CTU EXCLUSIVE: Hanging Out With Channing Tatum, Jenna Dewan, and the Family at the ‘Fighting’ Premiere

I’ve often compared my time here at CTU to my favorite childhood story “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” where I play the role of Charlie, Channing Tatum is the incomparable Willy Wonka, and all of my excursions to sets, press junkets, and awards shows are stand-ins for the priceless Chocolate Factory tour.

CTU has been pretty much a fairly tale for me and attending the April 20th New York premiere and after parties for ‘Fighting‘ with Channing Tatum, Jenna Dewan, and their families can now be added to the long list of incredible and surreal experiences I’ve been lucky enough to have because of this site.

So here’s the blow-by-blow for my latest Tatum-inspired adventure…

The week before the premiere I received an email from Chan’s publicist’s office letting me, Chan, his parents, managers, agent, etc. know where we should pickup our premiere tickets. To be included in that particular group of people was undoubtedly one of my high points here at CTU, and to say that I was excited would most definitely be an understatement.

Attending a movie premiere is one of those things I’ve had on my bucket list since Chan invited me to the set of ‘Fighting‘ a couple of years ago.

Going to premieres may be old hat to people in the entertainment industry, but I’m a newbie. Since I had never been to an event like this and didn’t know what to expect, I was really nervous and could barely sleep the night before. The only thing that comforts me when I’m nervous is to arrive early so I can get the lay of the land.

When I arrived in New York a few days before, the weather was perfect, 80 degrees and sunny. On the day of the premiere, it dropped down to 46 degrees and rained all day, but absolutely nothing could spoil my excitement. Not knowing how the weather would affect my trip into the city from where I was staying with my best friend in New Jersey, I had my car service drop me off at the Regal Union Square Stadium Theater two hours early.

In those two hours, I met reporters and security guards and watched the crew as they physically sewed the red carpet down outside under a heated tarp that would soon be filled with reporters, celebs, publicists, film execs, and family and friends.

Chan’s parents had arrived in New York City the night before. On the night of the premiere, his mom Kay texted me to let me know that they would be on their way soon, so I picked up my tickets from will call. My best friend arrived around 6pm, and we waited for Chan, Jenna, and his family.

Jenna came through the doors at the end of the red carpet first, looking even more flawless that you can imagine, and let me know that Chan was taking photos with his parents outside. She then made a beeline over to the fans across the room who were patiently waiting to get autographs. Everything happened so fast that my pics were a bit blurry as she happily interacted with the excited fans. I was able to get a quick video as she walked back in my direction to wait for Chan and his parents. You can checkout the quick video below…

While we waited, she introduced me to one of Chan’s friends, Caleb, who’s a model and actor in New York and came out with them to attend the premiere. We stood around talking until Chan’s parents finished taking their red carpet photos and came inside.

As always, it was really great to see Chan’s mom Kay again, but this was my first time to meet Chan’s dad Glenn. He’s such a sweety and gave me a big hug. Not that I didn’t know this before, but it’s quite clear when you meet his parents that Chan comes from extremely good stock. They all have always treated me like family and that means more to me than almost anything else that’s happened with this site.

After finishing up a ton of interviews on the red carpet, Chan finally made it into the lobby of the theater. Again, things were moving really quickly and his handlers were trying to move him upstairs where more interviewers were waiting for him.

Chan’s mom preceded to get his attention and let him know that I was there. Although he had zero time, we were only able to talk for what seemed like seconds before he was pulled away up the escalator to finish up everything he had to do before the film could start.

Once Chan went upstairs, we all followed so we could take our seats inside the theater and watched the movie. I have to take a minute to apologize for not being able to send more tweets on Twitter during my time at the premiere. The phone reception was really bad and then my battery died. I can’t do anything about the reception issue, but I will make sure to take my charger next time.

