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:

NEWS FLASH: New Interview with Jenna Dewan for Upcoming Film ‘The Jerk Theory’

As I have been reporting for a while now, ‘Step Up’ co-stars Jenna Dewan (Channing Tatum’s real-life girlfriend) and Josh Henderson (Desperate Housewives) will reunite on-screen in the new romantic comedy ‘The Jerk Theory’. I even posted photos HERE and HERE of Channing Tatum when he visited Jenna on the Utah set last year during filming.

The teen comedy is about an aspiring recording artist named Adam (Josh Henderson). When he is burned by a bad relationship experience, he decides that if women won’t respond to the “nice guy”, then he’ll be “the jerk.” He is extremely successful with meaningless relationships, but when Adam meets and falls for Molly (Jenna Dewan), who doesn’t fall for his jerk routine, Adam is forced to reconsider his dating philosophy.

The PolarStar Entertainment film was produced and written by Abraham Taylor , and directed by Scott S. Anderson. Abraham recently contacted me and sent me a new interview to share with you all that Jenna did for the film. Fans can watch the new video below to learn more about ‘The Jerk Theory’:

The film will be released later this year, and their official site will be launching soon. In the meantime, you should make sure to check out the new MySpace Profile, Facebook Fan Page and YouTube Video Channel they recently created to learn even more about the movie.

Stay tuned, because Abraham has promised to send us more news on the upcoming film, and I’ll let you all know when an exact theatrical release date is announced.

Thanks to Abraham for sending us the new interview!!!

IN THE PRESS: Check Out Channing Tatum’s May 2008 AXM Magazine Article for ‘Stop-Loss’

As I previously mentioned on the blog, Channing Tatum (AXM’s #2 sexiest man in 2008) is featured on the UK-based magazine’s May 2008 cover.

This month’s issue of AXM also includes an interview and photos that spotlight Channing’s newest dramatic role in his critically-acclaimed film ‘Stop-Loss‘.

I was finally able to get a copy of the magazine, so fans who don’t live in the UK can now read the entire article in the high quality scans below. As a bonus, the image I created for this post also doubles as a great wallpaper for any computer. Enjoy!

IN THE PRESS: Channing Tatum Featured in AXM’s May 2008 Issue

In March, Channing Tatum was chosen as the #2 sexiest man in 2008 behind David Beckham by UK-based AXM magazine. Now AXM is featuring Channing on the cover of their mag for the second time in his career.

This month’s issue of AXM includes an interview and photos that spotlight Channing’s newest dramatic role in his critically-acclaimed film ‘Stop-Loss‘. You can view scans of some of the photos in the article below. Enjoy!

Below you can also see the cover and a photo from the December 2006 issue of AXM magazine that featured Channing and his highly-successful dance movie ‘Step Up‘.

Channing Tatum’s film ‘Stop-Loss‘ just premiered in the UK on April 25, 2008 and will premiere next in Australia on May 8, 2008 and Spain on May 9, 2008. You can CLICK HERE to get all of the release dates for the film in countries around the world.

You can now buy the May 2008 issue of AXM in the UK at WH Smith, Borders, Prowler Stores, and any other good newsagents.

Channing Tatum Videos of the Week: New ‘Stop-Loss’ Interviews with Channing Tatum and Ryan Phillippe

Today’s Videos of the Week are two new interviews with Channing Tatum, Ryan Phillippe, and their castmates for their new film ‘Stop-Loss‘, which is currently in theaters.

I really like the second interview, because Channing talks about how ‘Stop-Loss‘ director Kimberly Peirce surprised him by asking him to dance after one of his auditions. You can check out the interviews from ReelzChannel.com and Better.TV below. 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.

NEWS FLASH: Obama Supporters Rally for Channing Tatum’s ‘STOP-LOSS’ in Theaters

Today Channing Tatum’s new movie ‘Stop-Loss‘ let us know via their MySpace page about a movement that is sweeping America. Across the country volunteers of Presidential candidate Barack Obama are rallying to stop the governmental policy of stop-loss (aka the backdoor draft) by watching the movie ‘Stop-Loss‘.

