MOVIE BYTES: ‘Step Up’, ‘The Eagle of the Ninth’, ‘Son of No One’, and ‘Knockout’

While Channing Tatum's newly released romantic drama 'Dear John' continues to do well at the domestic box office (making well-over $53 million in the first week), remains a top topic of conversation on Twitter, and begins to release overseas, his numerous other projects continue to march on.

I found a few bits of news about Chan's past and future films 'Step Up‘ , 'Eagle of the Ninth', 'Son of No One', and 'Knockout' this past week. Check out today's Movie Bytes to get the latest scoop. Enjoy!!!

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STEP UP

Channing Tatum's and Jenna Dewan-Tatum's 2006 dance hit will premiere on ABC Family this week. Since the two tied the knot last July, we all now know for sure that the sparks between Chan and Jenna weren't just acting. Although they didn't start dating until after the film wrapped, fan's can watch the two fall in love for real on Sunday, February 21 at 8:30/7:30 Central. You can also CLICK HERE for more details.

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EAGLE OF THE NINTH

In addition to the official Facebook page, Focus Pictures just launched an official site and announced a release date for Channing Tatum's Roman drama 'The Eagle of the Ninth'.

For those who don't know, the movie 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.

Make sure you fan the Facebook page to get the latest photos, videos, and scoop on the film, which is now set to hit theaters in September 24, 2010. Fans can also CLICK HERE to see even more photos from the film in the CTU Photo Gallery.

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SON OF NO ONE

Deadline Hollywood is reporting that Channing Tatum's dramatic thriller 'Son of No One' just acquired a new distributor overseas. Here's what the site's founder and editor Nikki Finke had to say about the film's status and casting...

"Channing Tatum’s weekend success in Dear John comes at an auspicious time, as Nu Image takes over world sales agent duties in Berlin on what it says is his Son Of No One. Though UTA says there's no deal yet with its client, Channing is the draw in a drama that reunites him with writer/director Dito Montiel, with whom he made Fighting and A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints. The Montiel-scripted thriller is about a young cop who is at odds with his superiors and fellow officers over a murder cover-up. NuImage says Tatum's co-stars would be Katie Holmes, Terrence Howard, Ray Liotta and Al Pacino. Shooting begins April in New York. Hannibal Pictures put the pic together, with Millennium Films as producer."

In a recent Collider.com interview, Chan had this to say about the film when asked if his next Dito Montiel movie was going to be totally different from 'A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints'...

"It’s Saints-esque really. It’s like the grown-up “Saints.” Where “Saints” focused in on the kids, it’ll be flip-flopped. It’ll be focused on adults this time with kids as well. Look, that guy’s lived a crazy life and he’s known a lot of crazy people and this will be a true story or pieces of it, and it’ll be insane - (Robert) DeNiro, Ray Liotta, I don’t know if Terrence Howard is going to be in it, I think he might, and a bunch of other people with some really strong personalities coming in. It’s like a psycho cop New York thriller and it’ll be Dito-esque again. With “Fighting,” we just tried to go and do something fun, and then this is him going back and swinging for the fence again into his crazy mind. It’s an independent film so he’ll be allowed to do whatever he wants."

'Son of No One' is currently scheduled to be released in 2011.

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KNOCKOUT

As Chan posted in his Post The Love Valentine's Day message to fans, he's headed off to Dublin, Ireland to shoot Steven Soderbergh’s action-revenge spy thriller 'Knockout'. In case you missed it, here's Chan V-Day message to fans...

"My love goes out all this beautiful day of love!! So sorry I've been gone for the last few days. Things have been crazy with the film and I had to get ready to go to dublin for a new job. that will take me away from the ones I love in my life. Especially my wife, sorry baby. Anyways I will be post more soon. Love you guys."

The movie will star Mixed Martial Arts champion and non-actor Gina Carano in the lead role as a black ops spy that is betrayed by her team. Chan (who will also film some of 'Knockout' in Barcelona, Spain) will play one of the elite specialists on Carano’s team named Aaron — a military gearhead-type who’s sent to try and bring her back in once she’s been double-crossed and gone rogue; trying to figure out who exactly is setting her up. But there is no love lost between the characters which makes his mission more difficult.

The movie also stars Ewan McGregor, Michael Douglas, and Michael Fassbender and is scheduled to hit theaters some time in 2010 or 2011.

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UNWRAPPED PHOTOS | Channing Tatum Leaving Chelsea Lately

After his first ever appearance on Ellen Degeneres, Channing Tatum made his way to E!'s Chelsea Lately show (another first) where he wrapped up the 'Dear John' Press Tour with yet another hilarious interview.

The movie, which hit theaters on February 5, 2010 and skyrocketed to #1 by beating Avatar (the box office leader for 7 consecutive weeks), tells the story of John (Channing Tatum), a young soldier home on leave and Savannah Curtis (Amanda Seyfried), the idealistic college student he meets during her spring vacation.