I actually didn’t have tickets to the after party, so Chan’s mom told me to find them after the premiere, because Chan would want me to attend whether I had tickets or not. As instructed, I tracked them down (after running into the HILARIOUS grandma from the movie) and to my surprise, they made room in the family car so I could go with Chan, Jenna, Kay, Glenn, and Caleb to the after party. That was definitely one of the many surreal things about the entire night and meant so much to me that they would allow me to ride along with them.

The after party was held at the Marquee lounge in Manhattan where club scenes from the movie were shot. You can CLICK HERE to see hi-res photos of the inside of the lounge.

As we walked through the doors, I was greeted by one of the security guards I had met at the theater and had a Cheers moment when he belted out “HEY, Q”! as we all entered the room. Led by Chan’s publicist, we proceeded to the back of the club to go up to the second level where they had tables setup for the actors, main crew, and their friends and family.

At the bottom of the stars we were stopped by another security guard who requested our tickets. As I said before, I did not have after party tickets and in addition to that, Chan’s parents had forgotten theirs at the theater. What I learned is that none of that matters when you travel with the Tatums. Chan’s publicist preceded to let the guard know that we were “Channing’s family” and didn’t need tickets. Surreal moment number 10,543 in CTU history…

We headed on upstairs to a packed room full of people and were lead to a large booth with a sign that said “TATUM” in the middle. We all sat down to enjoy the party. Not surprisingly, Chan was the man of the night, so everyone wanted to talk to him. After weeks of doing press, you would think that he would have been tired, but adrenaline from the excitement of the premiere kept him upbeat as he chatted with and took pictures with party guests for much of the night.

So here’s where I have to explain why all of my photos from the after party look as if they were taken by someone sitting in a booth and just randomly raising their arms to snap a photo of people passing by or standing next to the table. They look like that, because that’s exactly what I did, and I dare any of you to say you would have done anything different.

As far as I’m concerned, I had the best seat in the house. I sat in the center of the booth flanked by Chan’s parents and Chan and Jenna. I was truly in fan heaven and the only time I got up from said seat was when Jenna, Kay, Glenn and I all went to the buffet to get food for ourselves and Chan.

Kay even offered to get up with me so I could take photos of others in the room, but I respectfully declined. I then let her know that everyone who was truly important to me was sitting in that booth and there was no need to move. I sat there and talked to Jenna about her Dad who was trying to make it into town despite the bad weather, to Chan about his favorite Cuban restaurant in New York, and we all took photos of each other on our various cameras.

I was so committed to my seat that I didn’t even get up when my blogging idol Jared from JustJared.com walked by the table towards the end of the party, because he was trying to get a photo with Chan and Jenna for his popular celebrity news site. I just called out his name and introduced myself to let him know I was a fan of the his blog.

So I have to apologize that I did not get more photos of others at the party. I promise to try to take off my fan hat next time and venture out a bit more. You can see all of the photos from the premiere and the first after party in the CTU Photo Gallery.

Before Chan’s parents left, Kay made sure to introduce me to Chan’s team, so I was finally able to meet his managers, agent, and attorney. Although it may seem strange, I always assume that people don’t know about the site, so I was surprised when Chan’s managers and agent let me know how much they liked it and how much they all appreciate what I do here at CTU. It was a great feeling and also meant a lot to me.

As the after party was wrapping up, I was invited to go to the after after party. Since Kay and Glenn had left earlier, we had a little more room in the car that was quickly filled with Chan’s friend Reid (one of the screenwriters from ‘Stop-Loss‘ and a partner in Chan’s new production company) and a friend from High School and his wife.

We all left Marquee and piled into our Hybrid SUV so we could head over to the lounge at the hotel where Chan and Jenna were staying. I hung out with Chan, Jenna, their friends, Jenna’s dad (who was going to attend the premiere, but got held up by bad weather) and some of the actors from the film like Zulay Henao, Cung Le, and Brian White. Once my car service arrived around 3am, I knew my chocolate factory tour was coming to an end yet again, and I sadly had to say my goodbyes to Chan, Jenna, and their friends so I could head back into the real world.

