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!!!

CLICK HERE to read all of the past Channing Tatum for Dummies articles and learn even more about our favorite actor!!!!

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'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!!!

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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