Channing Tatum's 'Dear John' Press Tour Hits Toronto and Chicago

The regional press tour for Channing Tatum's romantic drama 'Dear John' wrapped up this past Friday after stops in Fort Bragg, Charleston, Philadelphia, Toronto, Chicago, and San Fransisco. Today's post is dedicated to the Toronto and Chicago legs of the tour, and my next post will highlight Friday's extremely popular Macy's fan meet and greet in San Fransisco.

In case you missed all the up-to-the-minute tweets on Chan's official twitter over the past week, you can check out some of the great fan and media pics of Chan and his 'Dear John' co-star Amanda Seyfried doing press and appearing on MuchMusic in Toronto where fans waited outside in the freezing cold for countless hours for a chance to meet the two stars...

You can also check out a ton more pics from Toronto in the CTU Photo Gallery.

After Toronto, the 'Dear John' press tour headed on over to Chi-town where Chan and Amanda met with the local media. Below, you can read an interview they did at the Peninsula in Chicago with the Chicago Tribune where Chan (the endless romantic) talks about a new love-themed website he told me he plans to launch as early as this week. I'll have a lot more details on PostTheLove.com soon, but you can read a little about it the new article below...

Don't let your girlfriend or wife read this interview with 'Dear John' stars Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried...As if “The Notebook” didn’t already raise women’s romantic expectations high enough, now guys have to deal with “Dear John,” another romance flick based on a Nicholas Sparks novel, which features a more muscular, Abercrombie model-looking heartthrob in the male protagonist role.

Thanks, Hollywood.

Channing Tatum (or “Chan” as he introduced himself to me) plays John Tyree, a soldier who meets Savannah Curtis (Amanda Seyfried) when he jumps off a dock and into water to rescue her purse. The two instantly fall for each other and stay in touch when he’s away on duty by writing letters.

Like any other bitter male, I went into my interview with Tatum and Seyfried at their downtown hotel on Thursday hoping somewhat to find a flaw in Tatum. You know, so I could tell my female friends who swooned over him in the dancy-heavy “Step Up” films that he’s an arrogant jerk, a womanizer or, at the very least, a meathead.

Unfortunately, that plan backfired.

“Chan didn’t get much sleep last night because he’s working on a website devoted to expressing love,” said Seyfried, 24, who knitted a hat while answering questions alongside Tatum. “He’s reaching out to the public to share their love stories.”

Tatum, who married his “Step-Up” co-star, Jenna Dewan, is hoping to get the website, PostTheLove.com, done before “Dear John” hits theaters Feb. 5.

“You can put up a poem, a youtube video of yourself singing a song or a photo of yourself with ‘I love you’ written on your hand,” said Tatum, 29. “I don’t care what it is. I just want a venue for people to express themselves.”

So much for Tatum being a meathead. The guy is just as romantic as his letter-writing character. And when I asked about his sex scene with Seyfried, Tatum didn't call his blond co-star "smoking hot" and make the cliche "It's a tough job..." joke. No, he had to go and make a valid argument about the cheapness of some sex scenes.

“I think sex scenes in movies take people out of the film,” Tatum said. “It’s like, now it’s Chan and Amanda -- not John and Savannah. If done right, it won’t do that. But sometimes it’s like ‘Oh my God, oh my God, Angelina Jolie is naked.’ ”

(Seyfried, on the other hand, joked "I think they're fun -- I take advantage of them.")

Tatum -- as sensitive as he might be -- still manages to give off a likeable guy's guy vibe. He’s worked in construction, has a few future Spike TV movies to his name, including “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” and “Fighting,” and practices mixed martial arts in his basement, according to his cover story in this month’s “Details.”

He was also self-depreciating during our 15-minute conversation, but only a little because there’s only so much Chan could depreciate.

When Seyfried called Tatum a better kisser than her “Jennifer’s Body” co-star Megan Fox, Tatum sheepishly responded “It’s because she likes guys.”