Below you can check out a video of Chan and Jenna saying bye to Jenna’s dad, taking photos, and signing autographs for fans outside their New York City hotel later in the week…

‘Fighting‘ premiered in the US and Canada on April 24th. The movie hits UK theaters this past Wednesday, and was released in Ireland, Spain, and Malta May 15, 2009. The movie will premiere in the Netherlands next on May 21, 2009. Fans can go to the CTU Calendar to get a current list of international release dates for the film.

Needless to say, it was an incredible night and more than I ever expected. Honestly, that always seems to happen when the Tatum’s are involved. I’ve been lucky enough to really make some good friends and Chan, Jenna, and his parents go out of their way to make me feel like family whenever I’m around them. No one ever said that they had to do that, but it’s just who they are and I love them for it.

Two years ago, I was just a woman with a little blog. CTU’s not so little anymore, but more importantly, I’ve gained some really great friends. I want to thank Chan, Jenna, Kay, Glenn, and Chan’s publicist Evelyn for allowing me to attend the event. It was an unforgettable experience. It may have been my first premiere, but I’m definitely hoping it won’t be my last.

Finally, I want to say that I also had a great time hanging out with CTU readers Marlie and Kerline the day before the premiere. Thanks to you both for taking the time to meet up with me while I was in town!!!

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CHANNING TATUM FOR DUMMIES…The ‘Fighting’ Edition

As I previously posted, I was able to attend the Los Angeles press junket for Channing Tatum’s new movie ‘Fighting‘ last Saturday. The event was held at the beautiful Four Seasons Los Angeles hotel, which I quickly learned is a hot bed for celebs far and wide.

In addition to the ‘Fighting‘ junket that included stars like Channing Tatum, Terrence Howard and Zulay Henao, the hotel also hosted a junket for the upcoming film ‘17 Again‘, so stars like Zac Efron (with his girlfriend Vanessa Hudgens) and Matthew Perry were roaming around the hotel. And it didn’t stop there. I even ran into Death Row Records co-founder Suge Night and Extra reporter Terri Seymour by the time I checked out on Sunday.

I was only at the Four Seasons for a little over 24 hours, so if seeing stars is your thing, I recommend you just sit in their lobby, and you might just spot a few yourself. Just don’t tell them I sent you.

Anyway…I live-blogged from the junket via Chan’s official Twitter, but in case you missed it, you’ll find a recap of my tweets below with some additional information that I learned during my trip via today’s ‘Fighting‘-inspired Channing Tatum for Dummies. Enjoy!!!

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

Today the questions come from fans and the ‘Fighting‘ press junket interviewers from around the world, and we can thank Channing Tatum for providing the majority of the answers:

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Question:

How did Channing prepare for his fight scenes in the film?

Chan’s Answer:

Many of the interviewers commented on how amazing and realistic the fight scenes were in the film. Channing prepared for his roll as street brawler Shawn MacArthur for approximately two and a half hours a day with trainer Jeremy Williams at Legends MMA Gym in Los Angeles for 5 weeks before filming began. Masterminding the choreography of the fight sequences were veteran stunt coordinator Mic Rodgers (’Fast & Furious’, ‘Mr. and Mrs. Smith’, the ‘Lethal Weapon’ franchise) and fight coordinator Mike Gunther (’Underworld’, ‘Live Free or Die Hard’, ‘Fast & Furious’). The trainers taught Chan routines that involved techniques from boxing and Greco-Roman wrestling to Ultimate Fighting and mixed martial arts.

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Question:

Did Channing use any doubles in ‘Fighting’ or is it actually him in all of the fights?

Chan’s Answer:

For the record, this film is 100% Channing Tatum in all four of the fights. It was extremely important to Channing that every frame be as realistic as possible. Chan said that three of the fight scenes were each shot in approximately one 14-hour day. The finale fight scene with Brian White really took a toll on him, because it took three 14-hour days to shoot.

