Directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller made names for themselves with their feature debut, the animated Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs , before moving on to direct Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill in the live-action hit 21 Jump Street . As they work up their next film — WB’s live-action/CG blend LEGO adaptation, apparently titled Lego: The Piece of Resistance , based on the plastic toy building blocks — the duo are casting a few familiar superheroes to appear in the pic. Variety reports that Lord and Miller have tapped Will Arnett to voice LEGO Batman in the adventure, with the hope that Tatum can find room in his schedule to come on as LEGO Superman. They’d be joining Parks and Recreation ‘s Chris Pratt , who leads the pic after recent turns in Moneyball , What’s Your Number , and The Five-Year Engagement . Pratt and Tatum also co-star in the indie high school reunion drama Ten Year , which is slated for release through Anchor Bay, while Tatum of course starred in 21 Jump Street for Lord and Miller, with hilarious results. The synopsis, via Variety: “Pratt will play Emmet, an ordinary, law-abiding, Lego mini-figure who is mistaken for the most extraordinary MasterBuilder. He’s drafted into a fellowship of strangers on a quest to stop an evil tyrant from gluing the universe together.” Of course, there’s no indication of just how big the parts of LEGO Batman and Superman will be in the film, but the cheeky, geeky move should get DC/LEGO fans excited nonetheless. The parts are all falling into place… [ Variety ]
‘When I actually danced, I did a Boy Scout outfit, and I thought it was the lamest thing ever,’ Channing Tatum tells MTV News. By Kara Warner Channing Tatum in “Magic Mike” Photo: If you’re not yet familiar with the year’s sexiest movie about male strippers, “Magic Mike,” then you’ve been deliberately avoiding the very fun subject. The R-rated film is loosely based on star Channing Tatum’s stripper past, directed by Oscar winner Steven Soderbergh, and features a very attractive ensemble cast. When MTV News caught up with Tatum and co-star Matthew McConaughey recently, we asked them to reveal which parts of their characters’ stripper attire proved most cumbersome during filming. “You were always in comfy, comfy stuff,” McConaughey pointed out about Tatum’s wardrobe. “Yeah, but that was sort of my own thing when I actually did it, because when I actually danced, I did a Boy Scout outfit, and I thought it was the lamest thing ever,” Tatum recalled. “And I did a clown thing. But my favorite thing I did [was a dance to an] Usher [song] , and I was just like, ‘No I’m going to pick the song that I like. I’m going to dress like the song should be dressed for,’ and that was it. I wanted to be normal; I didn’t want to do the kinda iconic stripper things.” “It’s a great wardrobe, isn’t it?” McConaughey continued, speaking of the cast’s various glittery outfits, thongs and tight booty shorts. “I loved getting the wardrobe together.” “The tassels were my favorite,” Tatum said of a specific detail on one of McConaughey’s thongs. “The tassels, yes a lot of talk, but a lot of work, a lot of hours went into the tassels on Dallas’ thong,” he recalled with a smile. “The length of the tassel, the thickness of the tassel, what does it reveal, what does it not.” “It had to be perfect,” Tatum said. All this happy talk about their tiny outfits prompted us to ask whether they kept any of the creative costumes. “I kept all of my stuff,” McConaughey said without missing a beat. “All of it,” Tatum agreed. “Come on, we’ve got wives now.” 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 MTV Rough Cut: ‘Magic Mike’ Related Photos ‘Magic Mike’
‘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’
‘We just need him to be this guy for us right now, because I need that music in my car,’ Dream tells MTV News of Push’s album. By Nadeska Alexis with reporting by Rahman Dukes The-Dream and Pusha T Photo: MTV News Pusha T is still surprised that his opportunity to drop a solo album came around so quickly. But since he has the chance, the Clipse rapper and G.O.O.D. Music signee has immersed himself in a new learning experience with Kanye West and The-Dream, one he’s confident will result in a classic LP. Between the mad genius that is Kanye and the R&B storyteller that is The-Dream, Pusha might’ve just hit the production jackpot. “I’ve learned so much about song structure from Dream and I’ve learned so much from ‘Ye about finding the most colorful parts of your rhymes, editing it down and making sure, like, all the best parts of the rhyme are right in your face,” he told MTV News during a studio session with Mr. Terius Nash in Atlanta. “I’ve just totally taken this [attitude of] sitting back and absorbing everything they say.” After just a few sessions with Dream, Pusha said he has learned to accept the creative criticism as a tool to push further. “Sometimes [a track is] wrong. Sometimes it’s over-rapped and [The-Dream] will tell you, ‘Nah, stay right here. Stay within these lines, in these perimeters right here.’ This sh– is school, man; it’s real live school to me.” What might be school for Pusha, however, is just another spiritual experience for The-Dream, who’s infamous for crafting engrossing narrative across his projects. “It’s [being] spiritual about it and I think it’s just a timing thing,” The-Dream explained of how he builds the perfect songs. “It has a lot to do with what we want to hear, so it wasn’t [like I wouldn’t] allow Pusha to get off on rapping. We just need [him] to be this guy for us right now, because I need that music in my car. I’m R&B, but I grew up on Bankhead and I was riding around with UGK in my car, so I know what that real sh– is. I know how it makes you feel like a superhero.” “I want to feel like I’m literally beating my chest out the car,” he added. “You look over in my car — I’m mean-mugging you, you mean-mugging me, and I got Pusha in my deck. That’s how I want to feel. And so I was just providing that feeling, I just wanted to capture it in each song. We need [him] to say this because [he’s] talented enough to do it.” Thus far, we know that a few titles on the album will tentatively include “40 Acres” and “Automatic.” But Pusha, who recently dropped the fiery “Exodus 23:1,” is sure that the entire project will be cohesive and, of course, classic. “At the end of the day, we’re trying to make classic material,” he said. “Everybody who’s here is tuned into this project — period. It’s about being cohesive, and cohesive musicality is just not happening right now.” Since Pusha and The-Dream are hitting it off so well on this album, we asked if we might expect any future collaborations? “Man, I called him about the next album, already,” Pusha said without hesitation. And to that, The-Dream said with a laugh, “We will grow old together.” Are you excited for Pusha’s solo album? Tell us in the comments! Related Artists Pusha T The-Dream
‘Magic Mike’ stars debut exclusive clip, talk about getting ‘butt naked’ during MTV Movie Awards Sneak Peek Week. By Amy Wilkinson, with reporting by Josh Horowitz Channing Tatum in “Magic Mike” Photo: Warner Bros. UNIVERSAL CITY, California — Moviegoers are seeing a lot of Channing Tatum in 2012, thanks to a trio of starring film roles, but they’ll see a whole new side of the actor when his upcoming stripper flick ” Magic Mike ” debuts June 29. And, yes, we are talking about his backside. Tatum, along with co-star Matthew McConaughey and producer-screenwriter Reid Carolin, took to the Universal Studios CityWalk stage Thursday night to debut an exclusive clip from the Steven Soderbergh-directed film and talk about taking it all off during our Sneak Peek Week festivities leading up to the MTV Movie Awards this Sunday, June 3. Both actors are clearly comfortable taking their shirts off. In fact, MTV News’ Josh Horowitz administered a shirtless guessing game to the pair — which they both aced, by the way (watch in the embedded video). Therefore, taking the next logical step and shimmying in a thong wasn’t too difficult, both agreed, though it did require ample preparation. “I think pre-movie is pretty intense because to get butt naked, you have to — there’s a different regimen for getting butt naked, but thank god, it was a short shoot,” Tatum said with a sly grin. “Then we just had fun on the day.” One could hardly blame Tatum or any of his fellow stripping stars for having reservations once the cameras began rolling, but the actor assured us that the entire cast, including Alex Pettyfer, Joe Manganiello and Matt Bomer, were total pros. “These guys have never stripped before, and I remember the first day of rehearsals,” Tatum recalled, “I looked at all the guys, and we went through our stuff, and I was like, ‘All right. It’s time to get naked, boys.’ And it was hilarious that none of them really balked.” Head over to MovieAwards.MTV.com to vote for your favorite flicks now! The 21st annual MTV Movie Awards air live this Sunday, June 3, at 9 p.m. ET. Related Videos Movie Awards Sneak Peek Week: ‘Magic Mike’