According to Seyfried, that was only part of the reason.

“I prefer being intimate with males,” she said. “And the kiss with Megan was very technical. There were extreme close-ups of tongue and lips -- maybe too much -- but it was kind of necessary for the movie. With Chan, they were romantic kisses. I felt more comfortable doing it with Chan than I did with Megan. That’s for sure.”

When I saw 'Dear John' a few weeks ago, one of my favorite things about the film is the relationship between John and his father. Here's a new clip from the movie that shows how difficult there relationship can be at times...

In addition to an impending website launch, the hard-working actor has a busy week of 'Dear John' promotions coming up, which includes, but is not limited to, the following...

• Monday (February 1st): Los Angeles 'Dear John' Premiere at Grauman's Chinese Theater at 6pm


• Tuesday & Wednesday (February 2nd and 3rd): Hosting Two Nights of MTV from 7pm - 10pm Central


• Wednesday (February 3rd): Live With Regis and Kelly


• Thursday (February 4th): Late Night with Jimmy Fallon


• Thursday (February 5th): 'Dear John' Hits Theaters


• Wednesday (February 10th): Ellen Degeneres

Stay tuned to CTU and I'll let you know if I find out about any other appearances for the tour!

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Check Out the Official Facebook Page for Channing Tatum's 'Eagle of the Ninth'

I wanted to let you all know that Focus Pictures just released an official Facebook page for Channing Tatum's Roman drama 'The Eagle of the Ninth'. Make sure you fan the page to get the latest photos, videos, and scoop on the film, which is now set to hit theaters in September 2010.

'The Eagle of the Ninth' is helmed by award-winning director Kevin Macdonald and is based on the best-selling, classic 1954 teen novel by Rosemary Sutcliff, and is set in the dangerous world of second-century Britain.

In 140 AD, twenty years after the unexplained disappearance of the entire Ninth Legion in the mountains of Scotland, young centurion Marcus Aquila (played by Channing) arrives from Rome to solve the mystery and restore the reputation of his father, the commander of the Ninth.

Accompanied only by his British slave Esca (Jamie Bell), Marcus sets out across Hadrian's Wall into the uncharted highlands of Caledonia - to confront its savage tribes, make peace with his father's memory, and retrieve the lost legion's golden emblem, the Eagle of the Ninth. Donald Sutherland portrays Marcus' uncle Aquila, who has retired in Britain; Mark Strong is cast as Guern, an ex-soldier who holds crucial information about the Ninth.

Fans can CLICK HERE to see even more photos from the film in the CTU Photo Gallery.

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Channing Tatum’s ‘Dear John’ Press Tour Hits Philly

The 'Dear John' press tour started out at Fort Bragg, moved on to Charleston, had to skip over Atlanta because of bad weather, and moved strait to Philadelphia, which prompted Chan to tweet...

"Yo tweeters in Philly doing press for Dear John. It's a little cold but three words philly cheese steak... Ballin!...I love my life and I keep waiting to wake up. I've had a crazy life been way down at times and way up at times...To all the tweets reading I love you guys and can't quite find the words to say thank you but THANK YOU!!"

In case you missed it, Chan had a full-on tweet session with over 160,000 of his closest fans on Tuesday to thank you guys for all of the support. I told you all it could happen at any time, so hopefully you didn't miss it and got a response from him before he jumped on a plane to Toronto, the next stop on the multi-city press tour.

Below are a few behind-the-scenes pics from the Philly stop on the tour...

You can also check out more pics in the CTU Photo Gallery.

One of Chan's many press stops in Philly was at The 10-Show. Fans can CLICK HERE to check out the interview with Amanda Seyfried. You can also watch a couple of interviews they did while in town for the local CBS affiliate and the Chio in the Morning radio show and a new "First Look" at 'Dear John' courtesy of Trailer Addict below. Enjoy!!!

I also thought I'd share this great comment about 'Dear John' and Chan from Twilight Saga author Stephenie Meyer...

