{"id":215887,"date":"2025-10-11T03:46:09","date_gmt":"2025-10-11T03:46:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/215887\/"},"modified":"2025-10-11T03:46:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-11T03:46:09","slug":"channing-tatum-on-jump-street-3-and-his-r-rated-gambit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/215887\/","title":{"rendered":"Channing Tatum on Jump Street 3 and His R-Rated ‘Gambit’"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tChanning Tatum<\/a> knows a thing or two about patience, especially when it comes to construction.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cRenovations, man,\u201d he says, shaking his head. \u201cI\u2019ve been renovating my house for almost two and a half years now. It\u2019s just been a nightmare.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tThe actor hoots about lawsuits and lost money, but beneath the frustration, there\u2019s a telling throughline \u2014 endurance. The same dogged persistence that got him through a grueling house remodel defines his work in \u201cRoofman<\/a>,\u201d a film inspired by the real-life story of Jeffrey Manchester, a man who robbed multiple McDonald\u2019s restaurants, and when arrested, repeatedly escaped prison and found refuge in a Toys \u201cR\u201d Us.<\/p>\n

\n\tI share with Tatum that my first job was at McDonald\u2019s when I was 16, making $5.15 an hour \u2014 minimum wage at the time. Almost a decade later, around the time the events of \u201cRoofman\u201d take place, I was working at a Toys \u201cR\u201d Us in New Jersey as a human resources supervisor (the film\u2019s events take place in North Carolina). I was responsible for hiring during the holiday season when the company earned 80% to 90% of its annual revenue. In one scene, Tatum\u2019s co-star Peter Dinklage, who plays the store manager, even mentions that same statistic. Part of my job back then was to let nearly all of those temporary hires go on New Year\u2019s Eve, roughly 95% to 99% of them.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe irony isn\u2019t lost on Tatum. The man who once sold cologne at Macy\u2019s, worked fast food, and stripped in Florida nightclubs now plays a fugitive who turns a retail space into both his prison and his playground. \u201cWhat a dark side of Toys \u201cR\u201d Us I didn\u2019t know existed!\u201d he laughs, before pausing with a grin. \u201cIt\u2019s the kind of story that feels absurd and human at the same time. That\u2019s what Derek [Cianfrance] does best. He finds the heart in the chaos.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe performance is among Tatum\u2019s finest, the culmination of a career that has quietly built toward this moment. From his breakout in \u201cA Guide to Recognizing Your Saints\u201d to his raw work in \u201cFoxcatcher,\u201d Tatum has long balanced movie-star charisma with bruised, soulful intensity. In \u201cRoofman,\u201d he brings that duality to its most vulnerable point yet.\u00a0It could get him a Golden Globe nom, and perhaps make him a dark horse for some Oscar attention if it strikes the right chords.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cHe did bad things,\u201d Tatum acknowledges. \u201cBut he\u2019s not evil. He\u2019s funny, charming, delusional, and he survived solitary confinement for nearly a decade. That does something to a person.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tTatum still hasn\u2019t met the real Manchester, who remains incarcerated in North Carolina, but he plans to meet him. \u201cHe said something that stuck with me: \u2018When I\u2019m Happy Jeff, everything\u2019s great. But when they break the deal, when they don\u2019t give me what I\u2019m supposed to have, Bad Jeff shows up.\u2019 That\u2019s a simple truth. We all have a Bad Jeff somewhere inside us.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tWorking with Cianfrance, who co-wrote the script with Kirt Gunn, proved to be one of the most immersive experiences of his career. \u201cDerek is probably the most performance-loving director I\u2019ve ever worked with,\u201d Tatum says. \u201cHe thinks of the character first, and then builds the world around them from the inside out.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tCianfrance\u2019s process was demanding, unorthodox, but always enjoyable. \u201cHe\u2019d say, \u2018Give me the Seinfeld one \u2014 talk with your hands the whole time.\u2019 Or, \u2018Give me the Buster Keaton take, give me the Jerry Lewis take,’\u201d Tatum says with a laugh. \u201cWe\u2019d do a silent take where we just think the words. I guarantee you there\u2019s a silent version of this movie.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tDerek Cianfrance and Channing Tatum at Variety\u2019s Cover Party at TIFF.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMichelle Quance\/Variety<\/p>\n

