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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