a back corner of the restaurant. Jenna got up from the booth so they could give each other a hug and then he reached out his arms so I could do the same.

We had already received our salads, but we realized they had given me the wrong one. I had not touched it, so before taking it back, the waiter asked Chan if he wanted it. One of the things learned from Chan last year when I visited him on the set of ‘Fighting’ was that he really did not like veggies. Jenna reinforced that by quickly letting the waiter know that he did not eat anything green. Chan made what my friend and I thought was a joke by saying he was going to order beef as his appetizer and beef for his entree. We were surprised when he did just that by ordering a filet appetizer and rib eye for his entree. Needless to say, he was quite full by the end of dinner. We all were, because the food was so good.

We talked about a lot of different things during dinner, from Jenna and her family to Chan’s projects and his meeting that day to reality shows we have watched and are way too embarrassed to admit, all while Chan and Jenna sat close, holding hands. I can’t believe I’ve gotten this far without mentioning they are just the cutest and most loving couple ever. Every now and then, they would just look at each other and it was like there was no one else in the room.

At one point Chan mentioned that he often turned down chances to do talk shows or interviews, because he feels it’s important that people keep Chan the person separate from Chan the actor. Sometimes if you know too much about a person, it can be difficult to really see the character they are portraying.

As some of you may imagine, hearing him say that kind of freaked me out for a second. If you’ve been reading CTU for any period of time, then you know the whole concept behind “Unwrapped” is to help people learn about Chan (the person AND the actor). I could potentially be a kink in his plan of anonymity, because of the nature of what I do everyday on this site.

Then it hit me. Unless this dinner was an elaborate way for him to “break up with CTU”, he’s obviously cool with what I do here, and I think we should all consider ourselves VERY lucky that both he and Jenna choose to connect with their fans through the site.

During dinner, I also learned that Chan is in the process of trying to learn Korean, because he is going to be starring in and executive producing the first Hollywood movie to ever film in South Korea. Sadly the technology gremlins struck again when he tried to install the software on his computer. Seems those gremlins never take a vacation when it comes to Chan. I may just have to get him a low-tech copy of a book that teaches Korean.

At some point, a hostess let us know that she had reserved a place for us in the exclusive lounge called Coco De Ville that is attached to the restaurant. It was getting late, but we decided to go to the lounge for a little bit after we finished dinner. The somewhat intimidating bouncer unhooked the velvet rope to let all of us in and my friend swears she saw Paris Hilton walking out as we arrived.

It was a lounge that played really great music, and we sat on an interesting bench that was suspended from the ceiling. We talked for a bit more, and I learned that Chan is currently in training for ‘Dear John‘, which is still scheduled to start filming in South Carolina next month. Jenna is also supposed to start filming her next movie ‘Virgin on Bourbon Street’ in September too.

We did not stay in the lounge for long. Chan, the gentleman that he is, asked us for our valet tickets so he could take care of them and we headed out to get our cars. As we walked passed the paparazzi right outside the restaurant, Chan and Jenna kept their heads down so we could walk past them without a hailstorm of flashes.

We were almost home free and then someone must have tipped them off, because they all came rushing after us. Like a scene in a movie, I just started seeing tons of flashes and hearing all of the clicks from the cameras. Fans came up to get autographs and photos with them, and they were happy to oblige. As you saw in my last post, both Chan and Jenna are so awesome with fans. They both gave me a big hug once our cars arrived, and we said our goodbyes.

I want to thank Chan and Jenna for inviting us to dinner and for taking the time to hang out with us. I can guarantee that I will never forget that night, and I definitely hope we get to have many more good times like that in the coming years.

One of the other things that I was really happy to learn at dinner is related to the new Rock4Change benefit concert that Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan have decided to support. It was great to hear about it, because one of my goals for CTU this year is to get involved with one or more charities.

Rock4Change empowers & inspires a new generation of activism through the entertainment industry, and in doing so will raise funds and awareness for important social issues that need our attention. Each one of us has the opportunity and the responsibility to use our voice to make a difference. Partnering with the biggest names in music, film, television, and sports, the organization shines a spotlight on worthwhile causes to motivate people across the globe to do their part to affect change. They invite all of us to be a part of the worldwide movement and know that together we can rock to change the world.

For the first time in ten years, the MTV Video Music Awards will take place in Los Angeles and the biggest names in music will descend upon Hollywood for the festivities. With all of the amazing talent together in the same city Rock4Change has decided to produce the ultimate party with a purpose. The goal of the event is to raise awareness and financial support for two incredible non-profit organizations who are doing life saving and life changing work in Africa, specifically to help end the atrocities in Darfur and Uganda.