"Finally, a movie recommendation: Dear John comes out Friday the fifth of February. Thanks to my cool friend Wyck (who many of you have seen in various Twilight Saga interviews, as he is one of the producers on our movies, and who is a producer on Dear John) I got to see this one early. I will confess, I cried. Also, I discovered Channing Tatum, who I've somehow missed until now. Likey. Lots. Amanda Seyfried is entrancing as always, and the chemistry (chemistry is always the crux of a movie for me) between them is lovely. Though the chemistry between Channing Tatum and Richard Jenkins (who plays his father) was my favorite part."

In addition to the Twilight Saga's screenwriter, sounds like Chan has converted yet another and all those fans who still hope to see him in a Twilight film, may just be one step closer to getting your wish one day.

Chan also did a ton of press in Chicago today and will end this leg of the press tour with a stop in San Fransisco tomorrow that includes a meet-and-greet at Macy's in San Fransisco's Union Square.

Chan and his 'Dear John' co-star Amanda Seyfried will be on hand to meet and greet two hundred fans from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the Impulse Department on the third floor of Macy's at 170 O'Farrell Street.

After that, he'll head home to get ready for another busy week of 'Dear John' promotions, which includes, but is not limited to, the following...

• Monday (February 1st): Los Angeles 'Dear John' Premiere at Grauman's Chinese Theater at 6pm


• Tuesday & Wednesday (February 2nd and 3rd): Hosting Two Nights of MTV from 7pm - 10pm Central


• Wednesday (February 3rd): Live With Regis and Kelly


• Thursday (February 4th): Late Night with Jimmy Fallon


• Wednesday (February 10th): Ellen Degeneres

Stay tuned to CTU and I'll let you know if I find out about any other appearances for the tour!

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New Stills from Jenna Dewan-Tatum’s ‘Legend of Hell’s Gate’ & New iPhone App for ‘Falling Awake’

In case you missed Jenna Dewan-Tatum's recent tweet, I wanted to let you all know that her upcoming western, 'The Legend of Hell’s Gate: An American Conspiracy', just added new stills of Jen to their official site. Fans can check out all the new pics below and can find more photos from the Texas set in the CTU Photo Gallery...

Written and directed by Tanner Beard 'The Legend of Hell’s Gate' is about how “Hell’s Gate” at Possum Kingdom Lake, Texas came to have it’s name and will allow fans to relive the story of how three outlaw’s expeditions and encounters through historical 1870’s Texas ended up being remembered for a lifetime. In addition to Grandbury, Texas, the movie filmed in Boerne, Texas, moved on to Possum Kingdom, and also filmed in the Erath, Palo Pinto and Hood counties. The movie currently has an anticipated release of summer or fall of 2010.

Last week I posted an article on the New York premiere of Jenna's new movie 'Falling Awake'. After the premiere, Jenna, 'Falling Awake' director Agustin, and actor Andrew Cisneros received as a gift personalized bottles of Jose Cuervo Platino, which is a silver tequila. You can check out a couple of new photos I found from the premiere after party below, and you can CLICK HERE to see even more pics from the premiere...

Jenna also recently tweeted that 'Falling Awake' has released a iPhone app where fans can watch the trailer, get photos, listen to the soundtrack, and get the latest news on the film. CLICK HERE to download the new app from iTunes for free.

The movie just had a nationwide release via IFC and Mega Films on Video On Demand on January 20th and will have a limited theatrical release in Miami on January 29th and New York on February 5th . You can CLICK HERE for more details.

Finally, if you haven't paid a visit to Jen'a official Twitter page lately, it's time you do. She just updated her profile pic and background with some gorgeous new photos she took on the set of her film 'Slightly Single in L.A.'. I'll be posting the new pics in the gallery soon, so stay tuned!

