Tuesdays with movie stars
On Tuesday, Jan. 26, Sony Pictures and AT&T hosted a conference call promoting the upcoming film “Dear John.” Co-stars Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried were up to answer any questions thrown at them. “Dear John” is a romance about a soldier and college student. It’s also about love across great distances. Compared to other Nicholas Sparks works, this film has a little more bite than a normal Sparks movie, according to the two cast members, thought they hope to have done the book justice, but also give a little bit more hope.
The fear that both Seyfried and Tatum have is that this film is a war drama.
“I just really don’t want people thinking this is some war drama,” Tatum said.
“This is a love story between two kids in love for the very first time and it’s that first love that you can’t get right. They’re just trying to learn, trying to figure out life.”
Both Seyfried and Tatum seem extremely connected to this project. They used their current relationships as examples: Seyfried is currently dating her co-star from “Mamma Mia” and Tatum is married.
“I have a lot more—just in general—to relate to [in this film],” Tatum said. “I read the book and there’s a lot of emotion in the film.”
He also mentioned how different it was than preparing for his other films, “GI Joe” and “Step Up.” Tatum was on board from the beginning. He read the book and helped make the entire film come to life by being on the creative side of the project as well. He was present during casting calls for the other characters and it was something that he wanted to be a part of.
Most of the film was set in Charleston. Both actors really loved working in Charleston. For Tatum, it was a big change from his latest work in “GI Joe.”
“There’s not a lot of emotion [in ‘GI Joe’],” Tatum said. “It’s a lot of explosions and stuff, and it was a great change of pace to just get to sit on a beach with somebody and actually look them in the eye and have a real conversation.
Charleston is such a romantic city.”
He goes on to describe the welcoming vibe of the city that they each felt.
Richard Jenkins is another cast member of “Dear John.” He’s a well-versed actor appearing in many films recently including “Step Brothers” and “Burn After Reading.” He was a mentor to both of these younger actors. He re-wrote some of the scenes by doing his character work. Tatum said he owes a whole scene to Jenkins because he’s such a “giving actor.”
“He’s charming and talented,” Seyfried said. “Every scene with him is as real as it gets.”
So, what’s next for these two actors? Seyfried plans on doing more films. She’s done with her larger, Golden Globe winning role on “Big Love” and would like to keep her cameo role on this TV show. Her criterion for future projects is that they are “always something different.” She would also like to do a period film in a time that she “doesn’t understand.”
Tatum is going to be involved in the “GI Joe” sequel, which has taken on new writers, the writers of “Zombieland.” Tatum was offered every war and dance movie on the planet and now, he’d like to be a villain. To really get into the head of the evil seems really exciting to Tatum. While Tatum and Seyfried are moving on to bigger and better things, their new project is looming ahead with “Dear John” opening in theatres everywhere on Feb. 5.
