‘We created everything from a fictional place,’ Tatum says, responding to allegations by former stripper co-workers. By Jocelyn Vena Channing Tatum in “Magic Mike” Photo: Channing Tatum is reacting to a group of male dancers who allege that the actor quite literally stole their moves for his new movie, “Magic Mike,” which takes place in the shirtless world of male strippers. Two male dancers, Thomas “Awesome” Austin and London Steele, who danced with Tatum while he was a stripper in Florida, told TMZ last week that the experiences in the film, and even Tatum’s character’s name (Magic Mike), are all their own. Austin told the website, “He only danced for four months. How many events could have happened to him?” He added that even Tatum’s move in the film, the Hot Seat, is all his own. Director Steven Soderbergh has said that the film is loosely based on Tatum’s experiences as a male dancer. And in a new interview, Tatum is opening up about the claims against him. “Those guys have been trying to make money off of me since I got into this business,” Tatum told reporters, according to The Hollywood Reporter. “Look, there’s nothing that’s factual in this whole movie other than that I was an 18-year-old kid and went into this world and I dropped out of college from playing football and was living on my sister’s couch. There’s not one character that I took from my real life; this is just a world that I went into, and I had a perspective on. And we created everything from a fictional place.” “Magic Mike” opens Friday, and Tatum is going into opening week with no ill will for his former co-workers. “I don’t want to say anything bad about them because they’re part of the reason why I think this world is so interesting,” he said. “They’re very interesting, intriguing and bizarre characters, and I’m thankful for weird people out there. They’re some of the most creative people.” The June 29 film release also stars “True Blood” actor Joe Manganiello, “White Collar” star Matt Bomer and Matthew McConaughey. In an interview with MTV News, Tatum recalled how the film came out of a conversation he had with Soderbergh. “I was having a beer with Soderbergh — we were doing a movie together — and I told him about [my past stripping],” he said. “I’d been doing it for eight months of my life when I was, like, 18 or 19, and he said, ‘We gotta make a movie out of that.’ And I was like, ‘Why? Why do we need to do that?’ And he said, ‘I’ve never seen that world on film before.’ And then we really started talking about that, and we thought it would be really hilarious but still grounded in reality.” Check out everything we’ve got on “Magic Mike.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com . Related Videos Movie Awards Sneak Peek Week: ‘Magic Mike’
Among the many familiar faces in Disney-Pixar’s Brave – or familiar voices , rather – is actor Kevin McKidd , who joins fellow Scots Kelly MacDonald, Billy Connolly, Craig Ferguson, and Robbie Coltrane in bringing the tale of a 10th century princess to life in colorful detail. Earlier this week, Movieline spoke with the transplanted McKidd about his beloved home country, his Brave brogue, and the breakthrough moments in a career spanning his early turn in Trainspotting to his current gig on Grey’s Anatomy . Tapped for Brave , McKidd (who also lends his voice to the popular Call of Duty: Modern Warfare video games) contributed not one, but two voices to the animated adventure: He voices the honor-bound Lord MacGuffin, one of three battle-happy noblemen in King Fergus’s domain, and the lord’s awkward son Young MacGuffin, a bashful would-be suitor prodded to vie for the hand of the headstrong Princess Merida (MacDonald). For the role of Young MacGuffin, the Elgin, Scotland native offered his own solution to a stumped Pixar’s filmmaking crew searching to find the right unintelligible accent for the character. McKidd shared that and more with Movieline, discussing the post- Trainspotting “lean years,” the TV roles on Journeyman , Grey’s Anatomy , and HBO’s Rome that established him Stateside, his brush with Disney’s John Carter , and how the one-time engineering student forged his own path, a la Brave , to embark on his acting career: “There’s no point living unless you’re actually following the path you feel you should be on, you know?” I’ve never been to Scotland. You have obviously been, a few times. How could you not go to Scotland? It’s beautiful. You should go! Go now! Go today! Okay, I’ll just go right after this! But tell me, from your perspective having grown up there, how well do you feel Brave captures the feel and the spirit and the culture of the place you’re from? I think it really captures it – it’s almost like they took the best parts of Scotland and stuck them in a film and put them in Photoshop, kind of improved on Scotland. I didn’t think anyone could improve on Scotland but I think Pixar did. What are the best parts of Scotland? The glens, and the beautiful lochs… the amazing islands. I love the islands on the west coast of Scotland, they’re stunning places to visit. You take ferries from different ports to different places – the beautiful, white, sandy, clear beaches with no pollution. It’s a stunning place, but also the people are hilarious. I really miss the people. They’re your own people – or, for me, they’re my own people. And I do miss that. There also must be such a sense of the mythic history, so rich in this place. Growing up in Scotland, surrounded by these beautiful landscapes – did you feel that sense? Yeah! There were castles near where I was from, and I’d cycle my bike out there and we’d have picnics. There’s Duffus Castle, near Elgin, so there’s definitely that kind of epic historical nature to the landscape that’s there, that’s never far away. It’s just part of your life as you grow up. And we’d have standing stones just stood around in fields, with cows walking around them, that are ancient – truly ancient! How did you come to Brave ? It’s great that so much of the voice cast is actually Scottish. They just called me – they said, “We want you to be in this film!’ I said, “Who are you?” [Laughs] “Pixar!” “Pixar? I’ll do it!” And then they said it was about Scotland and I was like, brilliant! So it was a double-whammy for me, because just to be asked to be involved with Pixar is a big badge of honor. Then for the film to be about a place that I really love, was brilliant. So I didn’t even think about it for a second. At this point it’s interesting to hear the projects that different folks recognize you from – you’ve done notable television and film work, but many people also recognize your voice from your video game work. Oh yeah, from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare ! It’s huge, that game. It’s absolutely massive. And I didn’t realize how big video games are until I did them. Did the Brave call come before or after your gaming voice work? It was during, actually. I’ve been doing the Brave movie for four years, and I did Modern Warfare 2 and 3 over the course of two years. So it was all around the same time. Which of your works do you think inspired the Pixar folks to call you up for Brave ? I don’t know! They just said, “We think you’re a really good actor and we’ve been a fan of your stuff.” I think a lot of people at Pixar were very into Rome , on HBO. It was a great show. So I think that was the thing that made them go, “We’re interested…” I know that Andrew Stanton was very interested in me for John Carter , which I couldn’t do because of Grey’s Anatomy , so I think my name was around there. Which role was it, in John Carter ? I can’t remember! Did you go as far as to actually converse with Stanton about the film? We got close to meeting, and then the studio just said, “No, we can’t release him from Grey’s , so don’t even bother.” It was a shame. It’s been interesting to follow your career all these years – the first time I saw you was in Trainspotting . Yes. That was a long time ago… At what point do you feel like you really broke through? I think there were a couple of points, really. I think it was Rome that was the thing, because I had quite a lot of lean years after Trainspotting . I did a lot of cool work but very low budget and very indie stuff. I think it was Rome that was that game changer for me. That was also just about the time that cable television was emerging as this fantastic medium for storytelling, and look at it now. Yes – this force! I’m still so proud to have been a part of that show, and I miss that show. I’m so happy to be on Grey’s , but there was something about Rome – it was this real boy’s own show, it was about all these male relationships and these strong female characters, and it was really just an amazing show to shoot. Grey’s Anatomy in itself is quite a touchstone – isn’t landing that show a sign that you’ve made it? It’s kind of cool – I’m still pinching myself that I’m on that show. I was also fond of Journeyman … I loved that show, and I miss that show. I saw Kevin Falls, the creator, yesterday – he was playing golf with his son and I was behind him. We were reminiscing, it was great! We’re still good friends. That was a brilliantly written show, Journeyman – it just didn’t get the traction it needed. It’s hard these days in the business world, in the TV world. A TV show has to be a massive hit straight away, so it was unfortunate that it didn’t last. We sat through the writer’s strike and then we thought, “Shit, we’re going to have to just leave, and go back to the U.K.” – and then Shonda Rhimes called me. She said, “We want you for this show.” You and your family were ready to go back? Yeah, we were going to go, and Shonda said, “I want you to play this guy, Owen Hunt.” I knew Grey’s was a hit, but I didn’t know much about it. But it’s been a blast ever since, and I feel very, very fortunate, to be honest. Because I’m just this guy from a village in the highlands of Scotland, you know? Well, going back to your roots – you play not one, but two characters in Brave . The resemblance is stunning, by the way. [Laughs] Oh, thank you! I like the hairdos. You play Lord MacGuffin and his son, two very different characters in the periphery of Merida’s kingdom. It’s interesting to see how the vocal performances come through, because some of the dialogue is so minimal. But the younger MacGuffin has a very particular accent… He does! It’s kind of a great joke, to give him an accent so thick nobody can understand him – even other Scottish characters in the film. It works pretty well. They wanted the young MacGuffin to be completely not understandable, and they were asking my advice on how they should do it. I said, “The one thing I can suggest is, there’s a dialect from the home area that I’m from which is called the Doric, and it’s a very thick, almost Norwegian dialect that most people, even in Scotland, can’t understand.” Can you understand it? I can understand it because I grew up with it, my grandfather spoke it. But a lot of people familiar with that area can’t understand it. So I did some for them and