The event will bring together some of the biggest names in music, TV, film and sports for a once-in-a-lifetime celebration of music, dance and the power of the human spirit. Rock4Change will feature performances by Grammy award winning artists, an original piece on the evolution of dance by award-winning choreographer Shane Sparks, video presentations from the charities, an awards presentation and many more surprises.

Jenna Dewan & Channing Tatum are going to be presenters at the benefit concert and together will introduce an incredible piece that EMMY nominated choreographer Shane Sparks (”America’s Best Dance Crew” & “So You Think You Can Dance”) is putting together on the fusion of African dance & Hip Hop.

Channing will film his public service announcement (PSA) on Friday, and I will post it on the site soon. You can watch Jenna’s PSA for the event below with Ludacris, James Franco, Flea, and Greg Grunberg:

If you are going to be in Los Angeles, California on September 4, 2008, then I encourage you to join Channing, Jenna, me, a long list of celebrities, and other supporters at the Rock4Change Fall concert event. One hundred percent of the net proceeds from ticket sales for the star studded benefit concert will fund the reforestation project in Darfur through “Aid Still Required” and the work “Hands Across Nations” does to support some of the 1 million children who have been orphaned by AIDS in Uganda. You can CLICK HERE to buy your tickets to the event.

Thanks to Rock4Change I am able to give away two FREE tickets to the concert to one lucky Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan fan. If you can attend the event and would like to win the tickets, then here’s what you need to do to enter the contest:

1) CLICK HERE to quickly signup for the Channing Tatum Unwrapped newsletter where you will get a daily email with any articles I have posted in the last 24 hours. If you don’t want to miss out on any juicy Channing Tatum and/or Jenna Dewan news, then the newsletter is the best way to go. If you are already subscribed to the newsletter, then you can skip to step #2.

2) Send me an email from the address you used to sign up for the newsletter to contests@channingtatumunwrapped.com with “Rock4Change” in the subject, your mailing address and phone number in the body of the email, and an explanation of why you would like to win the tickets. I have another contest running right now, so it’s important that you have the correct subject on your email.

Each fan can enter the contest one time. Please do not submit multiple entries, because only your first submission will be used. The winner of the contest will be announced on this Saturday, August 23, 2008, so please submit your entries by the end of the day on Friday, August 22, 2008 to try to win the prize. Good luck everyone!!!!

REMINDER: Jenna Dewan’s ‘Fab Five: The Texas Cheerleader Scandal’ Premieres Tonight!!!

In today’s post, we have to high quality scans of articles about Channing Tatum’s girlfriend Jenna Dewan and her new movie ‘Fab Five: The Texas Cheerleader Scandal‘. You can click on the scans to read Jenna’s interview in the August 4, 2008 issue of OK Magazine and you can read more about the movie in the August 4, 2008 issue of US Weekly magazine.

I also wanted to remind all of you Jenna Dewan fans out there that her newest movie ‘Fab Five: The Texas Cheerleader Scandal’ is premiering on Lifetime Television tonight at 9pm Eastern/Pacific. You should check your local listings for show times in your area.

Fans can also learn more about Jenna and the movie in the following Lifetime Television interview and new movies clips below:

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Jenna Dewan: Thus Far

The former dancer and star of “Step It Up” talks about making the transition from dancing to acting, meeting with her real-life counterparts and the pitfalls of Hollywood. Catch Jenna Dewan in the new movie “Fab Five: The Texas Cheerleader Scandal,” premiering August 2 at 9 pm et/pt.

by Dayna Gross Posted: Thu., Jul. 17, 2008 , 3:18 pm EDT

You started out your career as a dancer. Which do you prefer — dancing or acting?

Those are my two passions. At the moment, I’m drawn more to acting than dancing, but I just started doing it a few years ago. It’s just the start of the evolutionary process of acting for me, so I can’t get enough of it right now. But it’s not about liking one more than the other. They’re two different passions that satisfy two different parts of me.

Do you get to do any dancing or cheerleading in the film?

Not in this movie. We added a little part because the director said, “OK, we can’t have you in this movie and not do any sort of dancing.” We do a little bit where I teach the girls a dance. It’s about 10 seconds long.

Was it tough standing on the sidelines and watching the other girls dancing?