‘Snow White and the Huntsman’ star says she learned to speak French during shooting for ‘On the Road’ in our exclusive Sneak Peek Week chat. By John Mitchell, with reporting by Josh Horowitz Kristen Stewart Photo: MTV News Kristen Stewart helped MTV News kick off our Sneak Peek Week in style when she and “Snow White and the Huntsman” co-star Sam Claflin joined our own Josh Horowitz for a fun-filled chat Tuesday night, during which she revealed that not only is she learning French, she’s also recently given up a very bad habit. The “Twilight” starlet decided to learn the foreign language while filming the much-anticipated adaptation of Jack Kerouac’s beat generation classic “On the Road,” which just premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. “On ‘On the Road,’ everyone spoke French. We were primarily in Montreal,” Stewart told MTV News. “I spent so much time … and I was just, like, feeling so pathetic. Not only is it a very dope language, it’s more like I really want to be able to talk to a few people so badly.” And while her coolness has never been in question, the busy actress apparently felt a little insecure about her cred while trekking around Paris unable to speak the language. “When I’m in Paris, I feel like I could be so much [cooler]. I’m like, ‘Wow, I could be so cool.’ So that’s the main inspiration,” she said. When chastised about one Parisian habit she adopted a while back, smoking cigarettes, Stewart was quick to reveal that she has apparently given it up — though she didn’t want to talk too much about her health-conscious move for fear of jinxing herself. “You can’t acknowledge it or else suddenly … you can’t think about it,” the slightly rattled actress confessed amid a loud round of applause for her achievement. Stewart will take the stage with her “Huntsman” co-stars Charlize Theron and Chris Hemsworth as presenters at the 2012 MTV Movie Awards on Sunday. “Huntsman,” which hits theaters Friday, kicked off our MTV Sneak Peek Week, which will also include exclusive peeks at some of the summer’s hottest films, from “That’s My Boy” (Wednesday) and “Magic Mike” (Thursday) to “Rock of Ages” (Friday), as well as nightly chats with their casts live from the 5 Towers on Universal CityWalk. Tune in to MTV at 11 p.m. ET each night as the casts introduce an exclusive clip from their movies, and join us at MTV.com for a live Q&A with the actors. You can also join the conversation yourself on Twitter using the hashtag #MTVSneak. Stewart is also, once again, a contender for the golden popcorn for Best Kiss for her smooch with Robert Pattinson in “Breaking Dawn – Part 1.” The Russell Brand-hosted show is set to feature performances by Fun., Wiz Khalifa, the Black Keys and house DJ Martin Solveig. Head over to MovieAwards.MTV.com to vote for your favorite flicks now! The 21st annual MTV Movie Awards air live this Sunday, June 3, at 9 p.m. ET. Related Photos ‘On The Road’
Actor introduces exclusive ‘Magic Mike’ clip during Movie Awards Sneak Peek Week at 11 p.m. ET on MTV. By Fallon Prinzivalli Channing Tatum in “Magic Mike” Photo: Warner Bros Sneak Peek Week kicked off strong with Kristen Stewart and Sam Claflin bringing you an exclusive look at “Snow White and the Huntsman” on Tuesday. On Wednesday, the cast of “That’s My Boy,” including Andy Samberg, Will Forte and Vanilla Ice, kept everyone laughing with a sneak peek at their R-rated comedy . And the first looks continue as Channing Tatum hits Universal’s CityWalk to bring us “Magic Mike” on Thursday (May 31). The film is loosely based on Tatum’s time as a stripper. He plays an exotic dancer named Mike who takes newbie performer the Kid (Alex Pettyfer) under his wing to teach him the ways of partying, women and money. Watch as Tatum reveals it all live on MTV at 11 p.m. ET, and log on to MTV.com immediately after to catch a Q&A with the actor. As if the film’s plot isn’t enough to get you to tune in, here are five reasons to check it out! Never-Before-Seen Clip Who doesn’t love exclusives? With a steamy hot trailer satiating our thirst for a glimpse at the actors taking it all off, aren’t you ready to see a scene from the movie — possibly a full strip tease or maybe a closer look at the Kid? We certainly are! Grab your dollar bills, your favorite late-night snack and get ready to be entertained. Your Burning Questions Answered If you haven’t been tweeting @ MTVNews your questions with the hashtag #MTVSneak, hop to it! Immediately following the exclusive clip, our very own Josh Horowitz will be sitting down with Tatum to ask him your Twitter questions! Spill everything you’re dying to know — in 140 characters or less — and maybe the hunky actor will be answering you live on MTV.com! Juicy Movie Details During that same Q&A session, we’ll have some questions of our own for Tatum while the actor’s in the hot, hot, hot seat. We were able to get Stewart and Claflin to revisit “Fifty Shades of Grey” and garnered details from “That’s My Boy” star Milo Ventimiglia regarding Taylor Lautner’s role in “Grown Ups 2.” You never know what our persuasive power will get Tatum to spill — maybe some “G.I. Joe” news? You’ll have to watch to find out! A Hilariously Good Time If you haven’t noticed, we like to have fun with celebrities