In one of the fights, Chan’s nose was accidentally hit by one of the fighter’s punches. Being the trouper that he is, the trainer somehow straightened out the nose that we’ve all grown to know and love with a set of spoons and Chan managed to complete filming the scene. Dedication at it’s best.

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Question:

What was it like working with director Dito Montiel for the second time?

Chan’s Answer:

The initial script for ‘Fighting‘ started out as a basketball-themed film. Chan suggested they consider a storyline about street fighting in which he could use his raw physicality. He enjoyed working with Dito Montiel so much in ‘A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints‘ that he also suggested to the producers that they have the writer/director rework the script. Using inspiration from his childhood, Montiel considered the suggestion and crafted a story that explored the world of underground fighting.

Of working on the film with Montiel, Chan says: “Dito and I wanted to make a film about lonely people…
about two guys who find each other and common ground—even though they represent two different ends of the spectrum. They both have something they need from each other.” The troubled, sensitive and good-natured Shawn is a character far removed from Saints’ violent, streetwise Antonio, but Chan was eager to challenge himself as a performer.

He and Dito created a detailed backstory for the character who has fled his roots in Birmingham, Alabama, in order to try his luck in the city. “Shawn’s dad was a tough college wrestling coach,” Chan explains. “Since he was a very athletic guy, he expected his son to be athletic, too…so Shawn wrestled. A lot of parents want to live through their kids and want them to do better than they did. That was a real source of friction for him and his father.”

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Question:

What was it like to work with Terrence Howard?

Chan’s Answer:

Chan, Terrence, and the other actors were constantly joking around on set to pass the time in between scenes and that camaraderie continued at the press junket. During one of Channing’s interviews, Terrence busted in to joke around with Chan, and later in the day when Terrence was being interviewed by the same media outlet, Chan reciprocated. Chan said that he really enjoyed working with Terrence and learned a lot from him during the shoot.

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Question:

What are some of Channing’s favorite films?

Chan’s Answer:

Way before he ever caught the acting bug, a very young Channing Tatum fell in love with film after he saw movies like Paul Newman’s ‘Cool Hand Luke’ and ‘The Hustler’ with his dad. Fast forward to today and he’ll also tell you that he’s a fan of action dramas like Denzel Washington’s ‘Man on Fire’.

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Question:

Where does Channing see his career in the next ten or fifteen years?

Chan’s Answer:

When asked about the future of his career, Channing told interviewers that he would really like to get on the other side of the camera as a writer and producer in the next ten years and maybe as a director in the next 15 years. Although the nature of the beast dictates that he can’t give a lot of details, he mentioned that he is currently working on various writing and producing projects in addition to his current acting gigs.

He also confirmed that he is still considering a role in the Roman drama ‘The Eagle of the Ninth‘, that he’s no longer in the running for the lead role of Thor in Marvel’s 2011 big-screen adaptation (although he did meet with the director), and that he really wanted to play Snakes Eyes in ‘G.I. Joe‘. Chan thinks that Snake Eyes is the coolest of the Joes, solely because he never says word.

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Question:

Does Chan read Channing Tatum Unwrapped?

Chan’s Answer:

In between reading tons of scripts and books to prepare for his potential and confirmed roles, Channing does take the time to read CTU. So feel free to keep leaving comments, and it could be one that he gets a chance to read when he visits the site.

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Question:

Is Channing Tatum in ‘War of the Worlds’?

Chan’s Answer:

This may seem random, but since I got the answer this past weekend at the junket, I wanted to go ahead and post this. You all may be very surprised by the answer to this one. The truth is Channing Tatum was NOT in ‘War of the Worlds’ at all. Although IMDB says differently and many people thought that he was in the church scene or in a deleted scene, Chan’s mom confirmed this fact with him and he said was not in the film at all. And now you know!!!

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Question:

Does Channing have a pet?