If you would like to join their effort and support our troops by seeing ‘Stop-Loss‘ in your home town, CLICK HERE for info.

You can also click on the links below to join in on the fight and purchase tickets to the film. Here are your direct ticketing links for a theater near you:

• MOVIETICKETS.COM
• FANDANGO.COM
• MOVIEFONE

You can go to the SoundOff Section of the ‘Stop-Loss’ official site and read recent comments posted by the film’s director Kimberly Peirce and others in the community to learn about even more efforts that are being made to change the stop-loss policy.

You can also check out a new ‘Stop-Loss’ interview I just found with director Kimberly Peirce, Channing Tatum, Ryan Phillippe, and the rest of the cast. Enjoy!

Channing Tatum Videos of the Week: NEW ‘Stop-Loss’ Cast and Crew Interviews

Today’s Videos of the Week are two new interviews with Channing Tatum and his castmates for their new film ‘Stop-Loss‘, which is currently in theaters. You can check out the interviews from MovieWeb.com and WKYC-TV via a Kimberly Peirce fan site below. 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.

REMINDER: Channing Tatum’s ‘Step Up 2: The Streets’ Has Successful Run in the UK and Australia and Premieres in Croatia

I just wanted to remind all of the Fabulous Channing Tatum Fans in Croatia that Channing’s extremely successful dance movie ‘Step Up 2: The Streets‘ premiered in your country this week.

The film is doing exceptionally well everywhere it premieres. ‘Step Up 2‘ continues to sell out at venues and is currently the #3 movie in the UK and the #1 movie in Australia.

Making over $56 million domestically and $38 million abroad (with even more releases in the works), the movie is a certifiable hit worldwide, which is why we will be seeing ‘Step Up 3-D‘ hit theaters in the not-so-distant future.

And they’re not done yet, because ‘Step Up 2: The Streets‘ will next premiere in Slovakia and Hungary on April 3, 2008.

I was also able to track down the Salsa TV interview with the cast and crew of ‘Step Up 2: The Streets‘ that I learned about from the show’s producer at the ‘Stop-Loss’ screening earlier this week. You can CLICK HERE to check out the interview with director Jon Chu and leads Briana Evigan, and Robert Hoffman or you can watch it below. Enjoy!!!

You can CLICK HERE to get all of the current release dates around the world and to check out the movie’s trailer. Go see what all of the buzz is about and watch Channing Tatum’s ‘Step Up 2: The Streets‘ TODAY!!!

Channing Tatum Videos of the Week: NEW ‘Stop-Loss’ Special, Exclusive Movie Clip, and Interviews

Today’s Videos of the Week were submitted by numerous Fabulous Channing Tatum Fans. We have a behind-the-scenes special done for ‘Stop-Loss‘ by Cinema Judge, two interviews, and a new exclusive movie clip I found showing Channing Tatum and Ryan Phillippe’s characters as they return home from combat to a hero’s welcome. Enjoy!!!

I also found a really great review of the film at the Orlando Sentinel. You can read snippets of the review below, but you can CLICK HERE to read the entire review.

‘Stop-Loss’ is Brilliantly Observed and Vividly Shot
Roger Moore, Sentinel Movie Critic
Stop Loss (4 stars out of 5)

“Stop-Loss is one of the best of the many Iraq War/War on Terror dramas because it is the most personal. Brilliantly observed and vividly shot, built on a career-making performance by Ryan Phillippe, its an Iraq War movie for Americans whove been avoiding Iraq movies, even the good ones such as In the Valley of Elah.

Like that film, this one is mainly about disconnection and disillusionment on the home front. Co-writer and director Kimberly Peirce brings her Boys Dont Cry grasp of violence and rural American machismo to a story of young Army Rangers from Texas. Theyve done their duty and come home to find that their government has “stop-lossed” them, re-enlisted them against their will for another tour of duty in what amounts to a de facto draft….