who visit MTV headquarters. Last night we took the liberty of mashing up the faces of the actors in “That’s My Boy” to see what their children would look like. (Horowitz and Ventimiglia made a surprisingly attractive child.) With Tatum revealing his knack for comedy in “21 Jump Street” — his talent proven by the film’s ability to nab six Movie Award nominations — our time with the actor will be nothing short of entertaining. Channing Tatum + Stripper Movie = Impromptu Dance Party? Hey, it’s MTV Movie Awards week. We’re known for having some seriously outrageous moments and Tatum just so happens to be known for — aside from being an incredibly successful actor — his impressive dancing skill. So who knows, maybe Horowitz will get a lap dance. Anything can happen. Don’t miss it! Head over to MovieAwards.MTV.com to vote for your favorite flicks now! The 21st annual MTV Movie Awards air live this Sunday, June 3, at 9 p.m. ET. Related Photos ‘Magic Mike’ Trailer: Five Key Scenes
Actor introduces exclusive ‘Magic Mike’ clip during Movie Awards Sneak Peek Week at 11 p.m. ET on MTV. By Fallon Prinzivalli Channing Tatum in “Magic Mike” Photo: Warner Bros Sneak Peek Week kicked off strong with Kristen Stewart and Sam Claflin bringing you an exclusive look at “Snow White and the Huntsman” on Tuesday. On Wednesday, the cast of “That’s My Boy,” including Andy Samberg, Will Forte and Vanilla Ice, kept everyone laughing with a sneak peek at their R-rated comedy . And the first looks continue as Channing Tatum hits Universal’s CityWalk to bring us “Magic Mike” on Thursday (May 31). The film is loosely based on Tatum’s time as a stripper. He plays an exotic dancer named Mike who takes newbie performer the Kid (Alex Pettyfer) under his wing to teach him the ways of partying, women and money. Watch as Tatum reveals it all live on MTV at 11 p.m. ET, and log on to MTV.com immediately after to catch a Q&A with the actor. As if the film’s plot isn’t enough to get you to tune in, here are five reasons to check it out! Never-Before-Seen Clip Who doesn’t love exclusives? With a steamy hot trailer satiating our thirst for a glimpse at the actors taking it all off, aren’t you ready to see a scene from the movie — possibly a full strip tease or maybe a closer look at the Kid? We certainly are! Grab your dollar bills, your favorite late-night snack and get ready to be entertained. Your Burning Questions Answered If you haven’t been tweeting @ MTVNews your questions with the hashtag #MTVSneak, hop to it! Immediately following the exclusive clip, our very own Josh Horowitz will be sitting down with Tatum to ask him your Twitter questions! Spill everything you’re dying to know — in 140 characters or less — and maybe the hunky actor will be answering you live on MTV.com! Juicy Movie Details During that same Q&A session, we’ll have some questions of our own for Tatum while the actor’s in the hot, hot, hot seat. We were able to get Stewart and Claflin to revisit “Fifty Shades of Grey” and garnered details from “That’s My Boy” star Milo Ventimiglia regarding Taylor Lautner’s role in “Grown Ups 2.” You never know what our persuasive power will get Tatum to spill — maybe some “G.I. Joe” news? You’ll have to watch to find out! A Hilariously Good Time If you haven’t noticed, we like to have fun with celebrities who visit MTV headquarters. Last night we took the liberty of mashing up the faces of the actors in “That’s My Boy” to see what their children would look like. (Horowitz and Ventimiglia made a surprisingly attractive child.) With Tatum revealing his knack for comedy in “21 Jump Street” — his talent proven by the film’s ability to nab six Movie Award nominations — our time with the actor will be nothing short of entertaining. Channing Tatum + Stripper Movie = Impromptu Dance Party? Hey, it’s MTV Movie Awards week. We’re known for having some seriously outrageous moments and Tatum just so happens to be known for — aside from being an incredibly successful actor — his impressive dancing skill. So who knows, maybe Horowitz will get a lap dance. Anything can happen. Don’t miss it! Head over to MovieAwards.MTV.com to vote for your favorite flicks now! The 21st annual MTV Movie Awards air live this Sunday, June 3, at 9 p.m. ET. Related Photos ‘Magic Mike’ Trailer: Five Key Scenes