Chan’s Answer:

Chan told me that he adopted a new puppy right before Christmas. Her name is Lulu, and she’s a mut that is mixed with four different breeds. He saved a 7 week old Lulu from a dog shelter in Alabama when he was back home visiting relatives after the filming wrapped on ‘Dear John‘. Chan loved working with the American Bulldogs they had on the set of ‘Fighting‘ and had been wanting to get an animal for a long time, so I was glad to hear he not only found one, but saved one from an uncertain fate at a shelter.

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Question:

Did Channing sign any autographed ‘Fighting’ posters for his fans?

Chan’s Answer:

He sure did!!! If you were following my live blog of the event, then you know I had a contest for our followers on Twitter where I gave away autographed posters to some of the fans who responded to my tweet. The following Channing Tatum fans have won an autographed Fighting poster: @rbergeson79 @spaceygirlSA @missmelanie1980 @jaybran @rachel9133 and have been alerted via Twitter.

Thanks to everyone who followed my first live-blogging event on Twitter! I hope to do it again for the premiere on April 20th. Also, I may just have a few more autographed ‘Fighting‘ posters to give away soon, so everyone stay tuned!!!

‘Fighting‘ sent me a ton of new photos and videos from the film. I will be adding them into the photo gallery and video channel over the next couple of days, so be on the look out and make sure to go see ‘Fighting‘ when it hits theaters on April 24th!!

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

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Exclusive Channing Tatum Interview

Most people want to get to know “Channing Tatum”, the actor. I’m a little different. I was always hoping my trip to his set in New York would help me to get to know Chan, the person, because that ’s who I want to be friends with.

Well, I am extremely happy to say that I was able to get to know both Channing Tatum and his alter-ego Chan this past Monday on the set of his new movie ‘Fighting’.

After months and months of researching and writing about a person who is obviously well-loved by his friends, family, fellow actors, crew, photographers, fans, and anyone else who is lucky enough to spend even a few moments with him, I was a little afraid that the real person may have difficulties living up to the legend that is Channing Tatum.

I am so happy to say that Chan not only lived up to the legend, he made me realize (without even trying and merely just by being himself) that everything I have heard, read, and written over the past year is a 150% complete reality.

Hear me when I say this…Channing Matthew Tatum is the real deal through and through. Read on to see exactly why I know this like I know my own name (which for the purposes of CTU is now Q).

Because I know the fans want details, I am going to let you know about how my day went down from start to finish. This will be the longest post I will probably EVER write, but I hope it’ll be worth it…

I recently mentioned to Chan’s mom, Kay (the sweetest woman you will ever meet), that I was going to be going to New York to visit friends. When she told Chan, he wanted me to come to set. Since I had not had the opportunity to meet him in person yet, I can’t even explain how excited I was to learn this and could not believe my luck.

Fast forward to Monday October 15, 2007…

As I walked up to the set near 54th street and 7th avenue in New York City I could see Chan working on a scene outside of a little cafe called Fluffy’s with Terrance Howard and Peter Tambakis (the actor who played young Nerf with Chan in ‘A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints’). I stood there for a bit just to kind of take it all in and still disbelieving that I was about to meet this person that I had been writing about for over 10 months.

As instructed, I called Chan’s assistant and he had me meet him so he could officially take me on set. As I write this, I can still feel the nerves in my stomach as we approached the small set. Once we made it there, his assistant (who for the purposes of this post I’ll call B) took the time to explain everything that was going on around me. I learned about the different crew and about an area called “Video Village” where you find a bunch of TV monitors playing the scenes, producers with headsets, chairs with important people’s names on them (like Chan’s for example) and my home for most of the shoot.

It was crazy to see how intertwined the entire set was with real New York life. If there were no cameras and big lights, you would barely even know that the set was there. I felt sorry for all of the production assistants, because they spent most of their days trying to stop determined New Yorkers from walking strait through the shots. It was like wrangling cats at times, but they all did a really great job.

B then excused himself for a second so he could go get Chan and I could get my official introduction. As I saw them walking towards me, I started to get really nervous and decided it was best I looked in the other direction.