showed them a few YouTube clips and they were like, “Oh my god, that’s amazing! That isn’t made up?” I said, “No, it’s real!” So I feel pretty stoked that I managed to get this crazy dialect from my home area into a massive Disney film. I love that – not to mention the fact that the character is so cute. He’s very cute. Well, he’s this shy boy, very big-boned – he’s shy like I was. I kind of channeled myself as a ten-year-old boy, because I was a painfully shy child. When did that change for you? Probably about age 14, because then I started acting and that was the thing that drew me out of myself. The themes that resonate strongly in Brave , aside from the fact that this is the rare female heroine who doesn’t need a love interest and gets to fight her own battles, involve the relationship between parent and child, and the idea of teenagers forging their own path in life. Do you feel that you relate to that sentiment yourself? I relate – I shouldn’t have been an actor. I should have been like a plumber, or something practical. I went to university to study engineering. What changed? I just knew that I wasn’t going to be happy. I could feel it in my gut, I could just feel it. So I made a change. I didn’t tell anybody, but I applied to drama school in addition, and got in, and then told my family that I was going in another direction. People were really cool about it, surprisingly! I think that can be a challenge – I was expecting them to be really not happy. But I think you have to do that sometimes, you have to just follow your gut. There’s no point living unless you’re actually following the path you feel you should be on, you know? Brave is in theaters today. Follow Jen Yamato on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
TNT reboot’s manipulative double-crossers mix business and pleasure. By Kara Warner Jesse Metcalfe, Julie Gonzalo, Josh Henderson and Jordana Brewster on “Dallas” Photo: Hoo boy! How about these wheelin’, dealin’ and totally deceiving folks on “Dallas”? If Wednesday night’s new episode taught us anything, it’s that too many people in and around Southfork are a bunch of manipulative double-crossers. We’ve already touched on the TNT reboot’s new blood and the lingering questions we had after the first episode, so now it’s time to tackle episode two’s talking points: Elena Still Loves Christopher The last we heard about Christopher and Elena’s broken engagement was that it happened because of an email. Well, in this episode, we learn all about that email and that neither Christopher nor John Ross are responsible for sending it — or so they claim. The most emotionally charged revelation that comes from Elena’s frank discussion with John Ross about the subject is that she is still in love with Christopher. Not that she confesses her feelings outright, but it’s written all over her face when John Ross asks her if the only reason she got together with him in the first place was because of her heartbreak over Christopher. John Ross and J.R.: Wolves in Wolfskin Coats One minute, we see John Ross all worked up and emotional in learning Elena’s true feelings, and the next, he is getting all hot and heavy with alleged business partner/fellow Bobby Ewing conspirator Marta del Sol. Not to mention the dirty dealings and bribery he’s orchestrating with lawyer Mitch Lobell. And then there’s the patriarch, J.R. himself, who plays up his recent hospitalization for sympathy and pretends to have genuine feelings for his brother Bobby and ex-wife Sue Ellen. That old adage about not trusting a man as far as you can throw him is certainly apt with regard to John Ross and J.R. Ewing. Sheesh. Mixing Business With Pleasure Clearly, no one is concerned with the ramifications of mixing business and pleasure in this town. There’s the very obvious kind, as demonstrated by the hanky panky between John Ross and Marta, along with the subconscious kind, as exhibited by the professional agreement orchestrated by Christopher and Elena. Both practices will likely end in a bad way. We’ve already seen several levels of shady behavior from Marta, and can expect to see a sex tape/blackmail scandal somewhere in the very near future. And despite the innocent nature of Christopher and Elena’s partnership, their unfinished business will most definitely come to a head in an adulterous manner. Rebecca: A Good Girl Gone Bad? Well, well, well — it appears that the new Mrs. Christopher Ewing is not at all the innocent doting wife she appears to be and has a hidden agenda. Thanks to a heated conversation between the newlywed and her brother Tommy — who may or may not be her actual blood relative given the twists and turns we’ve already seen in this show — we now know that she and Tommy have been working on getting close to the Ewings and Southfork for two years, a plot that snake in the grass-esque Tommy refers to as a “job.” So, what kind of job are they doing? Our guess is trying to pull a con or coup of some sort. Will the Real Marta Del Sol Please Stand Up? Actually, we don’t need the real Marta to stand up, because we meet her in the final minutes of the episode! What a fun twist for us — and J.R.! Because he took the initiative to discuss the sale of Southfork to the del Sol conservancy with Mr. Carlos del Sol himself in Mexico, J.R. is presented with an unpleasant surprise: The real Marta del Sol lives with her father in Mexico, and he and his son have been dealing with a cunning and stealth imposter. Share your thoughts on the second episode of “Dallas” in the comments below!