We take a closer look at the teaser for Channing Tatum’s upcoming flick. By Amy Wilkinson Channing Tatum in “Magic Mike” Photo: Warner Bros Hide your kids, hide your husband, and stuff your purse full of $1 bills, because the trailer for Channing Tatum’s stripper movie ” Magic Mike ” has shimmied onto the Web! The film stars Tatum as an exotic dancer named — what else? — Magic Mike, who takes an up-and-coming young performer named the Kid (Alex Pettyfer) under his tutelage. But, as strippers are wont to do, Mike is hoping for more from life than body oil and G-strings. He hopes to build furniture! And date the Kid’s sister! You’ll have to pony up $10 come June 29 to find out if his dreams come true, but in the meantime, check out what else your eagle-eyed experts at MTV found noteworthy in the tawdry trailer : Channing Tatum’s Acrobatics Co-star Matt Bomer already warned us about Tatum’s “sick” moves , and of course we’ve seen “Step Up” about 20 times, but it’s easy to forget how adept the Chan-man is on the dance floor, seeing as he’s most frequently cast as an action hero (“G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra,” “Haywire”) or a romantic lead (“Dear John,” “The Vow”). All we have to say is, get this guy into toe shoes more often, Hollywood! Cody Horn Hits the Scene Tatum’s love interest is likely a new face to many a moviegoer. Her name is Cody Horn, and this could be her big, ballsy breakout role. The actress’ r
We strip down the new sneak peek for the best moments of Channing Tatum, Matthew McConaughey and more. By Kara Warner Channing Tatum in “Magic Mike” Photo: Warner Bros. For those of us who’ve been dying to see “Magic Mike” since it was announced, Christmas came early Wednesday (April 18) in the form of the film’s first official trailer . For months we’ve been obsessing over as many details as we could find — from the first official photos to chance encounters with the cast and their hilarious stories of thong mishaps . And now we finally have two minutes of glorious footage to watch over and over again. Here are the five key scenes in the “Magic Mike” trailer: Classic Cop Routine The trailer opens with Channing Tatum and Alex Pettyfer knocking on the door of a party, dressed as local police officers. “We keep getting complaints of noise and underage drinking,” Tatum says in a serious tone to the all-female crowd, before pinning one lady against the wall for further questioning. “Everybody sit down because we’re going to be here for a while.” “You don’t have anything sharp on you that I can stick myself with, do you?” “No,” says the girl, anxiously. “Good, because I do,” Tatum says saucily before we hear the telltale ripping noise that means he’s just expertly exited his uniform. Channing Busts a Move Those of us who’ve been following Tatum’s career since his star-making turn in “Step Up” are well aware that the man has moves, and they are on full display in this trailer. We see Tatum working it with a little boy-band choreography, doing some breakdancing, flipping through the air, spinning from the ceiling, etc. It’s all in the name of putting on a good show and stripping down to his skivvies, which we don’t actually see. “You are the husband they never had,” we hear strip-club owner Dallas (Matthew McConaughey) say to Tatum’s Magic Mike in voice-over. “You are that dreamboat guy that never came along.” McConaughey Being McConaughey We are not at all surprised that McConaughey’s character Dallas looks right at home onstage, putting it all out there for a bunch of ladies. “The law says you cannot touch, but I see a lot of lawbreakers out there,” he says to a squealing crowd, wearing nothing but a cowboy hat, a leather vest and blue jeans, all the while flashing that million-dollar grin of his — not to mention the several quick shots of McConaughey in action as part of the male revue, as well as his own stunt as some kind of fire-breather. Introducing Cody Horn Who knew we’d see so much of the female characters in this first spot? The lady who’s front and center is Cody Horn, an up-and-coming actress whose work you might have seen on “The Office.” Horn is introduced as the girl-next-door/sister to Pettyfer’s character, who falls for Mike and attempts to keep him grounded in reality. There are a lot of cute and flirty moments between Horn and Tatum’s characters, and it’s obvious that Horn’s “normal girl” will be the one to eventually convince “Magic Mike” to hang up his stripper shoes and pursue his dreams of going into custom furniture design. Yup, furniture design. Disappointing Amounts Of Bomer And Manganiello We’re not ones to complain or anything, but because we know exactly how many gorgeous men are in this film’s cast, we expected to see a lot more of them in the trailer. There was a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it shot of “True Blood” heartthrob Joe Manganiello hurting his back mid-tease, but it was entirely too short. And where in the heck was blue-eyed cutie Matt Bomer? We’re hoping they’re holding onto the proverbial goods for unveiling in future teasers. Check out everything we’ve got on “Magic Mike.” For young Hollywood news, fashion and “Twilight” updates around the clock, visit HollywoodCrush.MTV.com . Related Photos ‘Magic Mike’ Trailer: Five Key Scenes
