Amanda Seyfried and Channing Tatum
The romantic drama "Dear John" holds the distinction of being the first film to knock the blockbuster "Avatar" off the top of the weekly U.S. box-office heap, when "Dear John" (released on February 5) debuted at number-one in its first week. Based on the Nicholas Sparks novel of the same title, "Dear John" tells the story of Army soldier John Tyree (played by Channing Tatum) and college student Savannah Curtis (played by Amanda Seyfried) who meet and quickly fall in love while he’s on a break in Charleston, South Carolina.
John and Savannah’s relationship is put to the test when he has to go back to his military duties and he keeps re-enlisting, so they have to keep their long-distance romance alive mainly through letters. Because John is a special-operations soldier, he must often work in secret locations that prevent him from calling or e-mailing Savannnah. The day before "Dear John" opened in U.S. theaters, Tatum and Seyfried paid a visit to Apple’s retail store in New York City’s Soho neighborhood for a public question-and-answer session about the film. Here’s what they had to say when they answered questions from a moderator and members of the audience.
[Says jokingly] How hard was it to work with someone as hideous as Channing Tatum?
Seyfried: [She says jokingly] It was really difficult. No, it’s OK. It happens all the time. Channing is such a playful bunny, and he really is ugly. But listen, we don’t have to …
Humiliate him further?
Seyfried: It’s more about what’s inside. He’s really funny and really smart and really good at acting. You just have to close your eyes sometimes when you’re with him.
Tatum: That was really awkward.
Seyfried: I can’t think of any words right now, because my brain is just shut off.
.jpg)
Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried in "Dear John"
Did you two click immediately?
Seyfried: Yes.
Tatum: Yes. Basically, what happened was she came in, and we just were having lunch, and we all just ended up laughing, I think. I don’t know. It was just one of those easy relationships right off the bat.
Was it as easy for you as it was for him?
Seyfried: Yeah. Easy laughing.
So why did you want to do the "Dear John" movie?
Tatum: Look, obviously, "The Notebook" is unbelievable, "Message in a Bottle," A Walk to Remember" — I’d seen all of those movies, but I hadn’t ever read a [Nicholas Sparks] novel. So they sent me the ["Dear John"] novel, and I just sort of fell in love with John, and I just love a love story that has to do with falling in love for the first time. It’s just a really beautiful story about two kids in the South doing that, and they have no idea what’s coming down the road.
What about you, Amanda? Why did you want to do this movie?
Seyfried: Just Channing. I’d read that he was playing John Tyree, and I read the script, and I was like, "Oh, clearly this is the right choice to go to as an actor, because I would have to pretend to be in love with him." And I thought that would be fine.
Amanda Seyfried and Channing Tatum at Apple's Soho store in New York City, February 2010
Did you have chemistry immediately?
Tatum: Yeah, as much as you can have chemistry.
Seyfried: It was like an easy, trusting relationship right off the bat. It’s easy with him. We both have a really easy sense of humor.
Tatum: Yeah, we had a conversation early in the beginning. She was in a long relationship, and I was engaged [in real life], so we had a lot of safety there. We could explore what it was like to be in a relationship without having that fear of like, "OK, are there going to be any bounds that are going to be crossed?" I pretty much do this to her all the time, and it’ll be fine.
In "Dear John," John and Savannah fall in love almost immediately. Do you think that can happen in real life?
Tatum: Yeah, it happened to me. I definitely think you can fall in love very, very quickly. And then hopefully, that will grow into a deeper love rather than just an initial [attraction].
Amanda Seyfried in "Dear John"
Amanda, what characteristics of yourself do you see in Savannah?
Seyfried: Everything. I was basically playing a version of myself — in a false situation, obviously. As an actor, that’s what I do. I noticed that a lot of young actors tend to play themselves, because that’s mostly the opportunities that they get. Savannah’s honest, and I’m pretty honest. She’s really hopeful, and I like to see myself as very positive.
You have a better sense of humor than Savannah does.
Seyfried: Really? Thanks. You didn’t get to see that side of Savannah. You have to wait until the next movie.
Tatum: "Dear Savannah."
Channing, what inspiration did you draw from to play John?
Tatum: I don’t know. I grew up the South. I know a lot of soldiers. I’m friends with a lot of soldiers. I don’t identify them as soldiers; they’re just my friends — which brought me to a realization about John: He’s just a normal kid. He’s just a normal guy that has an extraordinary job, and he falls in love just like everybody else.