….If Vietnam was “the television war” then Iraq is “the camcorder war,” and Peirce makes just enough use of home movies to give the film an authentic texture. Her firefight rivals anything in Blackhawk Down or The Kingdom.

Peirce is at her best in creating a rural Texas reality of boys raised around patriotism, fighting and guns. Every character introduced in the early combat scenes has his moment to make a point…

Many Americans have been as reluctant to re-examine this conflict as the young men in uniform here are, and Stop-Loss isnt going to change their minds. What this film does best is change the nature of the argument, from assigning blame and repeating old positions to taking a look at an injustice slapped on those who eagerly did their part. The unspoken question lingering as the credits roll is blunt: What business do we have asking more of them when we wont match their sacrifice?”

‘Stop-Loss‘ releases in theaters this Friday, March 28, 2008.

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.

IN THE PRESS: Channing Tatum and Ryan Phillippe’s ‘Stop-Loss’ Interview from Collider and Teen Hollywood

Channing Tatum and his friend and ‘Stop-Loss‘ castmate Ryan Phillippe recently did a press junket in Los Angeles, California to promote their film that hits theaters March 28, 2008.

Both Collider.com and TeenHollywood.com attended the same interview with Chan and Ryan, so we now have an audio of the entire interview from Collider.com and the complete transcript thanks to TeenHollywood.com.

In the information-packed interview, we not only get to learn about the actors’ experiences with ‘Stop-Loss‘, we also get an update on ‘G.I. Joe‘ and ‘Public Enemies‘.

You can CLICK HERE to listen to Channing and Ryan in the Collider.com interview, and you can read the entire TeenHollywood.com transcript below. Enjoy!!!

Best Buds Ryan Phillippe & Channing Tatum

Mar 20, 2008 - Lynn Barker

Ryan Phillippe (left) and Channing Tatum in Stop Loss Credit: Paramount

We are sitting across from two sizzlin’ hot hunks! Channing Tatum made our hearts beat faster in She’s the Man and Step Up. He recently threw some bangin’ flip moves in the sequel Step Up 2 the Streets. Ryan Phillippe’s blue-eyed blondness blew us away in teen classics I Know What You Did Last Summer and Cruel Intentions and he was impressive as a WWII sailor used by the government for publicity in Flags of Our Fathers.

These guys couldn’t be more different; Ryan’s driving force is his children (with actress Reese Witherspoon) and being a dad is at the forefront of his decisions. Channing is just now achieving very hot bachelor status and lovin’ it. In the very involving and important drama Stop Loss, about Iraq soldiers being forced back into combat after serving their tour, the two play best high school buddies from Texas who serve in Iraq only to become adversaries when one goes AWOL.

To emphasize their differences, the two friends (they bonded during boot camp for the movie) were dressed very differently for our interview; Ryan in white tee that revealed a tattoo on his lower arm, cute hat, lots of silver bracelets and black pants and Channing in crisp, dressy black shirt and black suit pants. We were sitting close enough to Channing to notice a small gash in one of his eyebrows….

Channing Tatum at the Los Angeles premiere of Stop-Loss Credit: Paramount

TeenHollywood: Do you have a little boo boo there [we point to his forehead]?

Channing: [laughs] Interesting story. [He looks around] Make sure my publicist isn’t in here. He’ll kill me. I got into a head-butting contest with one of the soldiers last night.

TeenHollywood: Oh, one of the real Army guys you met?

Channing: Yeah. I lost!

TeenHollywood: So you haven’t left your role behind yet then?

Channing: It’s not totally gone.

TeenHollywood: How did both of you come to be in the film? Did [writer/director] Kimberly Peirce pick you?

Channing: I chose Kimberly on this one. I totally read the script. I heard that Kim was doing a movie. I loved her first film [Boys Don’t Cry]. I read the script and had no idea about [the] stop-loss [rule]. I fell in love with [the story]. I fell in love with Steve [his character]. The idea of playing a soldier was always in my mind. I thought that Steve embodied someone that I’ve always wanted to be. I just never really had the balls to go and join the military, you know? Then I did a really extensive audition process, long, back and forth to New York and stuff like that and eventually came on the movie.