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New Photos and Video of Chan and Jenna at the Fort Bragg and Charleston ‘Dear John’ Premieres

Channing Tatum's version of Nicholas Sparks' Dear John recently hit the No. 1 spot on the USA TODAY best selling books list. With hopes that the film will mimic that level of success, Chan and his wife Jenna Dewan-Tatum kicked off the 'Dear John' Press Tour by attending a premiere at the Fort Bragg military base this past Saturday.

From there, the tour took Chan and Jenna from North Carolina to Charleston and will continue on through Philadelphia, Toronto, Chicago, and San Francisco before it lands back in Los Angeles for, from what I hear, a February 1st premiere. On today's post, you'll be able to check out a ton of new photos and video from fans and the media who attended the events. First up, FORT BRAGG...

The Fay Observer reports that hundreds of fans stood outside the York Theater on Saturday afternoon vying for a chance to hang out with the stars of 'Dear John' at Fort Bragg. At the event, which was open to military ID holders, Chan told the Observer...

"I just really hope that everybody likes the movie. We just really wanted to make a beautiful movie about two kids falling in love and extraordinary people in extraordinary circumstances."

Chan and his co-star Amanda Seyfried arrived at the York Theater in humvees and made their way down the camouflage carpe, which was topped with a red carpet, to sign autographs, pose for pictures, and talk to fans who had been waiting for hours in some cases. Chan, Jenna, and Amanda also visited Womack Army Medical Center to meet with wounded Soldiers from the Warrior Transition Battalion.

Once inside the movie theater, Fort Bragg garrison commander Col. Stephen J. Sicinski presented the stars with miniature "Iron Mike" statues as a token of appreciation.

You can CLICK HERE or on the image above to check out a ton of new photos of Chan and Jenna from fans and media who attended the special event in the CTU Photo Gallery.

Here's some footage and interviews from the Fort Bragg premiere...

Fayobserver.com also posted a really great review for 'Dear John' . You can read a snippet of it below...

"Dear John" is everything you expect it to be - weepy, touching and downright sweet...Seyfried and Tatum are charming enough to hold interest in their leading roles. Tatum, who starred in the lesser "G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra," can come off as wooden, but here he gives a believable, heartfelt performance. Seyfried, of the TV series "Big Love," has those large expressive green eyes perfect for showing how it feels to find true love...The film, though, truly belongs to the terrific supporting characters and mainly to the great character actor, Richard Jenkins, who plays John's father. Jenkins gives an engaging performance as a man who does not know how to behave in social situations nor, most heartbreakingly, how to embrace his distant son. The story is as much about John's relationship with his father as it is about the love story between Savannah and John....Henry Thomas of "ET" also gives a stellar performance as Savannah's neighbor, a single dad who is raising an autistic son. Thomas is an understated, deliberate actor who gets a lot of the film's funniest and most touching lines....Yes, there are humorous parts in "Dear John" as well as a grand romantic gesture, but there's also sadness and sacrifice which make it a true Nicholas Sparks tale."

Next stop...Charleston, South Carolina...

After honoring the military at Fort Bragg Chan and Jenna headed on over to Charleston, South Carolina (where a lot of the movie was filmed in late 2008) to attend a star-studded fundraiser for Carolina Autism, a local nonprofit that provides services to children and adults with autism. Ticket holders received a private screening of the film and the opportunity to mingle with the actors at a party afterward at the S.C. Aquarium.

Phil Blevins, the Executive Director of Carolina Autism, contacted me this morning to share the following details about the very successful event which raised approximately $100,000 for children battling autism...

"Had a blast. The movie had people crying. Channing and Amanda stayed for the afterparty and participated in the charity auction. Channing auctioned off his Armani scarf for a thousand dollars and even auctioned the gum he was chewing."

You can CLICK HERE or on the image above to check out a ton of new photos of Chan and Jenna from fans and media who attended the charity premiere in the CTU Photo Gallery.

In the videos below, fans can check out footage and interviews from the event...

