/Film Interview: Channing Tatum On The Set Of ‘White House Down’
Channing Tatumdoesn’t act like he’s famous. Even on the set of his upcoming movie,White House Down, the star of G.I. Joe, Magic Mike, Step Up and 21 Jump Street is humble, down to Earth and honest about his career. We spoke to the actor in Montreal last September. He said, after he next few movies, he wasn’t going to make another movie until he could direct himself, though a list of great directors could change his mind. He said he was so impressed with directorRoland Emmerichthat he’ll make movies with him forever.
Tatum also talked aboutMagic Mike 2, working withSteven Soderberghand doing his own stunts – all of his own stunts. Tatum also discussed how growing up watching Eighties action films influenced his desire to make this movie, which opens June 28, and what it was about the script that really sold him.
To read more about our visit to the set,click this link. But for Channing Tatum, click below.
Note: This is a roundtable conducted by myself, Collider, Cinemablend and Next Movie.
So is the wifebeater your John McClane homage?
Is that true?
When you thought about being the star of one of these big action movie, did you watch any of those movies or have you been a fan of those movies?
Did you ever think you were going to be in this type of movie? Because you started off in a small way and have been billowing up and up and up, and now you’re top lining an Independence Day type action movie, is that kind of trippy and fun?
Talk a little bit about what it’s like for you after having so many successful projects this year, the scripts that are being offered to you now and the debate between, “What do I take next to keep this sort of pace going?”
You already know what’s going to happen though, because after you wrap on Jump Street there’s going to be some sick project sitting on your lap.
Talk a little bit about signing on for this project, what was it about out the story and the character that made you say “I definitely want to play this?”
I thought that was interesting and also just to do a movie like this right now, during the whole political showdown that’s happening; the perception in the world that’s happening right now of us, the whole thing that’s going on in Libya, we have a black President. There’s so much political stuff happening right now, it’s interesting. This is not Hollywood getting on a soapbox whatsoever. I think that there’s definitely going to be points brought up in a movie that are political, but I don’t think this movie preaches. I don’t really think Jamie Foxx is doing Obama, even though he’s doing very politician-y type things, which are very staple to every politician. He does little things every once and a while that are sort of very Obama, which is fun, but you’ll never be like “Oh, he’s trying to be Obama”. He actually looks more like Denzel in the movie than he looks like Obama, it’s hilarious, I’ll be like, “Denzel- sorry, Jamie!”
Reid and Brad were talking about your chemistry with Jamie being important in this, how did you guys work that out? Because obviously this is a super tight schedule, 14 months from script to release. Talk a little bit about working with Jamie.
When you’re shooting a scene like you did today and throughout the action stuff, Reid was talking about your physicality, how much do you rely completely on the choreography from the fight coordinators and how much do you go on instinct?
The stunt guys aren’t going to do that?
So this movie’s going to be as much of you as possible?
So that’s the only one in this movie that’s questionable?
Now you get paid to do it.
Talk a little bit about collaborating with Roland, what did you think it was going to be like before you got here and what has it been like in actuality?
I think when I met him I didn’t expect- I didn’t know what to expect because I was just like, alright, big movie director, generally the spectacle is the most important thing and making sure that that’s correct. Roland, I’ve had more fun on this movie because he’s a big kid, most directors will sit in these big movies- because you’re running behind always, the set ups, if the squibs go off and you didn’t get the shot now it’s a 30 minute reset, and he doesn’t get stressed. He does get stressed and he’s German, so that accents very hard to read, “Is he annoyed right now? I’m not sure.” But he’s always, when you watch him at the monitors, he’s like a kid; his eyes are wide, he’s making motions, he’s like “Yes, yes!” you may always tell how the take went by the way he yells cut. When he goes, “Cut! Ha!”, then you know it was a good one, if it’s “Cut…” You’re just like “Dammit, we’re going again.” But he enjoys it and I will make movies with him forever because of it, I really will. We’re talking about something else because, I just really do, I think he’s one of the more enjoyable directors. What we do is not brain surgery, but especially the schedule we’re on right now, working 6 day weeks, 15 hour days, it can be grueling and you can lose your patience like that [snaps fingers].
So this is the project you’re doing after Jump Street.
You were talking about how Roland seems like a big kid and that seems to permeate the whole set, can you talk more about the energy of this environment?
You had to be a little bit surprised at the success of all your movies this year, even with Magic Mike breaking 100 million, talk a little bit about what it means to you to see all these films doing so well. What’s it been like for you over the year?
Then Magic Mike, we had no idea what was going to happen with that thing. It was such an outline that we knew how we wanted to make it, and that’s why we made it for so little money, because we wanted to make it outside of the studio system. Soderbergh knew what kind of movie he wanted to make and even along the way we were like, “Are we doing this right?” We tested the movie, it did not test well. It tested in the 50s and we were like “Oh shit, what did we do?” We went back to the drawing board on the ending, we made the ending a little different, and we tested it again and it only tested 69 or something, and we were just like, “We are screwed.” No, not screwed, but then we just kept telling ourselves, “Okay, this movie doesn’t test, this movie doesn’t test, it’s going to be fine. This movie is not a testable movie.” We were running circles in our heads. I can’t even explain to you guys what that feels like, when you’re just like, “I put all my money into this movie and I’m praying that it works,” and that’s the kind of results you’re getting back. Then the online was skyrocketing, the press from it and the tracking of was tracking like The Avengers, the awareness online. The normal tracking was abysmal. They were so far away from each other we had no idea what the movie was going to be. We were just white-knuckling the weekend; we had no idea what was going to happen. It worked.
I don’t feel like any of these movies I knew for a fact were going to work. The Vow, I didn’t know if people were going to want to see it, but we felt good about it. We we’re like, “Alright, either way, I liked the movie for what it was,” and I think we knew exactly what we were trying to do. Jump Street, I knew we had a great time, it didn’t matter, didn’t know if it was going to do well. Magic Mike, you just don’t know. I think that just luck, luck and a lot of hard work. It’s got to be at the right time. Like Magic Mike came out during “50 Shades of Grey”. I think it was kind of perfect, there was this whole “50 Shades of Grey” movement happening and Magic Mike just, “Bam!”, just hit it, and we couldn’t have lucked out anymore.
It was also a pretty good movie.
It’s an art film almost, more than a mainstream film.
Speaking of Magic Mike, you did not mention Magic Mike 2 when you were listing your projects, I have to ask.
That’s a different movie.
Would you reprise the role?
White House Downopens June 28. Check back Friday for our interview with director Roland Emmerich.
