NEWS FLASH: Channing Tatum Headed for the Streets of New York for 'Son of No One'

I recently reported that Channing Tatum will be starring in the crime thriller 'Son of No One' (set to be released in 2011), his latest drama with writer/director Dito Montiel, and now I have a few more details on the who, what, when, and where for the film production.

The estimated $20 million actioneer is in the pre-production phase and principal photography (aka filming) is currently scheduled to start on February 2, 2010 (right around the time Chan will be wrapping up promotions for his movie 'Dear John').

In addition to filming on location in New York City (which I totally pegged as a potential location in my last post about the film), the production will reportedly be making some stops in Detroit, Michigan and Toronto, Ontario in Canada.

It's an understatement to say that Dito Montiel is drawn to New York City much like ducks are drawn to water. After filming both 'A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints' and 'Fighting' in New York, it's clear that the city he grew up in seems to be his favorite directorial playground. From the South Bronx to Queens to Canal Street and more, fans can check out the beauty that is New York through Dito's eyes in the CTU Photo Gallery.

'Son of No One' is about a young cop named Jonathan White (played Channing Tatum) who is assigned to a precinct in the working class neighborhood where he grew up, and an old secret threatens to destroy his life and his family.

The cast is definitely shaping up for this one...Chan will be joined by his 'Fighting' co-star and Oscar nominee Terrence Howard (Vinny), James Gandolfini (Sergeant Mathers) and the incomparable Robert De Niro (Detective Stanford).

Sadly, it'll be a while before we can see Chan in this new film, but fans in the UK can watch him in his 2008 drama 'Stop-Loss' on Sky Screen 2 at 5:25 PM on November 20th and Sky Movies Drama at 11:00 PM on December 10th. Fans in the US can also watch Chan's movie 'Havoc' on IFC at 7:00 PM Central on November 21st and 1:30 AM Central on November 22nd.

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NEWS FLASH: New Channing Tatum Interview on the Set of 'Fighting' from ReelzChannel.com

By my calculation, it's been almost a year since we've seen a new video interview from Channing Tatum, so it's my pleasure to let you know about a new interview for his upcoming movie 'Fighting' via the movie site ReelzChannel.com.

ReelzChannel.com has a show called Dailies which "airs" online weekdays at 6PM Eastern. It's a daily news and information program focused entirely on movies in the theater, on DVD, Pay-Per-View, or Video-On-Demand. Their goal is to bring us fans exclusive clips, news, and stories from the movie world that you won't see on other networks. They also want to get information from the inside and tell it like it is in a well-informed, but fun, fashion.

In this new interview we get to see both Channing Tatum and Director Dito Montiel talk about their New York-based film, 'Fighting', and we get some great footage of a shirtless :-) Channing Tatum getting ready to film one of the movie's well choreographed and extremely realistic three fight scenes.

CLICK HERE to check out the new interview or you can watch it below:

This final fight scene they are filming in the interview above also happens to be the same one that actor Steve Dinello filmed with Channing. In a recent CTU exclusive interview, Steve was nice enough to share with all of us what it's like to work with Channing Tatum.

You can click here to read the article, and you can also check out the Channing Tatum Unwrapped photo gallery for more behind-the-scenes photos in what is called the "Penthouse" set. The "Penthouse" location at 150 Nassau Street is a 23-story building directly across from the entrance to New York's Pace University. The large suite has a gorgeous view that overlooks both New York's City Hall and the Brooklyn Bridge.

Thanks to Paulette at Focus Features for letting me know about the awesome new interview!!

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NEWS FLASH: New Channing Tatum Interview from New York Post and Hollywood.com

I wanted to let everyone know that the New York Post and Hollywood.com just released a new article on Channing Tatum and his upcoming action/drama 'Fighting'.

Some of the Hollywood.com questions and Chan's answers in the article may look a little familiar if you read my recent post on his ComingSoon.net interview, but the new interview is still definitely worth the read, since we learn a little more about Channing and what it's like to work on a Dito Montiel film again.

One of the things I find interesting in the article is that Hollywood.com refers to Channing's character's name as 'Shawn Macarthur', but IMDB says it's 'Sean Arthur' and Chan's trailer door on set had the name 'Shawn' on it. I'm not 100% certain what his character's name is at this point, so I guess we'll all have to see the movie (which is set for a 2008 release) to know for sure.

Regardless of what Chan's character's name ends up being, just make sure to check out the new interview below....

Round Two: Channing Tatum in the Ring Again with 'Fighting' Director

Paris Hampton
Special to Hollywood.com

Channing Tatum's wholesome-meets-edgy good looks and smooth moves made him the object of many a teen girl's affection in his role in Step Up. but it was his unflinching performance in Dito Montiel's Sundance-winning directorial debut A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints that made other thespians stand up and take notice.

Now starring in Fighting, Channing challenges himself in a drama that is also a test of physical endurance.

According to Fighting producer Kevin Misher, Channing Tatum is a natural at playing the role of 'Shawn Macarthur.' Channing's character is a naïve outsider who comes to the 'big city' and struggles to survive, hustling counterfeit goods on the street. When he meets Harvey Boarden (Terrence Howard) and is introduced into the world of high stakes street fighting, he is plunged into an underground community, encompassing every fighting discipline--where anything goes.

Hollywood.com caught up with Channing on the set of Fighting to hear more about his exciting and ongoing collaboration with Dito Montiel:

Hollywood.com: This is 'round two' for you and Dito. How does that feel?

Channing Tatum: I literally have to pinch myself every day. The first experience with him was so easy and painless--it was a labor of love. It was his life's story and it had so much heart in it. This film, we get to create from scratch. We've taken a little from his past and my past.

HW: Are you taking a beating?