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CHANNING TATUM VIDEOS OF THE WEEK: Exclusive 'Dear John' Clips

Today's Videos of the Week are exclusives clips from Channing Tatum's upcoming romantic drama 'Dear John' (which hits theaters on February 5th) and a couple of new interviews that Chan did during the LA press junket the weekend of January 9th. Thanks to Sony for sending me the clips that were debuted on Hulu, AOL, Myspace, and Fandango earlier this week. Enjoy!

I'm really excited, because Sony also created an CTU exclusive 'Dear John' trailer for Chan's Twitter followers. A link to that video is being direct messaged to his top followers as I type this. I'll post that clip soon and want to give a big thanks to Sony for creating the trailer for us.

Incredibly, Chan now has almost 155,000 followers on his official Twitter. To celebrate, we're going to have a live Q&A via Twitter next week while Chan is on the press tour that starts tomorrow, so get your 'Dear John' questions ready and stay tuned! The live Q&A could happen at ANY time, and Sony has sent us some cool swag, so we have a few pretty cool prize packs to giveaway in conjunction with the Q&A too!

On a side note, I also wanted to remind everyone that there are early and free screenings for 'Dear John' being held all over the country. Fans can go to AdvancedScreenings.com to register for the screenings. You can also get the latest info on the soundtrack for the film on it's official website, Twitter, and Facebook.

Finally, fans can enter Keep & Share's 'Dear John' Contest where lucky fans will win prize packs worth more than $4000 that include Cyber Power PC laptop computers, Logitech Webcams, ClearChat PC Wireless Headsets, Unique Skins for your new laptops, phone service from iCall, digital cameras and more! CLICK HERE for details on how to enter!

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.

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REMINDER: Watch Jenna Dewan-Tatum’s ‘Falling Awake’ TODAY!!!

I just wanted to remind everyone that Jenna Dewan-Tatum's independent film 'Falling Awake' just had a nationwide release via IFC and Mega Films on Video On Demand TODAY and will have a limited theatrical release on January 29, 2010.

Jenna attended the premiere for the film last night in New York City. Below, you can check out personal behind-the-scenes pics that she tweeted out before the event and paparazzi photos of Jen with co-star Andy Cisneros at the premiere.

I love the personal photos, because she tweeted a pic from the plane thousands of feet in the air in route to New York, from Chan and Jen's favorite NY restaurant (Habana Cafe), and from the makeup chair as she was getting ready for the event. We also get a glimpse of a very special 'Falling Awake' tequila bottle with Jen's likeness and see Jen featured on Instyle's Daily Beauty Tip column for her look at the premiere. Enjoy!

For those who don't know, here's the current release information for the film...

IN THEATERS

• Miami: Jan. 29th, 2010 [BUY TICKETS]
  


• New York: Feb. 5th, 2010

CABLE ON DEMAND BEGINNING 1/20/10 THROUGH THESE PROVIDERS:

• BRIGHT HOUSE: MOVIES ON DEMAND – IFC IN THEATERS


• CABLEVISION: MOVIES ON DEMAND INDEPENDENT FILMS & IFC IN THEATERS


• CHARTER: CHANNEL 1 OR CHANNEL 99 & MOVIES & INDIE & INTL FILMS


• COMCAST: CHANNEL 1 MOVIES & EVENTS & SAME DAY AS THEATERS & IFC IN THEATERS


• COX: CHANNEL 1 MOVIES ON DEMAND & IFC IN THEATERS


• INSIGHT: MOVIES ON DEMAND & IFC IN THEATERS


• TIME WARNER: MOVIES ON DEMAND (CHANNEL 1000 IN MOST MARKETS) & IFC IN THEATERS

Here's what the film's all about...