Amanda Seyfried and Channing Tatum at Apple's Soho store in New York City, February 2010
What was it like filming "Dear John" on location in Charleston, South Carolina?
Tatum: I got so fat down there.
Seyfried: He got really fat. He ate three cheeseburgers in one day. I didn’t get it. I didn’t eat three cheeseburgers in one day. I had one … This guy can eat a lot and not gain a pound.
Tatum: That’s not true.
Seyfried: It’s kind of true.
Tatum: Lasse [Hallström, the director of "Dear John"] at one point came to me in the shoot and said, "I can tell in your face that you’re getting a little fat."
Seyfried: He has a way with words, Lasse Hallström, our director.
Tatum: I’m telling you, the barbecue down there is just …
Seyfried: The grits. The Southern food down there is ridiculous.
Tatum: Shrimp and grits. The steak … It’s so good
Do you know how much butter they put in those grits?
Seyfried: It’s butter plus Southern food. Charleston is like the most historic place.
Tatum: Yeah. It’s got a beautiful culture and a lot of different things to do. You can go to the beach, you can go to the country, you can go to the bayou, you can go to the city, you can do the historical district.
Amanda Seyfried, Channing Tatum and Lasse Hallström at the Los Angeles premiere of "Dear John"
"Dear John" has a lot of heavy moments. Did you two have fun when you weren’t working?
Seyfried: The only heavy moments for us were actually only when the camera was rolling. And [Channing Tatum] said this before: "We don’t know how we got this movie finished." The whole crew, the producers, the director, the actors — everybody had fun and hung out when we were on set.
Tatum: And most of all, the director. We’d look over at the video village where the director sits, and he’s looking up YouTube videos just for fun. Like, "What should we look up now?"
Seyfried: On his iPhone.
Tatum: "Let’s look up pink dogs." And then you start looking that up and that turns into a another thing, and then the first AD [assistant director] is the guy who has to run the ship and try to get things done, and we’re over there clowning around. It was a lot of fun.
Seyfried: [Lasse Hallström] is very Swedish.
Are you perfectionists?
Tatum: No. It would depend on the director, really.
Seyfried: No, I’m not a perfectionist … I get really antsy when we keep doing the same scenes over and over, so I’ll pay less and less attention after every take, because I give it all in the first [take].
Amanda Seyfried and Channing Tatum at Apple's Soho store in New York City, February 2010
Did you have any rehearsal time before "Dear John" started filming?
Seyfried: We worked with Lasse, just the three of us, for a while on set. We would visit the house that we would shoot at and sit around for hours — half of the time not even talking about the movie, like discussing ducks and what have you. And then the other half, we’d finally get to work. But we didn’t spend that much time [rehearsing].
Tatum: Lasse is very free. He doesn’t like to go in there and know exactly what you’re doing, because that kind of smothers some really some beautiful accidents that can happen if you go in there and say, "OK, we know exactly how we’re going to do it." He likes to open up for improv and what not a lot.
Seyfried: Yeah, but the back stories [of our "Dear John" characters], we definitely built upon that before we started shooting. That’s always important. You have to know where your character comes from and what you character wants out of this and how your character responds to the other character.
How does it feel to headline a big romantic movie?
Tatum: I don’t know. I think as actors, we really like the characters and we really want to do that well, and we hope the movie does [well]. You can’t predict what the movie’s going to do before you do it. You’ve just got to go in and do as best as you can, and kind of let the result go.
Seyfried: And have as much fun, because sometimes if you’re thinking about the end result, you just lose yourself. And if you’re just concentrating on being constantly in the moment, there aren’t as many expectations. It’s the healthier approach. And we had the most fun. That’s all we can really do. That’s so important.
Tatum: I don’t know how we got anything done.
Seyfried: Seriously.
Channing Tatum in "Dear John"
Channing, your John Tyree character has a serious emotional arc in the movie. Was it written that way or did it evolve to be that way?
Tatum: The character had that in the novel, for the most part. It’s a love story told through the perspective of a male, and so that is probably more of the full arc in the film. We did change a few things to try to make it more accessible to film, but the father/son story [between John and his father] is probably just a strong as the relationship between John and Savannah.
Would you have wanted to be in a long-distance relationship as long as John did?
Tatum: Yeah, for sure. Totally.
It’s fairly common knowledge that Savannah breaks John’s heart in this story. What do you think about that?
Seyfried: [Savannah] has different priorities.
Tatum: It’s justified.