CT: I'm not really all that tough. And I'm playing the character like he's a nice kid from the South, who comes up to New York and needs to make some money. And my character is desperate. From there, it spirals and goes into a crazy, dark world of fighting. It's pretty brutal. I got hit in the nose a few times--it was broken and bleeding. It was good though. At the end of the day, you feel like you've been in a fight!

HW: Did you train for this?

CT: I did. I'm not a tough guy, by any means. I went to private school--Catholic school. I trained for a month on my own at Legends Gym in L.A. I checked out fighters on YouTube. With a real fighter, there's no hesitation and I didn't want to be timid. My character is a high school wrestler, so he knows how to handle himself in a physical altercation. He has a talent for losing it. But I'm actually not big on violence--'I'm a Lover…'

HW: Do you and Dito have shorthand?

CT: Oh yeah. I get the way Dito writes. I think he likes the characters to talk about nothing, but still have the feeling of a scene underneath it. And that is something that a lot of directors and actors forget: you don't have to spell it out. If a guy and a girl are sitting at a restaurant, he'll [Dito will] say, "We can tell you like each other by you two sitting there. If you wanna fall in love, go the opposite way." It's crazy, but it somehow translates.

HW: What's it like working with Terrence?

CT: Terrence is the most genuinely gifted crazy man I've ever met in my life. He's crazy, but in the most beautiful way possible. He's such an empathetic person. He really is a street corner poet; he's an artist from the ground up--every piece of him!

HW: Your career is really taking off. Are you ready to make the jump to the A-list?

CT: I don't know, man. I really can't even think that way. It's too weird and big to think about. [Laughs] I just want to 'get' this scene we're working on right.

HW: Who else would you like to work with?

CT: People like Dito! I'm also going to be working with Oliver Stone. I'm going to do a Vietnam movie with him. It's his last movie about Vietnam--or so he says! I want to work with great filmmakers and great actors and great writers.

HW: Chazz Palminteri gave you advice on A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints about acting...

CT: He told me to keep a good head on my shoulders; he taught me more about acting than I've ever learned in a class. I was really worried about people hating my character in Saints--I was terrified. But Chazz said, "People don't have to like your character, they just have to understand him." I don't know if people will like my character in this movie--he's kinda weird. He's an underdog. But I understand him.

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NEWS FLASH: Channing Tatum and 'Fighting' Featured on ComingSoon.net

ComingSoon.net just posted one of the most in depth articles to date on Channing's upcoming film 'Fighting' with Oscar-nominated actor Terrence Howard and his 'A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints' director Dito Montiel.

In the article (which has two awesome new high quality pictures of Channing on set filming), we get a few more details on what the movie is about, and we get to hear how Dito and Terrence feel about the talent Channing displayed both in 'Guide' and in this new film. Terrence even mentions that he felt Chan deserved an Oscar nod for his role as Antonio in 'Guide'.

We also learn why Channing loves doing films with Dito, how Channing trained for the physically and mentally demanding role, how he chooses to do his own fight scenes (to the detriment of his poor nose) instead of using stunt doubles, and about the on set camaraderie Chan clearly shares with Terrence and Dito, a strong camaraderie that I was lucky enough to witness first hand.

Without further ado, here's ComingSoon.net's new article on Chan and 'Fighting'...

Fighting at Night in New York

Source: Max Evry

December 17, 2007

"Yes, there's a girl that comes between Channing and Terrence - I don't want to give anything away. This movie is interesting because, unlike a traditional fight film where you know that your hero is going to win, the added component is that they are betting money on these fights and that influences the outcome. Are people throwing fights at various times? Which way the characters are betting is relevant to the outcome. Sometimes, losing might actually be the better outcome for our characters. Everything is a hustle in this movie - you never know who's telling the truth." – Kevin Misher, producer of Fighting.

New York City, October 19th, 2007. 10:13pm…

When Dito Montiel was 11 years old, he used to sell fresh-squeezed orange juice and peanuts on the corner of 43rd and 7th Ave. Twenty-seven years later he's still on a corner of the teeming asphalt jungle that is New York trying to make a living. From an outsider's perspective it would seem he has only progressed a few blocks, to 54th and 7th, but tonight he is directing a crew of dozens of actors and technicians who have taken over this block to film a major motion picture for Universal.

Fighting will be Montiel's second time at bat, after the autobiographical indie pic A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, which was in itself based on an autobiographical novel of the same name. In that movie the main character was named Dito. Earlier this year he also came out with his first solo album. The album was called Dito Montiel. In other words, Mr. Montiel himself is typically at the center of his work. So where can we find this modern day renaissance man in a film about underground street fighting?

"It was something they were talking about making over at Universal," says the director. "At first it sounded kinda horrible, you know, 'Everybody's broke but they have Hummers,' and it's like 'Oh no, I don't know if that sounds good to me.' But then something sounded exciting about the idea of two people meeting who should find each other. New York City seemed a really good place for it."

The "two people who find each other" in Fighting are Sean and Harvey, played by Channing Tatum and Terrence Howard. According to producer Kevin Misher, Channing plays "a tough kid who learned wrestling in high school. His character has a lot of rage inside him and he gets in fights on the street. He gets absorbed into this underground fight world. Terrence Howard is looking to make a buck off of Channing's character. He's a tortured soul, but he's likeable. In the end, they have a mentor/protégé relationship, which actually goes both ways. Until the end of the film, Terrence's character will do anything to make a dollar – including selling out this kid."

After a giant cube-shaped light is hung from a three-story crane above the 7th Ave location and an Angel Aerial truck sprays down the street where tonight's scene will be shot, Channing and Terrence begin. They're shooting a scene early in the picture after Harvey has already seen Sean get in a scuffle while trying to sell fake iPods and "Harry Potter" books. They are walking down the street, the young Tatum carrying a box while Howard tells him that he shouldn't be fighting and not getting paid for it. After crossing the street, they spot a truck carrying a large mirror on its side and they stop and look at themselves in it.