When Chan approached, he surprised me and I was so nervous, I actually screamed. As I quickly turned, I could see this very tall, green-eyed, gorgeous guy with a HUGE smile on his face telling me how great it was to meet me and giving me a hug and I instantly felt comfortable. From then on, it just felt like two old friends talking for the rest of the day.

As I have said before, my real name can be complicated to people, so I made the decision before I even got to set to have everyone call me Q. It’s a name that I can thank CTU reader and Fabulous Channing Tatum Fan Jan for and Chan had also used it in some the magazines he signed recently for all of us. It seemed appropriate and cool and from there on out I was Q.

The first thing we did was take pictures on my camera and my IPhone and Chan also had the set photographer take pictures of us too. Chan and I started talking and someone from the crew brought me a headset to wear while Chan was filming. It was really great because I would be able to hear all of the actors during filming and watch the monitors, which kept me very connected to him all day.

Chan had to get back to filming, but let me know that I could call his chair home as long as I was on set.

Chan was great about introducing me to crew, actors, and directors on set. I met Oscar-nominated actor Terrence Howard, director Dito Montiel, a handful of other actors, the director of photography, the film’s executive producer (the boss) and a ton of crew members that all treated me like I was part of the family.

More importantly, all day everyone kept telling me how awesome, down-to-earth, and nice Channing is to work with. I knew after like 5 minutes, it was going to be hard for me to leave at the end of the day, because all of the people were just so amazingly genuine and cool to hang around.

Prior to coming to set, I was worried that I would not get any quality time with Chan, because he was working and I didn’t want to get in the way. There was no need for me to worry, because Chan was such a great host. When he was not filming, he would almost always come sit or stand right by me and then we would continue our conversations. Even the few times he stayed on set to talk the director or other crew, he would wave just make sure I was OK. He took such great care of me while I was there and made me feel really special.

It was fun to watch how Chan interacted with the crew, the other actors, and fans on the streets too. Chan and Terrence had a fun fruit fight at one point that ended when Terrence threw an orange or s
ome other round piece of prop fruit at Chan that almost accidentally hit an unsuspecting production assistant until Chan came to the rescue and caught it within an inch of her face.

It was also fun to witness the athletic contests that Chan, Terrence and Peter would have, presumably to stay warm on set. I recall a lot of talks about chin up contests and even witnessed some actual chin ups done by the actors on the green scaffolding that seems to be a staple on New York streets. Chan and Terrence are huge jokers on set, so it was really fun to watch their pranks go back and forth all day, but I have to say that I was clearly on Team Channing no matter how cute Terrence was. I also really liked to see how Chan would interact with fans when he was not filming. He would shake their hands, ask for their names, and happily takes pictures with them. It was fun to witness in person how great he is with his fans.

I really enjoyed watching him in scenes as he effortlessly dropped into and out character. Chan and Terrence would be talking about some random thing prior to the scene, the director would say action and they would all of a sudden be their characters. It was great to watch the entire process and how they kept filming the scene from all sorts of angles.

When Chan and Terrence got longer breaks, they would generally go back to their trailers with an intimidating looking production assistant and/or Terrence’s body guard. Again, I didn’t know what to expect the first time he got a 15 minute break. Honestly, I thought I would probably be asked to sit on set and wait for him to return, but Chan wasn’t having any of that. Every time he went back to his trailer I was expected to follow. He was not going to let a little break get in the way of his hosting duties and again I felt extremely special to be allowed behind the trailer door to hang out with Chan and his assistant in his home on set.

In the half that I saw of it, Chan’s trailer had what you might expect…a couch, a massage bed (explanation to follow), an entertainment center, and a kitchenette with refrigerator that held his tons of sports drinks and his special diet food.