Seyfried: It’s absolutely justified. This movie spans so many years, and it’s kind of confusing at one point about how long they had been letter writing before she … you know.
Amanda Seyfried and Channing Tatum at Apple's Soho store in New York City, February 2010
What are you working on in 2010?
Tatum: I’m about to do a Steven Soderbergh movie ["Knockout"]. He is by far my favorite director. He’s insane. It’s kind of a weird movie. He doesn’t do stereotypical films. I’m just so ecstatic. And then I have a movie coming out later in the year called "The Eagle of the Ninth." It’s a Roman Empire-type, first-century movie.
Seyfried: I don’t know what I’m doing next. Time will tell. I have to promote two movies at the same time. "Chloe," rated X. Not really, but it’s pretty far in the other direction [of "Dear John"]. Also "Letters to Juliet" is a romance as well, but it’s pure fluff. I have to promote them, so I can’t actually work until [I’m done promoting them].
Would you do a sequel to "Mean Girls"?
Seyfried: That would be my dream come true. I’m serious. ["Mean Girls"] — that’s one off the best scripts ever written. I was lucky. Sorry everybody, that [sequel] is not going to happen.
Amanda Seyfried and Richard Jenkins in "Dear John"
Which scene in "Dear John" was your favorite to film?
Tatum: There’s a scene where we kind of play around and …
Seyfried: And I was screaming.
Tatum: We just had a lot of fun. It’s one of the lighter and happier moments in the film.
Seyfried: It’s part of a montage in the beginning when [our characters] are in love. It’s just cute. There’s screaming and then his dad is like freaked out because [John’s] never had a girl around.
What scene in "Dear John" was the most difficult to film?
Tatum: There are two. One, I have a hospital scene with [John’s] father [played by Richard Jenkins], which is kind of nerve-wracking to do, but probably most difficult to know where it should be, level-wise in emotion and where you are with the characters. There’s a scene where [John] comes back and sees [Savannah] for the first time. Getting that right is terrible. It’s kind of nerve-wracking to know that this is it; this is the moment [that] everybody has been waiting for.
Seyfried: As crew, we didn’t really didn’t know how we were going to film it. There was a lot of pressure on the actors to get the subtext.
Tatum: There were two different camps: the director and the way he wanted it, and the producers and writers. Everybody had a different version of what they wanted, which confuses the hell out of the actors. So we were like, "All right, which version are we doing now?"
Channing Tatum and Richard Jenkins in "Dear John"
What’s your advice for aspiring actors?
Seyfried: Keep an open mind.
Tatum: A very, very open mind. Just accept rejection like water off of a duck’s back.
Seyfried: And you have to meet with agencies and talk to acting trainers, because there are a lot of people with a lot of ideas on how to approach [things] … It takes a lot of training and a lot of time. I started when I was 11.
Tatum: And don’t do it if you just want to be famous. You have to really want to do the work. You have to love film and love to act. There’s probably one in a jillion people who just get lucky and fall into it. You get 99.9 percent "nos" and then you get one "yes." And it’s usually not the lead part.
Seyfried: But there are enough parts and enough plays, especially in New York, that everybody can get into it in a way, I think. But we’re really lucky to be sitting here, of course.
Tatum: We won the lottery.
Seyfried: We did win the lottery. Anybody can. I was a girl from Pennsylvania, and I happened to get here. Anything can happen, but you’ve got to work hard. We both kind of lost our voices and can’t hear right and have allergies because we were on seven lanes in six days promoting this movie. We could talk all day about that.
Amanda Seyfried and Channing Tatum at the Los Angeles premiere of "Dear John"
How do you decide which movies to do? Is it instinctual or something else?
Tatum: It changes a lot for me. Most of the time, I’ll just want to be sent the script without wanting to know who’s directing it or who’s involved in it, because it’ll sway my opinion on it. You can have a crap script but an amazing director, and hopefully you know it’s going to be great. Or you can have an amazing script and maybe a not-so-amazing director, and more than likely, it’s not going to be successful.
Seyfried: The script actually pulls me in more than anything. If you can’t get a good director, then it’s not worth it. In my opinion, you’re taking a bit of a risk, which is always good, and you could have an interesting time, but it’s important to always like your character and the material, because you are going to be shooting it for 16 hours a day for two months, probably. You have to really like it. It’s hard to just sign on to something.
