Perhaps we're not quite as excited for this film as E! Online writer Ted Casablanca, whose breathless reports about the picture are kind of amusing (even straight guys didn't write this breathlessly about, say, "Showgirls," did they?), but two Steven Soderbergh films in one year ain't too bad. The first one of 2012 arrives in January, Gina Carano's action thriller "Haywire." The picture also co-stars Channing Tatum, who's directly responsible for Soderbergh's second film of next year, the stripper film "Magic Mike." Based on Tatum's experiences as a male stripper in his pre-fame days, the actor pitched it to the filmmaker a few months after "Haywire" wrapped and the Academy Award-winning director was intrigued by the prospect of a film milleu he'd never really seen onscreen before.
Written by producer Reid Carolin — he is President of Iron Horse Entertainment, the production company he started with Tatum — the picture features an all-star cast of on-the-rise male actors, plus a a few veterans including Tatum himself: Alex Pettyfer, Matthew McConaughey, Matt Bomer, Joe Mangianello, Olivia Munn, Riley Keough, Cody Horn and Adam Rodriguez to name a few. And in case you wondered whether Soderbergh bailing on Warner Bros. "The Man From U.N.C.L.E" was contentious, note that WB is distributing "Magic Mike." Not only that, so confident are the studio that they are releasing the film (called a dramatic comedy), on June 29, 2012 in a wide release. Consider that quite the piece of anti-tentpole summer programming as the film will go up against Paramount's "G.I. Joe: Retaliation"which ironically enough also stars Channing Tatum. Ladies, you'll have to choose between two types of Tatum, and we suspect, judging by this first-look photo above, the decision will be an obvious one.
Here's the official synopsis: set in the world of male strippers, "Magic Mike" is directed by Steven Soderbergh and stars Channing Tatum ("Dear John," "Step Up") in a story inspired by his real life. The film follows Mike (Tatum) as he takes a young dancer called The Kid (Pettyfer) under his wing and schools him in the fine arts of partying, picking up women, and making easy money.
While it's not yet rated, we're hoping for a Hard-R, just to make male audiences squirm. And/or make Ted really happy.