\n\tOpposite Tatum is Oscar-nominee Kirsten Dunst<\/a> (\u201cThe Power of the Dog\u201d), playing Manchester\u2019s love interest and emotional anchor. \u201cI was terrified to work with her,\u201d he admits. \u201cShe\u2019s one of our greatest living actors, and people forget because she makes it look effortless.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tDunst gives what Tatum calls a performance that\u2019s \u201cslow, precise and devastating.\u201d Cianfrance intentionally kept the pair apart until filming their first scene together. \u201cThe second I looked into her eyes, every bit of nervousness was gone,\u201d Tatum says. \u201cI thought, \u2018She\u2019s going to make me better.’\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tAs he did in Bennett Miller\u2019s psychological drama \u201cFoxcatcher,\u201d Tatum poured every part of himself into \u201cRoofman.\u201d He recalls his experience with co-star Mark Ruffalo years earlier: \u201cWe held each other and cried for minutes. That movie was a meditation on suffering. I\u2019ve never given that much of myself to a part \u2014 until this one.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tWhen the conversation turns to AI-generated performers like Tilly Norwood, Tatum pauses. \u201cI instinctually hate it,\u201d he says before sharing an interesting metaphor. \u201cBut every innovation in art has caused panic. When acrylic paint came out, oil painters said it wasn\u2019t real art. In the end, it\u2019s just another tool. Still, I hope humans always want to see real humans; to feel what\u2019s on screen that actually hurts and breathes.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tTatum\u2019s schedule remains busy. He lights up when the topic turns to Gambit \u2014 the long-delayed X-Men character he once tried to bring to life in a solo film before the Disney-Fox merger. His brief cameo in Shawn Levy\u2019s \u201cDeadpool and Wolverine\u201d finally gave him a taste of what might have been. \u201cIt was the most high-stakes cosplay of all time,\u201d he says, giddy and excited. \u201cI looked around and saw Deadpool, Wolverine, Blade \u2014 and I\u2019m standing there in full Gambit. I had this out-of-body kid moment.\u201d As for what comes next, Tatum hints that Marvel \u201chas ideas\u201d for the character\u2019s future. \u201cIf the fans really want it, I think there\u2019s a world where Gambit could finally get his due.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tWhen asked whether the long-lost \u201cGambit\u201d movie could ever rise from the ashes, Tatum smirks. \u201cLook\u2026if we\u2019d made our Fox version, that script would\u2019ve never gotten made \u2014 ever. It was an R-rated romantic comedy. And when I say R-rated, I mean we went for it,\u201d he says. \u201cWe made Gambit the kind of character who could only exist in a movie with Deadpool. We had mutants having sex! It was wild \u2014 full-on. That\u2019s something Marvel and Disney would never do. You don\u2019t always know what Disney will be, but you definitely know what it\u2019s not going to be. It\u2019s not gonna be horror. It\u2019s not gonna be sex. But I think Marvel needs that kind of tonal diversity; something to balance the other side. Gambit\u2019s a great opportunity for that. There\u2019s so much you can do with him, and he\u2019s slowly being built into the Marvel psyche. It\u2019s fascinating, and I think one day they\u2019ll figure it out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tHe grins, imagining another version of the film. \u201cIf Derek Cianfrance had directed it? Man, it would\u2019ve been \u2018Henrich.\u2019 He doesn\u2019t think in terms of special effects. He\u2019d be like, \u2018Why does he have to throw cars? Why can\u2019t we do it practical?\u2019 That\u2019s how his brain works. Always grounded, always human.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\u201c21 Jump Street<\/a>\u201d <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\u00a9Columbia Pictures\/courtesy Everett Co \/ Everett Collection<\/p>\n

\n\tThe spark dims slightly when the conversation turns to the long-delayed \u201c21 Jump Street\u201d sequel. Despite what Tatum calls \u201csincerely the best script I\u2019ve ever read for me and Jonah [Hill],\u201d the project has repeatedly stalled in development, weighed down by what he describes as outsized budgets and producer fees that keep sinking it.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI get asked more about \u2018Jump Street 3\u2019 than any other movie on the face of the planet that I\u2019ve ever done,\u201d Tatum says. \u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019ll ever happen. The problem is the overhead. It would cost as much as the actual budget of the film \u2014 if not more \u2014 because of all the producers involved. It\u2019s just too top-heavy. It falls over every time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAccording to Tatum, he, Hill and directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller have agreed to smaller producer fees. The sticking point, he says, remains producer Neal H. Moritz\u2019s compensation, which has made the project financially unworkable. \u201cNeal\u2019s price for a producer fee is huge,\u201d Tatum shares. \u201cAnd to be honest, that\u2019s what\u2019s killing it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe first film grossed $201 million worldwide in 2012, followed by $331 million for the 2014 sequel. Yet despite several attempts, including a scrapped crossover with \u201cMen in Black,\u201d Sony and the filmmakers have struggled to get a third installment off the ground.<\/p>\n

\n\tNext for the actor, he\u2019s headed to Australia to star in \u201cCockroach,\u201d directed by \u201cCaptain Fantastic\u201d helmer Matt Ross, which he calls \u201cthe role of a lifetime. Three movies in one, and totally bonkers.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tAs we wrap, Tatum makes his way out of the Variety offices and stops in the hallway, where a framed photo of Andrew Garfield and Ryan Reynolds from their Variety Studio: Actors on Actors shoot<\/a> catches his eye. Pulling out his phone, he records a playful video addressed to Reynolds. \u201cWhy are you in this car? Where are you driving to?\u201d he jokes, grinning as he walks toward the exit \u2014 a movie star still finding humor in the madness of Hollywood. \u201cI\u2019m sure he\u2019ll love that,\u201d as he sends the text.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Channing Tatum knows a thing or two about patience, especially when it comes to construction.\u00a0 \u201cRenovations, man,\u201d he…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":215888,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[40854,88,122350,65944,86512],"class_list":["post-215887","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-channing-tatum","tag-entertainment","tag-jump-street","tag-kirsten-dunst","tag-roofman"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215887","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=215887"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215887\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/215888"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=215887"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=215887"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=215887"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}