Now to explain the massage bed…although the name will most-likely change, Chan’s movie is currently called ‘Fighting’ and is all about the underground street fighting world. Sadly, this means that Chan has been getting beat up on for weeks now and still has two major fight scenes to film without a stunt double between now and when filming wraps in mid-November. Needless to say, the production has added massage therapy to Chan’s on set perks, and I, for one, definitely think he has earned that privilege after hearing the stories of some previous fight scenes.

I really liked the trips to the trailer, because it’s when I got a chance to learn more about Chan and what’s going on in his life. For example, he is currently on a special diet prescribed by his weight trainer Will. A strict diet that seems to include a lot of vegetables that he’s not a big fan of and interesting breakfast sausages that did not look too appetizing, but he ate as a snack. A lot of readers have noticed that Chan seems to be shrinking before our eyes and he told me that he had lost around 30 lbs for his role as Shawn in ‘Fighting’ because the director did not want him to be bulky.

Ironically, Chan had not seen his new movie “The Trap”, so during one of our trailer breaks, he was able to watch the DVD of the movie that I had brought with me. It was cool to know that I showed him his own movie and validated his claim that he reads this blog so he can know what he’s doing each day (in this case what he did this past summer when the movie was filmed).

On one of our trips back to the trailer, Chan checked the email on his new IPhone and found one from his girlfriend, Jenna Dewan. In the email, Jenna asked Chan to tell me hi. Since I am also a Jenna fan, it was really cool of her to do that. She actually was going to come to set that day, but got called away to Connecticut to work on her current film “The Six Wives of Henry Lefay” with Tim Allen, Andie MacDowell, Barbara Barrie, Elisha Cuthbert, Jenna Dewan, Paz Vega, Lindsay Sloane and Eric Christian Olsen. You can click here to learn about Jenna’s shoot on Monday.

I also learned that he is looking forward to “preparing” for his next role as Hugh Thompson in Oliver Stone’s ‘Pinkville’, which will begin filming in Thailand right after ‘Fighting’ at the end of November. Since the real life character had broken his back at some point, Chan is excited to eat and drink whatever he wants to get back out of shape for the role.

Although he does not seem to mind, Chan constantly has people pulling at him from all directions and on one our trips back to the trailer, some people from the production stopped us to take pictures of him specifically for ‘Pinkville’. Chan will be in Thailand filming the movie for three months. Although he has invited me to come on future sets, I’m thinking Thailand is a little far, so I have got to find some spies over there or make Chan promise to send us a picture from his IPhone every now and then. Let’s all keep our fingers crossed, because we can’t go 3 months without new pictures of him.

Just to give you a couple of examples of how amazing Chan is as a person…First of all, B (his assistant) told me that Chan did not just want to sign the magazines that he sent to us. It was important to him that he wrote actual messages in each magazine, which just shows how much his fans mean to him. One day, set wrapped early, so B reminded Chan about the magazines and the next thing you know, I had them back in a week and a half so I could start giving them out to eager CTU readers. I want to give a big thanks to Chan, Kay, and B for making that happen so quickly.

Secondly, while we were in the trailer, I asked him if he could take a picture for an ill fan who is fighting a very horrible disease. Without hesitation, he was not only more than willing to do it, he took the time to write out a note for her and was really concerned that the picture convey the proper message. It was awesome to see how much he cared about a person he had never even met before. If my boys turn out half as thoughtful as Chan is, I would be one happy mother and I just take my hat off to Chan’
s parents for producing such a caring person.

Here are some quick facts I learned about Chan during our trailer talks and on set:

• He really loves photography, but it’s hard to find the time to do it. He actually showed me a gorgeous picture that he took of his real-life girlfriend Jenna Dewan. He also seems to favor black and white photos.
• He loves to high-five people. I can count at least three for which I was lucky to be the recipient.
• He likes to sing to himself and although he has never had a record deal of any sort and says he can’t sing, I thought he sounded great. He also told me that Terrence Howard will be coming out with a record in the near future and really likes his music.
• He does not like broccoli (sorry trainer Will).
• He really likes gaining weight for parts or at least the process of gaining weight.
• He wants to become a film producer so he can make films he wants to act in. He would love to play the title character in ‘The Plucker’ where he will probably get his first producer credit.
• He tries to only take roles that interest and challenge him. Although he had a lot of scrips thrown at him after his previous successes, he is very selective about what he will take on.
• He really likes watching movies, but as he becomes more educated in the film world, he finds himself analyzing the movies more. Also, he hates it when you learn all you need to know about the movie in the trailer.