‘Dear John‘ is based on a Nicholas Sparks book by the same name, helmed by Lasse Hallström, written by Jamie Linden, and wrapped filming in the Charleston, South Carolina area in December 2008.

Fans can now check out new pics of the hard-working star leaving the E! studios with his publicist after the show courtesy of Socialite Life, and you can watch Chan's really funny Chelsea Lately interview below...

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CTU EXCLUSIVE: Chan and Jenna Behind-the-Scenes at Ellen Degeneres

With best friend Adam and his wife Christin, sister Paige, and wife Jenna Dewan-Tatum in tow, Channing Tatum made his first ever appearance on Ellen yesterday. Based on the hilarious photo that was released prior to the show, it was quite clear that fun was had by all at the Tuesday taping of Ellen where Chan also raised money for Haiti by giving very excited audience members hugs and kisses.

Paige, who was nice enough to take a behind-the-scenes pic of Chan and Jenna in his dressing room just for CTU, said that everyone was laughing hysterically before, during, and after the appearance and had a ton of fun at the filming. When you watch the interview below, you'll know exactly why...

Big thanks to Paige for the great pic! And make sure you tune into Chelsey Lately tonight, because Chan will be making his first appearance on that show too.

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Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan-Tatum’s Vegas Date Night

Channing Tatum and his gorgeous wife, Jenna Dewan-Tatum, celebrated the uber successful release of his new movie 'Dear John' at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino's in Las Vegas this past weekend.

On today's post, you can check out new pics of the adorable newlyweds (who were married on July 11th last year) having dinner at Strip House and taking pics with lucky fans they ran into at the hotel. Jenna also tweeted out a couple of cute pictures sitting ringside and trying her luck at the tables. Check out all the new pics below...

In case you missed some of Chan's recent Post the Love videos, you can check out his extremely sweet tributes to Jenna below. Not that you needed another reason to love him, but the videos Chan has been making and posting on Post the Love are some of the most heartfelt things I ever watched. If City Snowing, Shine, or Be Stupid inspires you, make sure you Post the Love too...

Finally, I want to remind fans that Chan filmed Ellen Degeneres today and will appear on tomorrow's show, so make sure you tune in and/or set your Tivos!!!

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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 Contest, Soundtrack, Videos and Premiere Info for Channing Tatum’s ‘Dear John’

I have a ton of news about Channing Tatum's highly-anticipated romantic drama 'Dear John', which hits theaters on February 5th. Below fans will find info about the latest contest for the film, a complete list of songs for the soundtrack, a new interview that Chan and Amanda did for ET during last week's press junket, and premiere and press tour info for the movie. Enjoy!

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'DEAR JOHN' SWEEPSTAKES

Fans can now enter the new 'Dear John' Twitter contest where Sony is giving away a signed poster, a Sony Reader Pocket Edition, and a CD soundtrack from the movie. Finish this sentence and tweet it to @DearJohnMovie...

"I knew I was in love the moment ______. #DearJohnSweeps"

Make sure you follow @DearJohnMovie and include the #DearJohnSweeps hashtag in your tweet to be eligible for the contest. No purchase is necessary, but you must have a Twitter account, be at least 13 years old, and be a resident of the US. You can enter the contest up to 5 times a day and the contest ends on February 12, 2010.You can get more details at http://www.dearjohn-movie.com/twittersweeps.

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'DEAR JOHN' ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK

As I previously posted, The 'Dear John' soundtrack will be released on February 2, 2010, and here is the complete track listing...

1. Paperweight (Joshua Radin & Schuyler Fisk)
2. The Moon (Swell Season)
3. Amber (311)
4. Excelsior Lady (The Donkeys)
5. Things & Time (Wailing Souls)
6. Little House (Amanda Seyfried)
7. This Is The Thing (Fink)
8. Think Of Me (Rosi Golan)
9. You Take My Troubles Away (Dan Wilson & Rachel Yamagata)
10. The Dear John Theme (Deborah Lurie)

Sony just created a new official site for the soundtrack and fans can CLICK HERE to get more information.

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'DEAR JOHN' INTERVIEWS

Below fans can check out three new videos...the latest 'Dear John' TV spot featuring Snow Patrol's "Set Fire To The Third Bar", another TV spot called "I miss you so much it hurts", and a new Entertainment Tonight interview with Chan and his 'Dear John' co-star Amanda Seyfried. Enjoy!

In addition to the video above, learn even more about the movie in ET's interviews with Chan and Amanda below...

'G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra''s Channing Tatum plays a soldier who falls for 'Mamma Mia!' star Amanda Seyfried in the new romantic drama 'Dear John,' in theaters February 5. The pair tells ET that like many Nicholas Sparks stories, it can be a bit of a tearjerker.

"A lot of tears are shed," Amanda tells ET. "It's really sentimental. I think it's absolutely inspiring, and I'm proud of that. And, you know, everybody needs a little romance."