The parts where they actually perform at a pep rally, I was a little anxious. I get this feeling when I watch any sort of dance performance where I just want to get up and do it with them. But I danced for 20 years, so I was ready for a change.

What kind of a kid were you in high school? Were you a cheerleader?

Yeah, I was a cheerleader. I was a Texas cheerleader at that. But I wasn’t like these girls. The way they acted is so foreign to me. I was on a competitive team. We were a very athletic squad. We did social things, but we couldn’t get away with anything. If we missed a practice, we got demerits.

How do you think that girls like the ones in the movie get so out of control?

I think it has a lot to do with our society. The role models that a lot of kids are looking up to right now, in Hollywood and in life in general, are not great. They’re out of control themselves. There’s an epidemic of young kids making big mistakes even younger, and no one is stopping them. Now more than ever, I see parents trying to be best friends and not parents. They’re not providing boundaries and are letting their kids run amuck, and I think that needs to stop. That’s actually part of why I did this movie.

You’re not much older than the girls playing the cheerleaders in the film. When the cameras weren’t on, were you more of a friend to them or a mentor?

We all got along great. I think because I was playing a character that was pretty close in age and I was nervous about looking and feeling older, we didn’t hang out that much outside of work. But when we were on set, we had some really great conversations. I talked to them about their lives. A lot of them are just getting into acting, and they had a lot of questions. So it was more of a friendship than an older person talking to a younger kid.

Did you meet with Michaela Ward (the real-life coach)? What kind of advice did she give you during filming?

I sat her down in my trailer and questioned her. This is the first time I’ve played a real person, and I needed to make sure I was representing her fairly. We spent 10 minutes together and she said, “Oh, I’m so glad that you’re playing me.” And I said, “I’m so glad you’re as cool as you are and that we’re on the same page.”

Did she tell you anything about any of the other girls in the story?

She told us the story was not exaggerated. She sat down with the writer and gave her a blow-by-blow of what really happened. One thing she told me that we didn’t have time to touch on in the movie is that she actually formed a good friendship with Brooke (the role played by Ashley Benson). She was a friend and mentor to these girls for about a minute, and then it all changed. We didn’t get to touch on that in the movie. But she was in awe that we were making this movie and showing her in a positive light, because all the other media outlets weren’t.

What was it like to work with Tatum O’Neal?

Tatum is a sweetheart. It was an interesting experience working with somebody who has been in the business since she was 10. It’s a whole other level of knowing about the pitfalls of Hollywood. We got along great.

Did she give you any advice?

When we were leaving, she gave me a hug and said, “I think you have a really big road ahead of you in this career. Promise me that you’ll stay focused and keep doing what you’re doing.” I think it was her way of saying, “Don’t go down the other road. Just do the best you can.”

What’s your favorite cheerleading movie?

“Bring It On.” It’s funny. It was the first of its genre.

What are your favorite songs to dance to?

I am a big fan of jazz and hip-hop. My favorite song right now is the Justin Timberlake and Madonna song, “4 Minutes.” I also love old-school Paula Abdul. Growing up, she was my idol. Any time “Cold Hearted Snake” and “Opposites Attract” came on, I got excited.

If your life was a Lifetime movie, what would it be called?

“Thus Far.” At the end of my life, what I’d hope it would be is “To Love and Be Loved.”

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Here are new clicps from the film:

IN THE PRESS: Variety Says Channing Tatum Has International Star Power

At the major Hollywood studios, there is a small list of established actors who can guarantee that a film will be made. In the foreign market, things seem to work a little differently. The actors who are now considered bankable don’t fit the normal mold, because they are newer to the industry.

Variety.com deputy editor Anne Thompson recently posted an article about the new flock of young, bankable film actors that foreign sales agents are targeting to get funding for their projects, and I’m glad to say that Channing Tatum was one of the few that made it on her short list.

Although actors like Channing may be relatively new to the scene, they have the power to get movies made in the foreign markets, because of the recognition they have earned from their shorter, but successful, list of films.

To get these projects off the ground, the foreign agents are casting up-and-coming actors with international appeal. This trend has presented a great opportunity to a slew of young actors and actresses and also means a greenlight for a lot of films that might not otherwise be made.

I keep a lot of statistics on this site, and the numbers don’t lie. After almost a million visitors to Channing Tatum Unwrapped since I started the site on January 1, 2007, I know that a little more than half of Channing’s fans are here in the US, but the rest of his fans hale from every other part of the globe. If that’s not international appeal, I don’t know what is.