"You're a gladiator. When I look at you that's exactly what I see: a gladiator," says Howard, carrying himself like a would-be Svengali, albeit a mellow one.

Just then something odd happens. An elderly gentleman wearing a homemade Spider-Man outfit and a sailor's cap runs through the shot. This isn't some wayward New Yorker who's managed to cut through the dozen or so Production Assistants stationed on every corner for several blocks. He has been woven into the scene by Montiel. The extra showed up on the set wearing the costume without any prompting from the production, and rather than being sent home (or to a nearby mental health clinic), he is being used as texture. It seems Fighting is merely a canvas for Montiel the filmmaker to utilize the quirky after hours denizens of New York on his palette.

"Someone shows up in a Spider-Man outfit they're in my movie," explains a gleeful Dito, "I'm not sayin' no. When we were looking for locations we were at Gray's Papaya one night and some guy walked up dressed as Superman, for real. Just came in and sat down. Someone goes 'can't put that in, no one will believe it.' I said,''no, you can, you just have to hire HIM.' You just can't put that outfit on somebody, this guy actually wears Superman outfits. Some guy showed up yesterday in a scuba diving mask, I said 'did you guys put that on him?' They said, 'No,' and I was like, 'Oh, okay then.'

"No one's gonna tell me not to play. They can try and they'll learn really quick that they can't. Makin' movies is fun, watching them is fun and exciting and every bit of it should always be like that. I hate nothing more than Hollywood jokes, when someone says 'Hey, didn't we all get into this to be mediocre?' I wanna take a f**kin' gun and blow their f**kin' head off for saying it on the set of a movie. So every day if Spider-Man shows up I throw him in and that's what colors the movie and that's what colors the world I like to live in."

Taking such an experimental, on-the-fly approach to filmmaking is somewhat risky, but Montiel's producer appeared very supportive. Misher said, "This is a great commercial movie and Dito attracts great actors like Channing and Terrence. I'm sure there will be weird things that occur that aren't quite linear that will make the film very interesting. Dito is having a lot of fun making this film. It's a big step up for him and he's equal to the task. It's exciting to watch a filmmaker like him as he creates 'the unexpected'."

For the star of the film, Channing Tatum, who made a splash last year in the surprise hit Step Up, this is not his first encounter with the unexpected created by Montiel, as he starred in the director's previous movie "Saints". While Montiel spent a great deal of time monitoring Tatum on that first film, on this one they appear to have developed both a shorthand and mutual respect for each other.

"I get the way Dito writes," says Tatum. "I think he likes characters talking about nothing but having the feeling of a scene underneath it. That is something that a lot of directors and actors forget – you don't have to spell it out. It's about going in the opposite direction of what's obvious. He'll say, 'We're not talking about anything.' If a guy and a girl are sitting at a restaurant, he'll say, 'We can tell you like each other by you two sitting there. If you wanna fall in love, go the opposite way.' It's crazy, but it somehow translates. It's all about opposites."

"Channing is really blowing me away with how good he is," Montiel says. "Every time I meet Channing again I'm not a Channing Tatum fan until I start working with him, then I'm a Channing Tatum fan again. He's really good. Before we made the movie I was like, 'You just never know… it's a thin line between Marlon Brando and Dolph Lundgren.'"

After delving deeper into the raison d'etre for a movie called Fighting it's not hard to imagine Lundgren or Norris or Van Damme. More specifically, the fighting of the title is Mixed Martial Arts, as popularized in the Ultimate Fighting Championships currently reaching millions on cable and pay TV. MMA is a blend of both the striking techniques of kickboxing and the grappling techniques of wrestling. It's essentially a no-holds-barred free-for-all that can be brutal and often bloody. Tatum elaborated on what his character is responsible for carrying out, and likewise Tatum as he is doing all his own stunts.

"I'm playing the character like he's a nice kid from the South, who comes up to New York and needs to make some money. And he meets a guy who tells him he can make him some money. And my character is desperate. From there, it spirals and goes into a crazy, dark world of fighting. It's pretty brutal. I fought with this kid Uri who's fought at Madison Square Garden. I can't believe I fought with him. I got hit in the nose a few times – it was broken and bleeding. It was good, though. At the end of the day, you feel like you've been in a fight!

"I trained for a month on my own at Legends Gym in L.A. I checked out fighters on YouTube. I went in and said – I want to get punched and see punches coming at me. With a real fighter, there's no hesitation. I didn't want to be timid. The only difference between a pro fighter and a non-professional is composure and technique. My character is a high school wrestler, so he knows how to handle himself in a physical altercation."

Montiel found MMA appealing as well. "My friend Nerf, who's nuts, he used to send me all the UFC stuff before it was big, with like Tank Abbot and all those people, and I used to think it was fake but I would look at it so carefully and I'd be like 'these people are really doing this, this is insane.' It wowed me the way an explosion wows me, I didn't get obsessed with it. My father was a boxer, maybe a little bit of that. What excited me about this movie was the idea of two people meeting, and the fights are fun and crazy and a little more exciting than just 'Van Damme!' People fighting, throwing things, crying, all that stuff is sort of background. It's the story of people meeting."


Unlike his director Dito, Kevin Misher seemed particularly keen on emphasizing the MMA aspect of the film, because he knows which side his bread is buttered. Delicate relationships and quirky left-field weirdos peppered throughout is all well and good, but people will come into Fighting expecting to see a fight or two.