"'Falling Awake' is the powerful story of Jay (Andrew Cisneros), a young man struggling to find his identity in The Bronx in a house crowded with family members and a neighborhood filled with loyal friends and dangerous enemies. A gifted musician, Jay hopes to leave it all and pursue his dream of composing and performing music. Once he meets Alessandra (Jenna Dewan-Tatum), a beautiful young woman who lives in Brooklyn, his determination to defy the expectations of his frustrated, angry father become even stronger. Jay is tied to his home through loyalty to his friends and to his brother, who has returned unexpectedly from service in the Marines. As he reaches toward a wider world, he is pulled back over and over by the cycles of anger and violence that have defined his life and neighborhood for so long. It takes love, a change of heart and a new understanding of life's elusive chance at happiness to finally help Jay make the long, uncertain leap to a fresh chance."

You can watch Jenna in the powerful trailer for the film below:

'Falling Awake' is directed by Agustin and produced by Andrew Adelson. In addition to starring Jenna Dewan-Tatum, the movie also introduces the talented Mexican-American actor/singer/songwriter Andrew Cisneros. Other notable cast members include Nestor Serrano ('Bad Boys', '24'), Julie Carmen ('The Milagro Beanfield War'), Nicholas Gonzalez ('Resurrection Boulevard'), Flaco Navaja ('Fighting'), Michael Rivera ('Fighting') and rap artist Kazi Rolle. The movie also features original music by Kevin Stuart and Andrew Cisnero.

Fans can get more info about the movie from it's official site and can check out more promotional photos from the set in the CTU Photo Gallery.

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IN THE PRESS | Channing Tatum in Details, Instyle, Entertainment Weekly, Intouch, and OK Magazine

Channing Tatum is all over the magazines lately, the most I've honestly ever seen in a single week. Fans can find Chan in the latest issues of Details (February 2010), Instyle (February 2010), Entertainment Weekly (January 22nd) for both 'Dear John' and 'Eagle of the Ninth', Intouch (January 25th), AND OK (January 25th) magazine, and you can check out all the high quality scans for each on today's post in the CTU Photo Gallery.

In addition to being featured in the print magazine, Chan and his upcoming movie 'Eagle of the Ninth' were also featured on Entertainment Weekly's website this week. Here's EW's first look at 'Eagle'...

"...EW chatted with Tatum last week about the movie in question, The Eagle of the Ninth, which Focus Features will release this fall. “It’s almost like an old western, like The Searchers,” Tatum said, while pointing out that the film’s still very much an epic in the tradition of Gladiator and Braveheart. “Are you going to get big, huge battles and things you’d expect in an epic? Yeah, absolutely. But it’s smarter than just a big epic. It’s more of a personal, relationship story about these two guys that have to go on this journey together.”

Tatum plays Marcus Aquila, a Roman army officer in 140 A.D. whose father was the commander of the legendary Ninth Legion — a unit of soldiers that mysteriously disappeared 20 years earlier in the mountains of present-day Scotland while trying to conquer the region’s various Celtic tribes. For Aquila, the legion’s presumed defeat has brought considerable shame to the family, so he decides to embark on a quest into those northern tribal lands in hopes of learning exactly what happened to his dad. Accompanying Aquila is his British slave Esca, played by Jamie Bell (King Kong, Billy Elliot). “They’re really just two broken, lonely people,” said Tatum. “They welcome death, and then they find a reason to live and a purpose and honor through this journey.”

The Eagle of the Ninth is directed by Scottish filmmaker and documentarian Kevin Macdonald (The Last King of Scotland, Touching the Void), so naturally the movie was shot in Scotland for maximum authenticity. And with authenticity comes extreme weather conditions. “Scotland might have been one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen, but it hated us,” Tatum confessed. “I have never imagined conditions like this. You’d look around the set and all you could see would be two inches in front of you. It was raining every single day, and Jamie and I would be on the back of a horse, freezing and soaked to the bone. When you see us cold and tired and shivering in the movie, none of that’s acting!”..."

'Eagle of the Ninth' is scheduled to hit theaters this summer! Fans can check out photos from the film in the CTU Photo Gallery, and you can CLICK HERE to get the latest news on the movie.

Finally, you can find all of the magazines I mentioned above on newsstands right now, so make sure to run out and get your copies!!!

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