Ryan: I had read the script. I had just finished working and I was worn out and I went to meet with her and we had a decent meeting and she didn’t want me [we laugh] and the studio kind of did.

The two play best friends in the film Credit: Paramount

Channing: I didn’t know that.

Ryan: Yeah. I spent more time with her and then at that point I wasn’t sure whether or not it was right for me either. I felt like she was a filmmaker and she’d have me forced upon her and then I guess she changed her mind. We started spending time together and developed a great working relationship and I decided it was a great opportunity to work with her and to play this character. There was so much range and all of the emotion with this guy. As we started shooting I was so happy that it all worked out because I loved the experience and everyone I was working with so much.

TeenHollywood: So how do you see your character Brandon King [the guy who goes AWOL after being “stop lossed”]?

Ryan: I see
him as a guy who has always known what is right and lived that way through most of his life. I think he is a very straightforward, decent, honest guy and through the events of this movie finds himself having to reconsider all those things about himself. I think that crisis of conscience and that soul-searching over what is duty and honor and weighing what is most important to you… I think his whole life everything was kind of black and white to him. There’s a right way to do things and a wrong way.

TeenHollywood: You guys play best friends. I wondered if you had to get together separately to get that dynamic before you shot.

Linda Emond, Ryan Phillippe and Ciaran Hinds Credit: Paramount

Channing: Well, I had never met Ryan before and we kinda just got thrown into boot camp together- Hollywood boot camp, you know? Six days out in the 106-degree heat of Austin, which was bonding in itself. When you camp there’s no TV. There’s no nothing and you just have to sit and talk to each other and Ryan came on and was just the leader immediately. I took to that and we all just sort of fell into our roles. It was a learning experience. It was camp. It was like summer camp for kids and you got to shoot guns and learn urban combat and stuff.

Ryan: You’d be surprised how close you can get over the course of like six days around the clock with a group of guys and it was one of the best things Kim did for us and for the film because it was genuine and I think you see it and feel it in the movie.

Channing: Absolutely.

Ryan: I think even that boot camp laid the groundwork for where we are all at today, like the way we are all still hanging out and stay in touch because it was real and we all genuinely like each other and it is a pretty diverse group in terms of age and background.

TeenHollywood: So you still hang with the actors you met on this movie?

Channing: We all get together. I mean, Ryan’s got kids so he’s a little more locked down, you know, but we all spent New Year’s out in the country together. We’re a family like that. A lot of people say that on movies, ‘Yeah, we’re all family’, but this is really real. I love these guys!

Ryan: Plus this movie was started a year and a half ago.

TeenHollywood: Once you heard of the policy of ’stop-loss’, how important was that in your decision-making process to take these roles?

Ryan: I never had a political agenda. I didn’t want to feel like the movie did. [This film] is strictly from the soldier’s perspective. It is strictly telling the soldier’s story it’s not about a leftist, anti-war [belief]. The fact that the character gets stop-lossed, that is the crux of what he goes through in the film, but that to me wasn’t an overriding reason like, ‘Oh people have got to know about this’. I think it’s good that people know about it and I think it has kind of been put in the background. It is important to have an awareness of it.

TeenHollywood: Do you have an opinion about stop-loss yourselves?

Channing: I don’t like to get political, but the only thing I have to say about that is that I feel like if there was a regular draft, you know like Vietnam, I don’t think there would be a war still. I think it would effect different families, you know, richer families and I do not think we would be at war.

Ryan: I don’t like the term a lot of people are throwing around, you know, “The backdoor draft” because a lot of soldiers know about stop-loss. They know about the clause. I think some of it is brushed under the rug and sort of breezed over and not brought to attention, but this is the only war it’s been used (in) really.