"I know what 'The Notebook' did to my girlfriend at the time -- just utter waterworks," adds Channing. "It was for a reason. Those movies just hit something inside of everybody. I think even guys, at the end of the movie, guys are just trying to hold it together."

Based on the novel by Sparks, Channing plays John, a young soldier on leave who meets idealistic college student Savannah (Amanda) while she's on spring break. All it takes is two weeks for the pair to fall deeply in love. But when John is called back in harm's way repeatedly, they remain connected throughout the years with a continuous stream of touching love letters. But will their bond ultimately tear them apart? Henry Thomas and Richard Jenkins also star in the film from Oscar-winning director Lasse Hallstrom.

"It was a little darker than some of the things that I had seen in the past from [Sparks]," says Channing of the project. "And it didn't even really feel like a war thing. It was just two kids that fell in love and had no idea how to be in love -- and they had no idea what was coming down the road."

Of his co-star, Channing beams, "She's kind of really quirky and interesting. She's so talented that she makes really interesting choices. … Plus, she's beautiful and funny. You can't replace that."

"He's a guy's guy, but he's so sensitive to how people are feeling around him," says Amanda of her hunky co-star. "He's so handsome too. He's not bad to look at. And all the kissing scenes and the romantic scenes, they just were silly. We made it silly and we made it fun because it can be awkward when your partner is visiting, [and Channing] was engaged at the time, and now he's married."

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'DEAR JOHN' PREMIERE

FayObserver is reporting that Fort Bragg will get a taste of Hollywood when 'Dear John' has its world premiere on the military post. Channing Tatum, Amanda Seyfried, author Nicholas Sparks, and Sony film execs will kick off a 'Dear John' regional press tour with a red carpet event on January 23rd at 4 p.m. at the York Theater, which has a capacity of about 700. Free tickets were distributed yesterday to military ID-holders through Fort Bragg's Morale Welfare and Recreation.

Sparks, Tatum and Seyfried are scheduled to attend a meet and greet with fans outside the theater before the film starts. After the meet and greet, the first 600 ticket holders in line will be admitted into the theater.

Following the Fort Bragg premiere, Chan will attend a special premiere benefiting Carolina Autism in Charleston, South Carolina (CLICK HERE to buy tickets), and then will move on to Atlanta and various other locations before he wraps up the regional leg of the tour on Friday January 29th. I've even heard a rumor that Chan may just be strutting his stuff on Ellen before all is said and done. Stay tuned for more details very soon!

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CTU EXCLUSIVE: Watch the First ‘Dear John’ TV Spot

The first 'Dear John' TV Spot won't be released until Christmas, but thanks to Sony, CTU readers get an exclusive look at it today!! Fans can check out the new TV Spot below...

You can get more information about 'Dear John' on the official site and the official Facebook page. Fans can also CLICK HERE to check out behind-the-scenes photos from the set of the film and can CLICK HERE to get even more news from the various 'Dear John' filming locations.

Thanks to Sony for the exclusive! I'm working really closely with the team, and we have a lot more planned for Chan's fans here at CTU, so stay tuned!!!

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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: Channing Tatum to Star in Dito Montiel's Newest Movie & Nominated for People's Choice Award

In case you all missed the tweet on Channing Tatum's official Twitter, Production Weekly just confirmed that Chan will be starring in yet another Dito Montiel film very soon.

First there was 'A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints', then 'Fighting', then 'Brotherhood of the Rose', and now we have 'Son of No One'. All written and directed by Dito Montiel and all starring Channing Tatum.

I think Chan may have mentioned this film when he was doing press for 'Fighting' in April, but there's not a lot of details out there for it yet. What we do know is that Chan will be acting along side his 'Fighting' co-star Terrence Howard, James Gandolfini from "The Sopranos" and Robert De Niro from more movies than I could ever list here and who coincidentally also executive produced Chan's 2009 historical drama 'Public Enemies'.

The dramatic thriller is about a young cop 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.

Production Weekly reported that 'Son of No One' is scheduled to start filming this January. I'm not sure where the movie's going to be filming yet, but knowing Dito's love of New York City, I'm willing to bet good money that Chan may once again be roaming the streets of NYC come January.

Thanks to CTU reader Belinda, I found out that Chan has been nominated for a People's Choice Award this year. Please make sure you vote for Chan in the "Favorite Action Star" category and then you should also mosey on over to the "Favorite Movie" category to vote for Chan's movie 'G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra'.

The People's Choice Awards celebrates fan favorites in music, movies and television and is the only major awards show where real people - not industry insiders - determine the nominees and winners. The 2010 show will be broadcast live from Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE on January 6, 2010 on the CBS Television Network.

With three movies under his belt and 'G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra' breaking the $300 million mark this week, 2009 has officially been an extremely successful year in the world of Mr. Channing Tatum, so the casting announcement and People's Choice Award nomination didn't surprise me one bit. Congrats to Chan and everyone make sure to vote for him early often!!!

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