‘There were times when what was going on in my personal life was so overwhelming,’ Perry says in a new interview. By Gil Kaufman Katy Perry on the cover of Hollywood Reporter Photo: Katy Perry has been mum on the details of her divorce from Russell Brand. But in a new cover story in the Hollywood Reporter Perry gives a peek into the difficulty she faced in the split, as well as her plans to launch her own record label. ‘There were times when what was going on in my personal life was so overwhelming that I had to bend over to let those tears fall straight out of my eyes and not my false lashes just as I’m about to go up on that ramp and sing ‘Teenage Dream,'” she said. Speaking in advance of the release of her 3D concert documentary, “Katy Perry: Part of Me,” the 27-year-old pop singer said it’s impossible for anyone else to know what went on inside her brief marriage to the British comedian. “Nobody knows what really happened except the two people who are in it.” Part of her vision for the movie was to document her relationship with Brand as it crumbled just as her career was launching into the stratosphere with a record-breaking string of hit singles from Teenage Dream . That kind of honesty was in keeping with her heart-on-sleeve method of writing songs and she said, “Honesty has always worked for me … so if it ain’t broke, why f—ing fix it?” After putting up $2 million of her own money to make “Part of Me” a reality, Perry and her team are expecting the movie to have an opening to rival Justin Bieber’s “Never Say Never” $30 million first weekend. First, though, she had to convince her nervous business manager that it was worth dropping the cash to film her November 2011 concert at Los Angeles’ Staples Center in 3D. “I was like, ‘Please trust me,'” she said she told him. “That’s kind of been the mantra I’ve said to everyone my whole life: ‘Trust me, I have a vision.'” That same vision came into play in the recently released video for “Wide Awake,” which Perry wrote for the film and which ends with a shot of her triumphantly ascending to the stage during her smash California Dreams Tour. Regardless of how the movie does, the relentlessly drive Perry has other business ventures in mind, including launching her own record imprint. Her as-yet-unnamed label will help give struggling artists a hand up in the same way that some music industry folks took a chance on Perry early on. “When it does come to fruition, I’m going to try and avoid the things that take away any fighting chance for an artist to have financial success,” she said. “As people are coming to me with opportunities, I’m thinking, ‘How would I want to be treated?'” Check out everything we’ve got on “Katy Perry: Part of Me.” Related Artists Katy Perry
On ‘Bieber Live,’ pop star will perform and chat with MTV News’ Sway Calloway at 7:30 p.m. ET/PT on MTV. By Jocelyn Vena Justin Bieber Photo: Justin Bieber will drop his highly anticipated brand-new album Believe on Tuesday, and he’s hooking up with MTV to celebrate the big release. The pop sensation will catch up with MTV News the day the album drops for the 30-minute special “Bieber Live.” Bieber will sit down with MTV News’ Sway Calloway — not to mention 100 fans who will be in the studio and get treated to performances of his new songs “Boyfriend” and “Die in Your Arms.” It’ll all go down at 7:30 p.m. ET/PT on MTV. As if that weren’t enough pop awesomeness for you, immediately following all the Bieber antics, Katy Perry ‘s new music video for “Wide Awake” will have its world premiere at 7:53 p.m. ET/PT. She’ll also be sitting down with Sway during “MTV First: Katy Perry” to chat about the video and her 3-D movie, “Katy Perry: Part of Me.” During “Bieber Live,” in addition to chilling with Sway and performing, the singer will also answer fan questions in studio and via Twitter (tweet @MTVNews with the hashtag #AskBieber). Bieber’s MTV visit Tuesday is just the latest on his worldwide promotional schedule for his album release. He’s already caused a stir in Norway, Paris and Mexico City, among other stops, as he spreads the gospel of Believe. He’s set to go on an official Believe Tour this September, and the jaunt is already sold-out. For Believe, Bieber hooked up with a number of A-listers, including Drake, Big Sean, Ludacris and Nicki Minaj. On the production end, he also got some of the finest in the business, including Max Martin, Rodney Jerkins and even ’90s ballad master Babyface. He’ll talk all about it Tuesday during MTV’s “Bieber Live.” Don’t miss “Bieber Live” on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. ET/PT on MTV, followed by “MTV First: Katy Perry” at 7:53 p.m., when Katy will debut her “Wide Awake” music video.