"We're trying to accurately depict what's going on in the world of mixed martial arts," he said. "There's an illegal 'anything goes' side to this. But the fun of it is that you get to experience all types of fights in this movie – you don't get that in any other movie. Our hero, Channing Tatum, is a natural. He fights in different disciplines. He goes out to Brighton Beach and fights a Russian boxer. We're going to the Bronx next week where he'll fight a Dominican grappler. And then we'll go to the Korean community in Flushing, where he'll fight a Muy Thai specialist. In this movie, you'll get to see the different skill sets that each of the different fighters possess.

"The film will be gritty and hard as nails, but you'll also see these different disciplines and how we mix them up. There's no Michael Buffer standing in the middle of these rings saying, 'Let's get ready to rumble'. You'll walk into a pretty shady place, a guy walks out, everybody looks at each other – and it's 'Game On'. That's what we're doing. People will also get the opportunity to see a real Muy Thai fight, which is really ugly. Our fighter, Cung Le, who has been a mixed martial arts champion for a decade – he's badass… Anything can happen in these fight sequences because there are no rules – that affects both the filming and the story."

The atmosphere on the set tonight does have a kind of "anything goes vibe". As the cast and crew finish getting coverage of the walking and talking scene from three angles, they stake out three new angles for the latter part of the scene, where Terrence Howard's character flags down a black sedan, and tells one of his diminutive sidekicks to "get in the car so you can sing the Oompa-Loompa song." After they watch the playback of a take at the monitor bank ("Those guys run every betting place in the whole city!" Howard bellows onscreen), Channing and Terrence toss a water bottle cap back and forth at each other inside the video village tent. Soon after, Howard crouches behind a chair like a hawk stalking his prey, waiting for Channing to turn his back. After two minutes of crouching like a maniacal gargoyle, the Oscar-nominated actor launches towards Tatum and tosses a few surprise punches to his back, mouthing each one, "pow pow pow pow pow," then mischeiviously darts off.

"That's how we keep each other entertained, just beat each other up," says Tatum.

Terrence Howard is clearly a force of nature himself. People come out of the woodwork to see him, including a surprise visit from his Hustle & Flow co-star Anthony Anderson during one of the early takes and supposedly P. Diddy earlier in the week. He has a unique energy and never delivers a line the same way twice.

"Terrence is the most generously gifted crazy man I've ever met in my life," says Tatum. "He's crazy, but in the most beautiful way possible. He's such an empathetic person – he has that passion and compassion for people. He's really is a street corner poet – he's an artist from the ground up – every piece of him!"

As it turns out, Howard was on the 2006 Sundance committee that selected Montiel as the best Director. "I thought Dito had the most incredible film when we were at Sundance," Howard said. "I saw 'A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints'. It was the very first film we saw in the competition, and I said afterwards, 'Wow. We could leave the festival right now and come back nine days later and give this film every award and be justified in doing it.' And they had some really incredible films there. They had 'Half-Nelson.' But this film was the most dynamic one. I thought Channing should have been nominated for an Oscar last year.

A film set can be an awkward, if not flat out listless place. Terrence Howard puffs on a cigarette, chats with his director, gets back in place for yet another take. A woman comes by with inserts for Channing's shoes. Apparently he's getting blisters. An audio person moans, "Aww man, can you believe it? I dropped my beef jerky." Waiting between takes inside video village again, Howard nudges Tatum with a conversation starter…

Terrence Howard (to Channing): Dingleberries grow in the fields of Winter.

Channing: Abraham Lincoln grows down on Crow's Street on Thursdays.

Terrence Howard: Alexander Dumas - he got killed in a duel.

Channing: Pink license plates always over Betty Boop's shoulder.

Terrence Howard: Very interesting.

Channing: We talk in code.

Meanwhile the flow of foot traffic is controlled by the PAs, who between takes let one disgruntled woman by as she tries to maneuver her way through the long stretches of cables and crew people munching on craft service empanadas. "This is ridiculous," the random New Yorker yells, "I just want to get into my building and I better not trip over one of these wires or I'll be pissed!"

As the last take ends, once the actors have gotten into the black sedan and driven off, Dito giggles and yells "cut" and they check the gate.

When the rainstorm the crew has been anticipating all night finally comes, the gear gets stowed and they are unable to continue shooting for the time being. This worries Dito as they are scheduled to head for another location later tonight and there's still more shooting that needs to be done here on 54th. It's now close to 1 in the morning and he decides to head into a diner across the street for a bowl of soup. With eyes bloodshot from two weeks of night shoots but still retaining his speedy energy, he speaks frankly about the sticky issue of what Fighting will ultimately be rated by the MPAA.

"I kept getting this note, 'We really want this to be PG-13,' he says referring to the brass at Universal. "At first it was like, 'Oh this is ridiculous, you want me to make a realistic movie about New York City hustlers that are fighting, but I can't say 'f**k'.' Then I started looking into all the rules, and it's like 'No spurting blood.' Okay, who cares? I don't need spurting blood. I don't think I would use that if you gave me the allowance to make an 'X'. It doesn't excite me. 'Raging Bull' did it pretty damn good, other than that I'm bored by it. If someone shoots you at the table right now and I'm filming it I'd rather know what you guys are thinking. That part was easy.

"But the 'f**ks' got me freaked out. At first I said 'let me see if this is possible, because if it's not I don't want to make the movie.' The funny thing is when people try to make PG-13s a lot of times instead of 'f**k' they'll say 'friggin'. No, if someone doesn't curse they don't curse. So then we took all the curses away from them. It was kinda fun in a way, because it turned Harvey into a guy who was polite and wanted everything to be good, and Sean as well. I don't think anything is sacrificed. It's every bit as violent as I want it to be, they're being honest and real. If I need the 'f**ks' I'll say 'em, and then they'll shoot me over them, but 20-days in I haven't needed them."