I have no doubts that Chan’s current and consistently growing popularity with audiences around the world will thankfully allow us fans to see him in films for many years to come.

ACDC Sends A Message to the M&M Cru…”Better Get More Ice Cream”

A few weeks ago, Miley Cyrus and Mandy Jiroux of the M&M Cru released their latest entry in the extremely popular dance battle started by ACDC last April.

Jon M. Chu and Adam Sevani are really getting good at this taunting thing, so we have another teaser video from ACDC that shows the M&M Cru (which includes Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan) a taste of what they have to look forward to in the yet-to-be announced live battle between the two talented dance crews.

You can CLICK HERE to watch the teaser video or you can check it out below:

Here’s what Jon Chu has to say about their newest video:

“After being depressed about the ACDC’s last video and eating ice cream to binge the pain, Miley Cyrus and Mandy Jiroux tried to end it with their last video…but it’s not over until there’s only ONE winner. And there WILL be a winner.

LIVE. IN PERSON. DETAILS TO COME.

THE BIGGEST ONLINE DANCE BATTLE IN THE HISTORY OF MANKIND WILL NOW BE THE BIGGEST DANCE BATTLE IN THE HISTORY OF MANKIND, PERIOD.

In the meantime, we’ll be training. Stay tuned for more videos…and SUBSCRIBE [http://www.youtube.com/chupictures] SO YOU CAN SEE THEM FIRST!!!

PS That’s MADD CHADD at the end and the Song is
“ROBOT ROCK” by DAFT PUNK you can buy it on iTunes

PPS The M&M Cru has their GAYliens…well we have the BROBOTS. More to come from the BROBOTS…”

I know we all can’t wait to see the live battle, and I’m still hopeful that it’ll all go down on an episode on MTV’s show America’s Best Dance Crew (aka ABDC). Even if that doesn’t happen, I’m sure we’ll all be tuning in, because I hear that a TV deal is in the works.

As if this whole thing hasn’t been historical enough, the BIGGEST online dance battle in history is heading to prime time so the two crews can settle this beef once and for all. As Jon says, more details to come.

In the meantime, I’ll share some new information I’ve learned about the battle both in front of and behind the scenes…

IN THE PRESS: M&M vs. ACDC Dance Battle Featured in US Weekly Magazine

The famous YouTube dance battle between the M&M CRU and ACDC has been covered (and even spoofed) by countless entertainment news outlets in the short time that’s it’s been going on. From Perez Hilton to Access Hollywood to E! television to MTV News, everyone is talking about the phenomena that has taken the world by storm.

Like many entertainment news outlets, Us Weekly Magazine recently posted an article on their website highlighting the latest video from the M&M Cru. They also decided to put the article you see above in the June 30, 2008 issue of their popular magazine.

It talks about the web’s biggest hits (as far as online video is concerned). All of the videos in the dance battle have gotten an astounding number of views on YouTube in a very short period of time (more than 10 million to be exact).

New Behind-the-Scenes Dance Battle Videos

M&M Cru’s Mandy Jiroux called into Ryan Seacrest’s popular L.A. radio show at 102.7 KIIS FM to talk about the dance battle the day after the last video release and below you can listen to her interview. Enjoy!

On the ACDC front…In addition to being invited to dance at Ellen DeGeneres’ birthday party, they were also recently invited to perform at Youtube’s corporate headquarters for the Discover YouTube Event in San Bruno, California. Below, you can check out some behind the scenes footage from their trip and performance. BOOM!

How the M&M Cru Scored Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan

Fans have been a bit baffled ever since we learned that Channing Tatum and his girlfriend, Jenna Dewan, were members of the M&M Cru instead of the obvious choice of ACDC. I can now say that there’s an extremely good reason for how that happened, and it’s not as scandalous as people have assumed (there was no kidnapping involved).

Cole Walliser (the director of all of the M&M Cru videos) told me that he’s really good friends with Chan and Jenna. Since I’m pretty sure they knew Cole before they ever met Jon, aligning themselves with the M&M Cru actually makes a lot of sense.

I have to say that I was relieved when Cole told me this, because I was thinking of doing a dance battle video myself and now I know just who to ask. ;-D

In addition to that bit of inside scoop, Cole also said that there may just be some video outtakes of Chan and Jenna in Prague. I can’t make any promises, but I’ll see if we can get ahold of some of them to share with you all.

That’s it for now folks, but stay tuned M&M Cru and ACDC fans. Channing Tatum Unwrapped will always have the latest news on this extremely hot dance battle!!!