Alex Pettyfer and Cody Horn play brother and sister in Magic Mike. When we met up with the two at a recent press day in LA, the sibling-like bond was apparent as they joked about stealing each other's lines. They also revealed how they collaborated on their characters' back stories. Alex explained what scared him about this project, and Cody touched on what scenes she really wanted to be on set to see. Check out our review of Magic Mike, which is in cinemas today.
I wish I could say that I wanted to see Magic Mike because I was hoping the Steven Soderbergh film would show me the serious side of male stripping, that I wanted the venerable director of films like Erin Brockovich and Traffic to show me how very challenging it is to make exotic dancing a career. But who are we kidding? I wanted to see Magic Mike for its simple hook: a cast of very good-looking men in minimal clothing. Channing Tatum, Joe Manganiello and Matthew McConaughey play Tampa's hottest strippers, and they take it all off while exposing us to their lifestyle and integrating a new dancer, played by Alex Pettyfer. The movie is a lot of scandalous fun — but only when the guys are on stage.
We're introduced to the world of male stripping through Mike (Tatum), and though "Magic Mike" (as he's known on stage) is a star at the club Xquisite, he has bigger aspirations than shaking his moneymaker. He wants to start a furniture business, and he has a heart under all those muscles, which we see via two new relationships: a friendship with Adam (Pettyfer) and a flirtation with Adam's sister, Brooke (Cody Horn). Adam loves Xquisite's spotlight a bit too much, and he soon develops a few bad habits, but Soderbergh's attempt to show us the seedy side of the dancing life is undeveloped and uneven. The dark undertones of the plot feel out of place and, worse, boring, especially compared to the movie's jaw-dropping stripping scenes. To find out what else I thought, just keep reading.
The cast of Magic Mike — perhaps better known as that movie about male strippers — is an impressive bunch. Matthew McConaughey, Joe Manganiello and Matthew Bomer join Channing Tatum and Alex Pettyfer as an all-male revue. Though Tatum is the only one who's opened up about having a stripping past, we already know the rest of the guys are up for the challenge of taking it all off. Don't believe us? Check out the shirtless pasts of Magic Mike's strippin' guys.
The hot stars of Magic Mike may spend a lot of time in various states of undress in their roles as strippers in the film (out July 26), but for today's LA premiere they suited up and stayed clothed. Channing Tatum, Matthew McConaughey, Matt Bomer, Alex Pettyfer and Joe Manganiello hit the mostly-male red carpet with some of their significant others (Channing and Matthew’s respective wives Jenna Dewan and Camila Alves) and female co-stars (Cody Horn and Olivia Munn). Over the weekend they sat down for press junkets with media in LA, where one of the funny topics was the tiny amount of clothing they had to wear for certain scenes. Matthew said, “It’s a huge leap of faith to trust a thong. It’s your only protection up on stage. When I first tried it on, my body contorted. And I tried to get myself into every position to see what angles I was covered.” He also added that in one particular scene he lost his G-string due to over-enthusiastic female extras.
Ashley Greene wore a black strapless outfit to host the 2012 Young Hollywood Awards at the Hollywood Athletic Club in LA today. The Twilight actress was also among the winners as she was honoured with the female superstar of tomorrow award. Heaps of up-and-coming stars were among the guests and winners, including Modern Family’s Rico Rodriguez and Nolan Gould, who were presented with the male scene stealers award by their co-star Ed O’Neill. Aussie Callan McAuliffe was also in attendance — he’ll next be seen in The Great Gatsby as the younger version of the titular character. Hailee Steinfeld, Magic Mike stars Alex Pettyfer and Cody Horn, and Sophia Bush were also among the talented crowd.
Stop what you're doing! Warner Brothers has released a hot new batch of Magic Mike stills. We've been lusting since the trailer dropped, and now we have plenty of pics to hang up around our desks until the July 26 release date. Check out all the shirtless goodness of Channing Tatum, Matthew McConaughey, Matt Bomer, Alex Pettyfer and more!
Photos courtesy of Warner Bros.
Teresa Palmer showed that she’s much more than a pretty face when she got into bad girl mode for I Am Number Four earlier this year. She stole the scenes she was in with her turn as tough chick Number Six, another alien who tracks down John Smith (Alex Pettyfer) in the hope of joining forces. On the eve of I Am Number Four’s DVD release, we’ve got a look at the filming of Teresa’s powerful entrance in the movie and how she trained for the action-filled role, which is featured on the DVD and Blu-ray editions. The actress also talks about what she loves about her character and what her experience of being an Aussie in Hollywood is like.
On why Number Six is a role model: “I think she’s sassy and she’s enchanting and tough, and she really is a force to be reckoned with. I think there’s something refreshing about seeing a strong female character on screen that doesn’t need to be saved by a man. She can save herself and I like that; it’s almost like the roles have been switched in this movie. I’m proud of her and I think she definitely is a role model to younger girls. I hope they look up to her.”
Alex Pettyfer and Teresa Palmer kept things casual for the Madrid photo call of I Am Number Four yesterday. They were also joined by their director, D.J. Caruso, and have teamed up multiple times to promote their sci-fi action flick. Their co-star (and Alex’s ex-girlfriend) Dianna Agron skipped out on the London and Spain events but hit the red carpet with her castmates at the big LA premiere. Teresa’s also doing double duty with her movie promotion for Take Me Home Tonight and premiered the flick two weeks ago. Don’t forget to check out our video interviews with the cast!