Is Dito Montiel really this comfortable with making a big studio picture… a genre picture… a PG-13 picture… a non-autobiographical picture? Or, as Kevin Misher said of everything in the movie, is this all a hustle? Who knows. Perhaps Montiel is really and truly content in working outside his safety net and simply making a fun popcorn movie that has the serrated edge of an indie picture. Right now Dito Montiel is in New York City, 10 blocks away from where he used to sell peanuts on a street corner as a child, but where is Dito Montiel in Fighting?

"I'm from here, I'm from Queens and I live in Queens. As long as I feel familiar with a subject I will do it. At first I didn't feel familiar with the idea of this film. People fighting or things blowing up or people talking about money doesn't appeal to me unless there's a way to find it. We were shooting the other day and I saw this guy who still takes pictures of people on the street, Polaroids, and when I was a kid I used to see him and he's still there by the Marriot, and we're actually gonna go there tomorrow. That's a way to find yourself in something. You could probably find something in the Amish that appeals to you.

"I didn't ever plan on making movies, it's a nice coincidence. I have a hard time believing it. I just get so wrapped up in it being good I can't enjoy it. I'm counting down the days. After today it's 19."

The production wrapped right before Thanksgiving, and I hear through the grapevine they may be trying for a Summer release. It goes without saying that I'm so excited to see this film, partly because I was able to visit the set, but mostly because I think it's a really meaty role that will allow Channing to show his acting chops and range.

Dito Montiel was able to get such an amazing performance out of Channing in 'A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints'. I'm confident that same magic can happen again with 'Fighting' and can potentially be another career changing role for Chan.

Source: ComingSoon.net

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NEWS FLASH: Woody Harrelson Joins Cast of Channing Tatum's 'Pinkville'

People seem to love to work with Channing Tatum so much they keep following him from movie to movie. Don't believe me? Well today's new casting announcement for Chan's upcoming film 'Pinkville' solidified that fact.

Channing Tatum, Woody Harrelson, Bruce Willis and Oliver Stone of 'Pinkville'

HollywoodReporter.com is saying that Channing's 'Battle in Seattle' co-star Woody Harrelson has now joined the cast of 'Pinkville', which already includes A-List actor Bruce Willis and three-time, Oscar-winning director Oliver Stone.

Although the article below says they will start filming early next year, Chan told me that he will start working on the project towards the end of November and will be filming in Thailand for 3 months.

You can read the entire Hollywood Reporter article below to learn more about Woody Harrelson's new role in Channing's 'Pinkville'.

Cast in Stone: Harrelson to 'Pinkville'
By Carly Mayberry - Oct 25, 2007

Woody Harrelson is reteaming with Oliver Stone in the director's Vietnam War drama "Pinkville" for United Artists.

Harrelson joins Bruce Willis and Channing Tatum, who already have been cast in the mystery drama based on the infamous 1968 My Lai Massacre, in which upward of 500 people -- mostly women, children and the elderly -- were killed by U.S. soldiers. The massacre ended up being a turning point in the war.

Harrelson will play Col. Henderson, the conflicted officer in charge of the task force that committed the massacre.

Mikko Alanne wrote the script. Production is set to begin next year, with MGM distributing.

Willis will portray William R. Peers, the real-life Army general who investigated the incident. Tatum will play Hugh Thompson Jr., an Army helicopter pilot who aided the villagers and later testified against the soldiers.

Michael Pena, who appeared in Stone's "World Trade Center" and plays an Army Ranger in Afghanistan in Robert Redford's "Lions for Lambs," also has been cast.

Stone is no stranger to films set against the backdrop of Vietnam. "Pinkville" -- the title refers to a military description on the My Lai region -- accompanies the director's "Platoon," "Born on the Fourth of July" and "Heaven and Earth," all of which centered on the war.

Harrelson starred in Stone's "Natural Born Killers." His more recent credits include "A Prairie Home Companion" and "The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio." He is repped by CAA, Tracy Harshman and attorney Steve Burkow.

What are some other examples of this phenomena of people following Chan from movie to movie?

• The obvious one...Chan rejoined producers Anne Fletcher and Adam Shankman, choreographer Jamal Sims, and a host of other crew for 2008's 'Step Up 2: Streets', the sequel to his insanely popular 2006 dance movie 'Step Up'.
  
  
• Chan is currently filming 'Fighting' with 'A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints' director Dito Montiel, actor Peter Tambakis, and an assortment of crew that worked on the 2006 independent film.
  
  
• Chan's current assistant on the set of 'Fighting' also worked as a consultant on the production of 'Stop-Loss'.

And those examples are just off to the top of my head. I'm sure there are more. After spending the day with him and personally seeing how much the 'Fighting' cast and crew love working with Chan, I am sure we'll see plenty more of this phenomena for years to come.

Source: HollywoodReporter.com

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NEWS FLASH: First Ever Pictures of Channing Tatum on the Set of New Film 'Fighting'

Fabulous Channing Tatum Fan and CTU Reader, Max, just happened to be near Radio City Music Hall yesterday, saw Channing Tatum filming his movie 'Fighting', and was kind enough to take pictures and send them to me.

So thanks to Max, we now have the first pictures of Channing Tatum filming his new movie Fighting'. You can see Channing in the pics with a white t-shirt and/or a blue jean jacket on talking to people in the production. In the picture of Channing with the blue jean jacket on, you can also see the director Dito Montiel right behind him with a white t-shirt on.







In addition to that, I just received another filming update from our "on site field reporter", CTU Reader, and Fabulous Channing Tatum fan Lisa who also sent in an awesome report yesterday.

Here is what Lisa saw today on the set of Channing's movie 'Fighting':

Hi Quishe,

Channing is at the same location right now (10:50am Eastern).