Channing in Step Up Credit: Touchstone

Channing: Yeah, and I think the soldiers now are slightly more aware now because we’re four or five years in. It’s happened to a lot of people they know. I think, when they signed up, it wasn’t something they were told up front. It’s not a big selling point when you are trying to get someone to sign up.

Ryan: I’d hate to have it happen to me. I can understand the frustration. I think if someone signs up and dedicates and survives the length of what their contract was meant to be… these soldiers have been in Iraq and it is boring. It’s a desert and they sit and think about every day, ‘I’m gonna get out. I’m gonna give my mother a hug. I’m gonna have a baby. I’m gonna get this job’. That’s what gets them through their time over there so I can’t imagine having that all taken away from you at the eleventh hour and I think it speaks to really how unpopular this war is and how people do want it to end to kind of have to force people back into combat. That’s what it says to me.

TeenHollywood: How did you guys become such convincing Texans? Did you just go and talk to a lot of people there in Austin or did you have friends?

Channing: Being there helped. It’s so atmospheric. Everyone talks funny.

Ryan: Yeah, and I know I put on the jeans and the cowboy hat the whole time I was there and I listened to all the country music.

Channing: I’m from Alabama and I love Country, but I didn’t listen to it as much as you. (Laughter) I actually love country music, but you listened to it like a maniac! I was just like, ‘Aaargh’!

Ryan: [laughing] Hey, I had further to go because I am East coast, Northeast coast, so I had to-

Channing: Overcompensate? [Laughter]

Ryan: Yeah.

TeenHollywood: There is some good food in Texas. You were in the barbeque capitol. Did you love that?

Channing: Woooo. I was 205 [pounds] when I got off that movie. I was a big, ole boy when I got off that movie. I’ve been 215 in my life, but that was when I was working out and (a) muscle head. [This time], it was just bar-be-que and beer!

TeenHollywood: Are you trying to say that Austin has a party life? [Laughter].

Channing: Nah [Sarcastically]. I think there’s a little college there, a little one. I think they do a little drinking and a little partying.

TeenHollywood: What’s that actually like, being a big movie in Austin? It’s a very film-centric town. What’s that experience like?

Channing: It’s cool. You know, they embraced us. The more we went out, the managers in the bars were like, ‘Yeah, come on back’, that sort of thing. It was fun. It was a good time. We lived right on 6th St. so you couldn’t walk out of
your house without running into some drunk person so you are just like, ‘Oh, alright, y’all wanna get a drink?’

John “Doc” Bradley (Ryan Phillippe) in Flags of Our Fathers Credit: DreamWorks

TeenHollywood: Ryan, you’ve done two military films about men returning from war; one in Flags of our Fathers, one in this film. Besides different wars, how do they differ?

Ryan: That war [WW II] was absolutely necessary and I just would have given my life for. That generation kept a lot more to themselves. That displacement the soldier feels coming home and the notion of PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder), those things weren’t really an aspect of World War II soldiers’ reality. I think everyone came home and kept it to themselves. I know my grandfather didn’t talk about it. The guys today, I found, that we talked to that have served over in Iraq are much more forthcoming and there’s a lot more acceptance of them dealing with what they have experienced. The other aspect that I think is incredibly different is the modern soldier. In World War II a kid was plucked from a neighborhood and put on a battlefield within the space of a month. Now you go through extensive training and you’re a machine. You’re a professional soldier now and that’s certainly not how it was in World War II.

TeenHollywood: Did it surprise you to find out that Americans are in hiding; that people that served our country are having to live under the radar now [if they are avoiding being stop lossed back to Iraq]?

Ryan: It did, but I guess I would draw that same parallel to the ex-pats who are up in Canada or went off to Mexico. That was choice they were faced with when the draft was instituted and now there is no draft. I think is sort of a similar notion. I know it’s surprising and hopefully that will change.

TeenHollywood: A lot of these guys, like your character, are feeling that they are on the thin edge of losing it and they shouldn’t be sent back when they are in that state.