Tatum: Yeah, you need a way into the character first. You have to have some connection. "I have to do this. I know that I know this person better than anybody else in Hollywood" — because that’s the only way you’re going to get cast. And then it comes into the director who’s going to make the film.
Channing, have you continued dancing since the "Step Up" movies?
Seyfried: [She says jokingly] He was just dancing in the green room. It’s so weird! You just made up a brand-new move. You should show it.
Tatum: She’s totally kidding. I’ll dance if you sing. [He laughs.]
Channing Tatum, Amanda Seyfried and Nicholas Sparks at a January 2010 "Dear John" event at North Carolina military base Fort Bragg
How was your experience with the military families at Fort Bragg?
Tatum: It was ridiculously special.
Seyfried: Oh my God! They were so appreciative of this movie, because this [long-distance relationships] is what they go through. This is real life for them.
Tatum: And it’s kind of nerve-wracking a little bit, because look, I’m never going to know what it’s like to be a soldier, and [Amanda Seyfried] will probably never know what it’s like to be home while [a loved one] is over there. You just never really know if you got it right. I just hoped to wear the clothes right as a soldier, and to see the response to the movie was really gratifying.
What’s your favorite movie genre or favorite movie that you’ve done?
Seyfried: "Dear John."
Tatum: I’m not just saying this for the press of it all or just because we’re here [to promote "Dear John"]. I didn’t get into this career to make "G.I. Joe" [movies]. Those aren’t spiritually satisfying at all. You just run around shooting stuff and try to not look like an idiot. But ["Dear John"] is something that you really can feel. You do this movie, and whether anyone likes it or not, you’re satisfied, you’re happy.
Seyfried: It’s a love story. It’s meant to inspire, and I think when you’re doing that, it’s a form of therapy for ourselves and for the audience, hopefully. So that’s even more fulfilling. Plus, we really did have so much fun shooting it that you sit down and you have moments with your fellow actors, as opposed to having just a green screen behind you, just shooting each other. Not that I’ve done that before, but I might.
Amanda Seyfried and Channing Tatum at Apple's Soho store in New York City, February 2010
What’s been an influential love story for each of you?
Seyfried: [She says to Tatum] Can we say this together? I think we kind of agree on this.
Tatum: Go ahead.
Seyfried: "Romeo and Juliet," [the 1996 movie starring] Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes …
Tatum: [Directed by] Baz Luhrmann.
Seyfried: And Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor [in Luhrmann's 2001 film "Moulin Rouge"] …
Tatum: Yeah, "Moulin Rouge" was insane!
Seyfried: It’s so magical the way [Baz Luhrmann] directs. You become addicted to love when you see that, and that’s really a positive feeling. For me, ["Romeo and Juliet"] is by far the best love story ever told.
Tatum: I have to agree. There’s another movie I thought of just the other day: "What Dreams May Come." It’s really kind of a crazy movie with Robin Williams. I love that movie. It’s really magical.
Channing Tatum in "Dear John"
What makes a love story work on screen?
Tatum: There are so many things. It’s not just really one. I’d have to say chemistry is at the top. I’ve heard of other love stories where you think, "Oh my God! That’s so real." And the next thing you hear is that the [actors playing the lovers] wouldn’t even talk to each other after the takes are over.
Amanda, will you make a sequel to "Mamma Mia!" movie?
Seyfried: No, sadly. There’s a rumor going around that it’s happening and that I’m demanding a sick amount of money. Unfortunately, this time around, it’s been told to me that it’s not going to happen. So if it is going to happen, I probably won’t be in it, unfortunately. I want to go back to that island and shoot for years.
What’s the hardest part of making a movie?
Seyfried: Early mornings!
Tatum: Yeah, she’s not a morning person.
Seyfried: Weather-related activities, like making out in the rain.
Tatum: Staying focused, really, because you have to play around so much to keep your sanity. You’re working 13, 14 hours a day, sometimes six days a week, and it’s so intense. And then you shoot out of order. You have to remember what kind of energy went into the last scene that goes into this scene that could’ve been shot three weeks ago or hasn’t been shot yet. You’ve just got to stay focused and really think it out. Right around week four or five, you’re just like [he lets out an exhausted sigh], "What are we doing today?"
Amanda Seyfried at Apple's Soho store in New York City, February 2010
Do you have a favorite acting technique that you use in every film, or do you always do what the director says?