NYPD confirm they were called to scene of a fight at W.I.P. but no arrests were made. By Rebecca Thomas Drake and Chris Brown Photo: Rappers stay schemin’. And if the reports are to be believed, R&B singers do too. After hitting up the Maybach Music Group listening party in the Bronx, Young Money rapper Drake headed to New York’s SoHo, where his camp reportedly got into an altercation with Chris Brown’s crew on Wednesday night. According to TMZ , the NYPD has confirmed that Drizzy and Breezy got into a fight at W.I.P. nightclub, where bottles were allegedly thrown. A photo posted to Brown’s Instagram showing the singer sporting a bloody gash on his chin quickly made the rounds on Thursday (June 14). But Breezy’s timeline had been sanitized entirely at press time. Drake and Brown have been the subject of rumors, particularly in recent months, as buzz built that the two were fighting over Rihanna. Brown’s long-term relationship with the Bajan singer imploded after he assaulted her in 2009, but they continued to be linked to each other. Drake has spoken in song about his own fleeting romantic encounter with Rihanna; the pair were spotted out together during Memorial Day weekend in Miami. Five people were injured in last night’s brawl, before the New York City Police Department were called in the early morning hours, around 4 a.m. TMZ reported that Brown and Drake were not at the club when police arrived; no arrests were made. Related Artists Chris Brown Drake
Scooter Braun opens up about the star’s maturing process with Billboard. By Jocelyn Vena Justin Bieber in his “Boyfriend” music video Photo: Justin Bieber is definitely making a more mature musical statement on his June 19 release, Believe . However, his manager notes that just because the 18-year-old sounds older, doesn’t mean that the baby bird is ready to leave the nest just yet. “Adult artist? Just because he’s legal now doesn’t mean he’s an adult,” his manager, Scooter Braun, told Billboard about the growing pop star. “He still needs guidance; he’s still finding his way. He’s no longer a boy, but he’s definitely not yet a man.” During the interview, Braun also notes that Bieber has more pressure on him than pop stars before as he has come up in the digital age. He added that he’s essentially a one-man boy band who can’t rely on the support of other group members. “No one in the history of the world has ever grown up with the pressure that he has, being a solo artist that young, that famous, in a world with technology that exposes us 24/7,” Braun adds. “He was literally going through puberty in front of the entire world, with everyone expecting something from him and a lot people waiting for him to screw up. He’s a fighter. I’m proud of him — how’s he’s stayed true to himself and taken control of the entire situation.” The singer himself recently opened up about his public image and how he always feels guarded in interviews. “I mean, I keep my guard up a lot, because you know, you can’t trust anyone in this business,” Bieber told the June issue of GQ. “That’s what’s sad. You can’t trust anybody. I learned the hard way.” And given his busy promotional schedule, Bieber will have a lot more interviews to give in the coming weeks. He is traveling the globe promoting the release. He’s already made stops in Oslo, Norway , Paris and Mexico City , among others, and this week touches down in New York City where he will appear on the “Today” show. Related Videos MTV First: Justin Bieber Related Artists Justin Bieber
Didn’t Alessandra Ambrosio just have a kid like a month ago? How do these women do it? All I hear from my married friends is that their wives just can’t lose the baby weight, that doesn’t seem to be a problem for supermodels. I guess when your business depends on your body and all you normally eat in a day are a couple of protein shakes and some almonds, it doesn’t take much to bounce back. I don’t care what she did, I’m just glad she’s back and better than ever. Better because her boobs are bigger… Obviously.
It seems that every time I see Salma Hayek , her breasts keep getting bigger. Is it my imagination? I’m not complaining, she’s always had some of the best breasts in the business so if they happen to be getting larger I’m all for it. Here she is on the set of something, showing off not only a substantial amount of cleavage, but a pretty nice little spandex booty shot. That’s a two for one special I’d be willing to pay for.
It seems that every time I see Salma Hayek , her breasts keep getting bigger. Is it my imagination? I’m not complaining, she’s always had some of the best breasts in the business so if they happen to be getting larger I’m all for it. Here she is on the set of something, showing off not only a substantial amount of cleavage, but a pretty nice little spandex booty shot. That’s a two for one special I’d be willing to pay for.