He just filmed a sequence where he was scalping tickets. A guy approaches him and they start to fight, Channing throws him into a table of pamphlets, Channing gets thrown into a fruit stand and then runs away! Right after the take he was goofing off with some of the extras and Dito! He really just seems so laidback and fun! You can tell the closeness btwn him and Dito as well!

There's the quick update!
Lisa

Thank you again, Lisa, for keeping all of us fans posted and thank you to Max too for the great pictures!!! Since we are all not lucky enough to be in New York right now, it's really awesome to be able to get first hand accounts of what is going on there.

If anyone else reading this has seen the movie being filmed and would like to share their experiences with fans around the world, please send your story to sightings@channingtatumunwrapped.com. If you have any pictures, go ahead and send those along too. Thanks in advance!!

As I mentioned yesterday, I have added a section called "Where in the World is Channing Tatum?" on the left side of the blog. I am posting sightings and potential filming locations there during the day, so just keep checking this blog for the hottest Channing Tatum filming news you will find anywhere!!

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NEWS FLASH: Channing Tatum Sighting Today on the Set of 'Fighting'

Here's a picture someone took recently of the filming of Channing Tatum's movie 'Fighting' at Ramon Aponte Park on 47th street in the Hell's Kitchen section of New York City. Sadly Chan's not in the picture (other than the pic I added to it), but you can see the director Dito Montiel in the middle of the photo wearing the blue shirt and red shorts.

We may not have a picture of Channing on set (yet), but Fabulous Channing Tatum Fan Lisa from New York was kind enough to email me about her encounter with the film production today.

Here is what Lisa saw today watching Channing film his movie 'Fighting':

Hi there,

I have been reading your Channing blog pretty much since its creation and I thought I would finally contribute some GREAT news! (By the way....I've read many fansites over the years and yours defintely ranks at the top! Thanks for keeping us in the know!)

Anyways....I was able to watch Channing film some of his new movie, Fighting, today! I also spotted the amazingly talented Dito Montiel directing him!!! They were filming at the fountain across from Radio City Music Hall and 30 Rockefeller Plaza, right near where I work. I spotted Channing from a window (in a sweatshirt and jean jacket for the people who are interested) and ran downstairs to see the man in action. For the 15 minutes or so I was downstairs they probably only filmed a total of 2 minutes but I was able to see the interaction between Dito and Channing (which seemed full of energy and humor...both had huge smiles on their faces and were laughing quite a bit). Channing seemed extremely affable and was keeping loose by jumping up and down and talking with his co-stars and members of the crew!

I have been a fan of Channings since he was the 'Mountain Dew guy' and to finally have been 25 feet away from him was pretty awesome (and Im not one to get starstruck!) He is beautiful in person and it was very cool to be able to watch him perform (even for such a little amount of time)....just wanted to pass on the news!

Thanks,
Lisa, NYC

Thank you sooooooo much, Lisa, for sending this in!!! I have been hoping to get people to report from the field on their encounters with the production, so thanks again for sharing and allowing us to live vicariously through your encounter!!

If anyone else reading this has seen the movie being filmed and would like to share their experiences with fans around the world, please send your story to sightings@channingtatumunwrapped.com. If you have any pictures, go ahead and send those along too. Thanks in advance!!

Finally, I have added a section called "Where in the World is Channing Tatum?" on the left side of the blog. I will start posting sightings and potential filming locations there during the day, so just keep checking this blog for the hottest Channing Tatum filming news you will find anywhere!!

Source: AmysRobot.com

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NEWS FLASH: New Pictures of Channing Tatum at GQ's 50th Anniversary Party Last Night

Channing Tatum will start filming his Dito Moniel directed street fighting drama 'Fighting' this Thursday (September 20th) in New York, but last night, he was rubbing elbows with the likes of Kanye West, Adriana Lima, Andy Samberg, Cindy Crawford, Damien Fahey, Fonzworth Bentley, Gene Simmons, James Blunt, Jay-Z, Karolina Kurkova, LL Cool J, Diddy, Seth Meyers, and Tommy Hilfiger at GQ Magazine's 50th Anniversary Party at Cedar Lake in New York City.

It's always great to see Channing out and about so we (the fans) can get some new pictures of him. Below you can see all of Channing's pictures from last night's star-studded birthday celebration:

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NEWS FLASH: Channing Tatum and Terrence Howard's 'Fighting' to Start Filming Next Week

Although the actor himself stated it in an interview recently, Rogue Pictures officially announced on Friday that Oscar-nominated actor Terrence Howard has signed to star opposite Channing Tatum in Dito Montiel's new underground street fighting action drama.

An actor who recently attended the open casting in New York said that the previously untitled film is called 'Fighting' (for now at least) and Rogue Pictures seems to also be confirming that fact.

Although I think that Channing may have already started training for the film, it is supposed to begin shooting next week in New York. In addition to directing the movie, 'A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints' director Dito Montiel also wrote the screenplay for 'Fighting'.

Howard received his Oscar nomination for his powerful performance in 'Hustle & Flow' and can currently be seen in the new movies 'The Hunting Party' and 'The Brave One,' both of which open nationwide this weekend.

Just in case you don't already know...In 'Fighting', Channing Tatum will play Sean Arthur, a New York counterfeit merchandise salesman (aka ticket scalper) whose life is changed after a chance encounter with veteran street-fighting coach, Harvey Boarden, played by Howard.

'Fighting' is set to have its theatrical release some time in 2008.

Source: United Press International

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NEWS FLASH: Casting Call for Channing Tatum, Terrence Howard, and Dito Montiel's 'Fighting' Movie Tomorrow

Channing Tatum's untitled street fighting movie which also stars Oscar nominated Terrence Howard and is directed by Dito Montiel of 'A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints' fame will start filming this month in New York City. They are also having a casting call tomorrow in the New York area.