Tatum: Always do what the director says. That is the number-one technique. I don’t really use any specific technique. I’m not a Method actor. Think I’ve probably done Method things in preparation, but it depends on what it is, really. For "Stop-Loss," we did a seven-day boot camp, which is not a real boot camp — they’re not beating us up — but we are sleeping outside and having to go on missions and things like that, so that is sort of putting yourself in like conditions of what a Method actor would be. I don’t really see myself as a Method actor at all.
Seyfried: We’re both pretty instinctual. That’s why we’re both it works so well for us.
Tatum: Yeah. You just kind of do what comes. Sometimes you pull from your own life experiences. Sometimes you make it up as entirely a fantasy.
Did you do a lot of improvisation on "Dear John"?
Seyfried: A fair amount.
Any scene in particular?
Seyfried: The hard one, when [John and Savannah] came together for the first time in seven years, because they asked us to be really free and improv, because they had no idea what they wanted. They put it all on our shoulders. It actually ended up working really well.
Tatum: In my experience, especially on this film, when you improv, you tend to find the tone better, when you don’t have to worry about what you’ll be saying, because you instinctually know where the energy goes in the scene and what needs to be happening. But usually when you’re improv-ing, the words don’t always make sense because you’re just coming out off the cuff with it. And then once you get the tone right, you can bring the words back in.
Channing Tatum at a January 2010 "Dear John" event at North Carolina military base Fort Bragg
Did you have an idols when you were younger? Who’s your dream actor or actress that you’d like to work with somebody?
Tatum: My idol would have to be Jackie Gleason, if I had to pick one, but he’s gone, so I don’t think I’d be able t act with him, unless technology gets really, really good. And obviously, [Johnny] Depp, Leo [DiCaprio] and [Brad] Pitt … There are so many of them.
Seyfried: I like Kate Winslet a pretty good amount. I think it would be nice to work with her, because she’s really good, she’s really pretty, and she makes good choices.
Did any of the events in "Dear John" reflect any events in your real life?
Seyfried: I think [after] 9/11, I had the same reaction that Savannah did. Obviously, it was complete chaos and confusion and fear. I also have a long-distance relationship [with British actor Dominic Cooper], so I really relate.
Tatum: I guess John was kind of crazy when he was younger, and then he finds the military. I didn’t find the military. I found sports, so that was sort of the thing to calm me down, and the next thing was my high-school sweetheart. She was a really, really sweet girl, and she definitely chilled me out.
Where was your favorite place to film in "Dear John"?
Tatum: I guess it would have to be Folly Beach.
Seyfried: You mean the dust storm beach?
Tatum: Yeah, strike that [previous answer]. Savannah’s house. It was one of the most beautiful mansions that I’ve ever seen.
Amanda Seyfried in "Dear John"
Is there anywhere in the world that you’d love to do a movie?
Seyfried: I would love to shoot in Barcelona — and Chan, I think you’re going to!
Tatum: [He laughs.] Yes, I’m about to do a week in Barcelona, and it’s going to be amazing. I’m going to get to go to Dublin before that. I just shot [a movie] in Scotland, which I thought was going to be the most amazing thing, but it turned out to be the most torturous thing. Scotland, by far, is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been, but the weather is absolutely unforgiving. So in light of that and being cold and miserable and wet, I’d like to go to somewhere like Amalfi [in Italy] or Rome to shoot. I think that would be pretty special.
How do you make yourself cry when you have to in a scene?
Seyfried: It depends on the day.
Tatum: It really does. Like the scene I had with Richard [Jenkins], I didn’t know if I could get there. It just takes a minute when you’re sitting there with an actor and you’re having that sort of connection, and something just really comes over you sometimes. Sometimes you really have to work.
Seyfried: I can tell you a secret. When I can’t get to that emotional point … we use menthol. Actually, a lot of actors don’t like to talk abut this: We put menthol near our eyes. Makeup artists actually own little sticks of menthol to blow in your eyes, and you start to tear up immediately. And then it sometimes gets the emotions running. It always has to come from the heart. You can’t have a crying scene and it not be real, but in order to propel that, sometimes you need the menthol. It’s really embarrassing to ask for it, but I’m sorry, I use it. I’m a menthol user.
Tatum: But the key is not to cry, and that will sometimes do it. It works for me.
RELATED LINKS ON EXAMINER.COM:
Interview with Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried for "Dear John"
Interview with Amanda Seyfried for "Chloe"
Photo credits: Photos #2, 4, 8, 10, 11, 14, 18 : Screen Gems. Photos #13, 17: Allied Integrated Marketing. All other photos: Getty Images.
Comments