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...
"I've been trying really hard to be more domesticated," Dewan told PEOPLE during TheWrap.com's awards season party. "It's not in my nature to clean and cook, and so I've been really good about it. And we just actually had professional organizers that came to our house and did a whole bunch of organizing, which was the best thing that I could've done for the New Year, ever!
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