You can click here to view a casting notice on Backstage.com or you can just read the casting notice below that the film sent out via bulletin on MySpace early this morning:

'Fighting' Casting Call

Kee Casting is holding a Sag and Non Sag open call registration for background players on the upcoming feature film “FIGHTING” starring CHANNING TATUM & TERENCE HOWARD.

We are looking for a wide cross section of all different New York types, characters and interesting faces. We encourage all ages and all ethnicities to attend. The Director will be present.

Also looking for the following types:

• Men and women who can play a convincing homeless person
• Young men and women who have street music or dancing talent
• Men who can play Slavic/Russian types
• Women who can play Russian model types
• Men who can play African street vendors
• Bouncer types
• Young skinny men who can play three card monte and street games
• Men who can play Korean business men
• Young men who can play tough wallstreet day traders
• Men and Women of all ages who can play Latinos

Sag members should bring a picture and resume AND a current snapshot which should be attached. Include your basic sizes on your resume.

Non Sag people should bring a picture and resume (if you have) AND/OR a current snapshot. Write your basic sizes on your picture and make sure to include your name and contact phone number printed clearly.

Everyone must bring a pen and have a photo ID.

Open call will be held on THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2007 at St Malachy’s Church - 239 West 49th Street ( between Broadway and 8th Ave ) NYC. Space is wheelchair accessible.

SAG MEN AND WOMEN 4PM- 6:30PM
NON SAG MEN AND WOMEN 7PM – 9:00PM

Good luck to all Channing Tatum fans and CTU readers who are actors (shout out to Max) and who want to be actors! Make sure to let us know if any of you get a part in the film.

Thanks again, Brandi, for giving me the heads up on this casting call notice!

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Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan Sighting in New York

Before Channing shot his awesome cameo in 'Step Up 2: The Streets' he was in New York working on his newest untitled project with Dito Montiel. Channing's real-life girlfriend, Jenna Dewan, also happens to be in New York working on her latest project.

Well, extremely lucky CTU reader and Fabulous Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan fan, Josy from New York, ran into the happy couple on the street on Thursday August 23, 2007 and they were nice enough to take pictures with her. I say that Josy was extremely lucky, because this was her second photo op with Channing in as many years. You can click here to read about her first encounter with Chan when he was promoting 'She's the Man' last year.

Here is what Josy had to say about her encounter with our favorite couple Chenna,

"Chan and Jenna are amazing. Both of them as always are incredibly sweet and humble. They stood there talking to me and my 2 other friends for 10 mins. Can't say enough good things about them."

Here are the great pictures that Josy took with both Chan and Jenna on the streets of New York (affirming the sad fact that I am truly living in the wrong city):

Thanks to Josy for sharing these great pics with CTU readers so we can continue to live vicariously through your chance encounters!

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NEWS FLASH: Update on 'Step Up 2: The Streets' and Channing Tatum's Cameo

After getting a ton of amazing happy birthday messages from many CTU readers, friends, and Chan's family, my birthday weekend was capped off with a really awesome and unexpected email from Channing himself telling me happy birthday. It was insanely sweet of Chan to take the time to do that and just made it the best birthday I have ever had.

I also want to thank everyone for joining in on the Virtual Party. There were a ton of people there and we really had a blast! Thanks again for helping me celebrate by birthday and CTU becoming OFFICIAL in style!!!! I had a really awesome time!

In addition to singing me the 'Happy Birthday' song in the email (which was completely ADORABLE!!), Chan also let me know a little bit about what he's been up to.

He spent all of last week in New York getting ready for his new Dito Montiel directed street fighting movie with Terrence Howard. He was going to wrack up some frequent flyer miles by going home to California for a day and then he had to turn around and go to Baltimore to film his cameo in 'Step Up 2: The Streets'. The typical life a jet setter.

Chan told me, "I go to Baltimore for a little part in 'Step Up 2', Haha I'm really kinda nervous to go dance again. I haven't really danced like that in a long time. Gotta get the juices flowin again, shake off the rust."

I told him how excited all of the fans are about his cameo in 'Step Up 2' and that he could pretty much just stand there and breathe and the fans (including me) would love it. Although I was surprised (and totally endeared) to hear he was nervous, I was extremely happy to know that he would actually be dancing as a part of his cameo.

Speaking of dancing in Step Up 2: The Streets'...they have extended the voting deadline to September 4, 2007 at 9pm Pacific time to vote on your favorite solo dancer or dance crew on their website. You can click on the image below to go to the site, view the videos and vote.

You can also view a new video for the movie with singer/dancer/actress Cassie talking about the dancing and singing contests for the film.

Step Up 2 - Cassie MySpace Video

Add to My Profile | More Videos

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CTU EXCLUSIVE NEWS: Channing Tatum Project Update...Chan Will 'Fight' and 'Step Up 2', But Won't 'Push'

One of my goals once CTU became Channing Tatum's official site was to get an accurate list of upcoming projects to the fans.

In the crazy movie business it's very difficult to juggle schedules, so projects will be announced with actors tied to them and then often, scheduling conflicts or other factors will make that cast list change prior to the start of filming. We've already seen this happen recently with Channing Tatum and the ill-fated 'Poor Things' project that was delayed by Lindsay Lohan and other production factors.

Well it seems that the scheduling conflict issues have reared their ugly head again, but since CTU is now Channing's official site (Sorry I can't seem to stop saying that. I promise it'll wear off soon...maybe :-P ), I can get the low-down on what projects Channing is actually going to be working on. Mind you, things happen and could change, but here is what Channing's camp is telling me now...