Ryan: It’s a dangerous thing for the soldiers. It’s a dangerous thing for the civilians on foreign soil. There’s also this thing to me that is really disturbing. The army now will accept people that have legitimate injuries and legitimate deficiencies and put that back into (combat) because they can’t get enough people over there. I know people who are in the National Guard in their 60s, they’ll take them to Iraq. They may put them in a desk job, but back in the old days if you had a strain or a bad back you couldn’t even get in the army. Now you can be blind in one eye and be put on the battlefield. That disturbs me.

TeenHollywood: Yes. Have either of you gone over there? I know a lot of actors have gone with the U. S. O. or whatever.

Ryan: No. I haven’t.

Ryan Phillippe at the Los Angeles premiere of Stop-Loss Credit: Wenn

Channing: I haven’t. I plan to though. Me and Joe [fellow actor Joseph Gordon Levitt] and a few other guys are planning on doing some sort of documentary. I just want to know what they [the soldiers] think about all these war films coming out? I want to give them the camera and let them ask me questions. Do they think Hollywood is doing a good job? I know we can’t get it right. That’s impossible. We can get it close and we can try our hardest, but we are never gonna know what it’s like to be in war. All we can do is create a real person and try to be a real soldier.

TeenHollywood: Director Kim Peirce has a brother who was a soldier over there. You guys met him?

Ryan: Yeah. He’s really close friends with Channing.

Channing: I know he was in for four years. I don’t know how long he was over there.

Ryan: He was one of the ones that signed up after 9/11 with the intent of getting back at the people who aggressed against us. Kim would I. M. him when he was in Fallujah. His closest friend over there was a guy who served as the inspiration, the guy who was stop-lossed. His life was put on hold so everything began there for Kim. She started to go around the country researching. She’d go to actual homecomings and did extensive interviews and it kind of all built. Brett [her brother] was around [for] quite a bit of the movie and really helped out in the beginning and we had soldiers that we spent our free time with, and I think it really enhanced the truth.

Channing: Brett got out because his shoulder was all messed up and when he got out, the guy that replaced him died. He died, actually, during the filming. He was the leader of a team; of a sniper unit and they ran into an L-shaped ambush. He was going back in to be a sniper.

TeenHollywood: Ryan are you writing again?

Ryan: I’m writing right now. It is something I’m hoping to direct this Fall, a small, kinda dark comedy based on a true-crime story, probably set in Texas.

Channing: The kid should write. He should direct. I wanna work with him too. I want him to direct me one day.

TeenHollywood: Channing, what is with the little facial hair there? Is that for a role or…

Channing: Yeah, I’m doing G. I. Joe right now.

TeenHollywood: In the last few years your career has definitely exploded. You are doing G. I. Joe and you are also gonna be in Public Enemies. Can you talk a little bit about what attracted you to G. I. Joe and what the experience has been like and also are you looking forward to working with Christian Bale and Johnny Depp?

See Stop Loss in theaters Mar. 21st Credit: Paramount

Channing: I’ve been a huge fan of both those guys and Michael Mann. You know, G. I. Joe, I was originally opposed to it. Especially coming off of Stop-Loss, playing a soldier about a really sensitive topic. I had no interest in going to play a fake soldier in a hyper-real kind of fantasy war. I was just like, ‘Nope. No thanks’, and then I read the script finally and the script was great. It actually has nothing to do with war, nothing to do at all. It’s (like) X-Men, Mission Impossible, (and) Star Wars. I got kind of excited about it and jumped on. Joe’s (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) in it so that was kind of more of an incentive. I love him. He’s one of my best friends and to get a chance to work with him for a long time i
s really fun.

TeenHollywood: And Public Enemies?

Channing: I get to play Pretty Boy Floyd in the Michael Mann thing and Christian Bale gets to shoot me! [laughter] I never died in a movie. I’m a little nervous. I am like, ‘Oh god!’” That’s a tall order, you know?

TeenHollywood: Ryan, what’s Franklyn? That’s a film you’re doing?

Ryan: Yeah, that’s something I’ve finished. It’s a strange movie. It’s hard to describe. It’s essentially