• He says that the fight scene days tend to be more tiring, not necessarily because of the physical demands, but mostly because of the emotional demands that are required of him during the highly-charged scenes.
• He likes keeping good people around him. From his publicist to his agent to his managers to his assistant B, he bonds with the people he lets into his inner circle and they all understand that Chan is not about money, unlike many stars that will take any project just to get a pay check.
• He likes to “go ghost” when he is not working. He tries to take time off and can disappear on people without notice.

• He thinks he’s a nerd. Says his calm, cool, and collected exterior is an act. (How cute is that?)
• He likes to golf with his assistant and friends and tries to make time for it during filming.
• If he had a dog, he would probably have a pit bull.

• When given a choice on set, I am pretty sure he seemed to like the BMW.
• He likes to go to amusement parks incognito and recently made the day of some very lucky fans when he was spotted with his assistant on a roller coaster at a local New York amusement park.
• He does not have a preference in toothpaste. He just uses whatever is on the counter. Ironically, he says he might even be a little allergic to toothpaste. Although he does use it on a regular basis, it seems to upset his tummy a little. (Fab Fan Marlie that was for you.)
• He may have been a wee bit embarrassed by the baby pictures his mom sent to CTU. (Kay that’s your cue to send more.) ;-D

If I had to describe Channing in a few words, I would say that he is down-to-earth to the Nth degree. If given more time, I would describe him with the following words:

• Talented
• Hilarious
• Silly
• Playful
• Gracious
• Hardworking
• Driven
• Warm-Hearted
• Easy-Going
• Absolutely in Love with Jenna (Can’t stress that enough.)

• Absolutely Loves His Family
• Selective with Roles
• Not About Money
• Well-Loved by Everyone
• Humble
• “Computerly” Challenged (but tries REALLY hard)

All of the things I listed above make Chan one of the most beautiful and fun people I have ever met. You should notice that I did not include anything about his physical looks on the lengthy list of attributes.

Now, I’m neither blind nor crazy, so don’t get me wrong, 6′1”, green-eyed, and svelte Chan is every bit of gorgeous (and then some), but once you unwrap him a bit, you see him as so much more. And its that “so much more” that gives him the “it” factor that I hope keeps him around for a very long time both in front of and behind the camera.

I spent approximately 9 hours on set and I loved every second of it. It was really hard for me to leave at the end of the day. Upon my departure, Chan and B took a few more pictures of us on Chan’s phone in the trailer. We walked outside where Chan gave me another big hug and thanked me for all of the work I do on the site. I walked back towards the subway very grateful for the amazing day I had.

I was very certain of one thing…I could not be more proud to run Chan’s official site. I also can’t wait to see what is on the horizon for this amazingly talented actor and absolutely fabulous person who I feel privileged to call a friend.

I didn’t think it was possible for me to be a bigger Channing Tatum fan. After hundreds of articles and countless hours spent on the blog and supporting his fans, I can honestly say that my set visit made me adore him even more, and I hope that my fan story helps you do the same.

So now when people ask me if I’ve met Channing Tatum, I can finally say “Yes” and tell my own Fabulous Channing Tatum Fan story.

You can now check out all of the pictures with Chan on set and with fans from my trip to New York in the Channing Tatum Unwrapped Photo Gallery or you can also watch a video slideshow with many of the photos below.

P.S. Thanks again to Chan for inviting me to set and for everyone on set for treating me like I was one of the family. I can’t thank you all enough for making the day so special for me.