As I previously posted, Channing Tatum is scheduled to start filming his untitled underground street fighting movie with Oscar nominated actor Terrence Howard and director Dito Montiel next month. He is currently meeting with both of them in New York where his girlfriend Jenna Dewan also happens to be filming her most recent project. That's why we were able to see our favorite couple together at Butter earlier this week in New York. I'm sure they'll be happy that they get to work near each other.

Channing's previously announced project 'Push' also starts filming in Hong Kong next month, which is where the scheduling conflict comes in. Although Channing has a list of skills as long as my arm, he has yet to master the difficult talent of being in two places at one time. Now once that whole replication thing is perfected, I'm thinking there's a market for Channing clones.

OK back to reality...

His camp is telling me that the fighting movie has beat out 'Push' in the scheduling wars, which means that Channing will remain stateside and will hopefully be filming in New York.

Even more exciting is that they confirmed Channing's cameo in 'Step Up 2: The Streets' is still on his schedule, so fans can now breath a sigh of relief and rejoice in the fact that we will once again see Chan in a 'Step Up' film. YEAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

Finally, I am told that his next project will probably be the Oliver Stone directed Vietnam movie 'Pinkville' where Channing is set to co-star with Oscar & Golden Globe winner and veteran actor Sean Penn. From the director with three Oscars to the Oscar winning co-star, a film with that kind of pedigree is an amazing opportunity for Channing and his career. I am so happy that he has been cast in this film and being cast in it is a shining example of how Hollywood feels about Channing and his abilities.

So that's it's for now. I will update all of the upcoming projects on the blog to reflect what I've told you above and stay tuned to Channing Tatum Unwrapped for daily news on what's going on in Chan's world!

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NEWS FLASH: Channing Tatum Is Joined by Terrence Howard in New Fight Film

It was just announced that Oscar nominated Terrence Howard ('Hustle & Flow', 'Pride', 'Crash') will be joining Channing Tatum in his upcoming Dito Montiel directed underground street fighting circuit film.

Chan will star in the film as a young man who gets drawn into the circuit as a way to escape his circumstances. You can click here to learn even more about the movie.

Howard told MTV in an interview that the movie is currently called "It's Called Fighting", but a spokesperson for the film’s distributor, Rogue Pictures, however told them the title has not yet been determined and that ‘It’s Called Fighting’ is currently what’s written on the script.

Variety says that Howard will play a veteran street fighting coach and mentor to Chan's character, and Howard tells MTV that the movie is kind of like another film called ‘Midnight Cowboy', which was released in 1969 managed to win 3 Oscars.

On a random note, I actually met Terrence Howard years ago near my home at a local mall. He was very nice and even autographed a napkin for me as the poor guy was trying to eat his mall lunch. I personally think that Terrance Howard is an amazing actor and I look forward to seeing Channing work with someone of his calibur.

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NEWS FLASH: Channing Tatum to Reunite with AGTRYS Director Dito Montiel in New Fight Film

As I have said before, Channing is going to be really busy for the rest of this year with all of the new projects and movie releases he has on his plate.

Obviously, hard work is not a problem for Channing, because he just added yet another new movie to his lengthy upcoming project list and this one is with a very familiar face from his recent movie past.

Variety is now saying that Channing will be reuniting with Dito Montiel, the director from his award-winning movie 'A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints', for a new film about underground street fighting for Rogue Pictures.

Here's how RopesofSilicon.com describes Channing's character in the film: "...Sean Arthur, a young man who scrapes up a living scalping tickets in NYC. With family tragedy in his past and his father keeping him at a distance, this outsider has little to motivate him. A chance encounter with a veteran street-fighting coach leads to a whole new career for Sean. The ensuing bouts get tough, especially with the criminal element horning in, so Sean gets tougher. He will fight to win, not only the prize money but also the unexpected new relationships that are strengthening him."

Hmmm...I wonder if it's anything like Brad Pitt's 'Fight Club' ? I don't recall much about 'Fight Club', but I do remember that Brad looked pretty darn good in that movie, and I'm willing to bet almost anything that Channing will look even better. Looks like we are not going to get away from those Brad comparisons anytime soon.

Since Channing is "really good a physical things", I doubt he would use a body double. And all I can say is, I really hope they try to keep the fighting away from his gorgeous face. I've kind of grown attached to it in it's current state. Let's just hope they're really careful.

Anyway, here's the Variety.com article that talks about Channing's new project:

'Saints' Team Reunite for Fight Film
Tatum, Montiel to Work on Rogue Feature
By DIANE GARRETT

Channing Tatum and Dito Montiel, star and director, respectively, of "A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints," will reteam on a feature about underground street fighting for Rogue.

Kevin Misher will produce the as-yet-untitled film through his Misher Films.

Tatum will play a young man scraping a living scalping tickets in Gotham who becomes involved in the underground sport after a chance encounter with a street-fighting coach.

Montiel has written the latest draft of the screenplay, with shooting skedded to begin in Gotham in September.

Summit Entertainment has a rival street-fighting pic lensing this summer. "Get Some" stars Sean Faris as a rebellious teen coerced into an underground fight club. Movie is the first Summit greenlit since it revamped earlier this year (Daily Variety, May 24).

Tatum also starred in "Step Up" and will appear in the upcoming "Stop Loss."

"A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints" was Montiel's first feature and was based on his autobiography. It picked up several kudos at the Sundance and Venice film fests.

Misher is currently in post-production on Christian Alvart's "Case 39." Previous producing credits include "The Interpreter" and "The Rundown."

Here is a screen shot of the article from the site:



Congrats Channing on getting yet another amazing role!

P.S. I just want to give CTU readers a heads up. Don't miss tomorrow's article. I have a big announcement about Channing that I think will make a lot of fans really happy! :-D

Source: Variety.com and RopeofSilicon.com

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