Channing Tatum - Step Up Production Notes 1

<A class="APCAnchor" HREF="http://affiliates.allposters.com/link/redirect.asp?AID=246987&PSTID=5&LTID=16&lang=1">Buy Posters at AllPosters.com </A>

Motivational Posters

Grand Poster Store

On the heels of executive producing “Mr. And Mrs. Smith,” STEP UP producer Erik Feig wanted to make the kind of classic, music-driven, character-focused movie that he and his friends had found so mesmerizing while growing up. Having been inspired by such entertainments as “Saturday Night Fever,” “Fame” and “Dirty Dancing” – and moved by recent films that ventured realistically into the hip-hop world such as “8 Mile” and “Save The Last Dance” -- Feig felt it was time to bring back the genre with a fresh, gritty take inspired by today’s youth issues and styles.

“This is an idea that I’d been thinking about for many years,” says Feig. “I remember that era when great music-oriented movies were not just aimed at girls but had a guy’s point of view, too, and that really interested me. There’s something so universal in the love of music, and I wanted to make a movie that would appeal to everyone, as much to men as to women. That’s why I liked the idea of setting STEP UP around a scrappy underdog who finds an unlikely dream and gives it his all to make it happen.” It was from a true-life, pivotal moment that the character of Tyler Gage -- who gets his one shot at a different future and an unlikely romance when he is forced to do community service at a performing arts school -- was born.

Along with his Summit Entertainment producing partner Patrick Wachsberger, Feig began to search for a director. It was then that Feig had a stroke of luck – running into renowned choreographer, director and producer Adam Shankman at his local gym. “Erik ran up to me and actually said these words: ‘Who’s the next you?’” recalls Shankman. “Why, I wondered, have I passed on? Am I done? But I came to realize that he was asking who was going to be the next great choreographer who wanted to breakout as a director, and if I knew that person."

It turns out that Shankman definitely did. He immediately had in mind Anne Fletcher, one of the contemporary film world’s leading choreographers who made her debut with the hit “Bring It On” and has gone of to choreograph key sequences for some two dozen film and television projects.

"I've worked with Anne since 1990 and we were dancers together for Paula Abdul on the Oscars®. She has been one of my best friends and was my assistant when I was still a choreographer,” explains Shankman. “When I started directing movies, she sort of took over my choreography career. Then, she absolutely exploded artistically.”

He continues: “When Erik told me about STEP UP, I knew it would be perfect for Anne because it she has always been incredibly strong with actors, she’s deeply passionate and most of all, she’s a really good storyteller.”

Fletcher met with the producers and they were instantly won over by her rapidly flowing ideas and enthusiasm. Eager to work with his protégé in a whole new capacity, Shankman also came on board as a producer, bringing with him his producing partner and sister, Jennifer Gibgot.

Gibgot, who has danced all her life, fell in love with the story’s mix of music, romance and explosive cultural tension – and made a catalytic suggestion: to turn the story, then focused on a young musician, into a dance film. The final decision to do so was made in part because she felt it was important to draw upon Fletcher’s incredible knowledge of and enthusiasm for the world of dance. "I think love and dance will always be a winning combination,” she observes.

“But this story also has a really modern, raw feel. It's a morality tale, a movie about a kid versus the streets, about a kid who has only one chance at a long-shot dream. I think it’s a story that appeals to both young and old because it’s about having hope and finding the strength to dig yourself out from the hole that you're in."

The filmmakers began to work with screenwriter Duane Adler, who earlier made his debut with the teen hit “Save The Last Dance” starring Julia Stiles. Also brought on board was co-writer Melissa Rosenberg, who the filmmakers sought out because of the hip, current style she had honed on the extremely popular TV series, “The O.C” – only to discover she was also an accomplished dancer herself.

Adler added his turbulent experiences growing up as an outsider to the mix. “My family moved a lot when I was a kid and I personally attended six different high schools as a teenager,” he explains. “While I wasn't a foster child like Tyler, I certainly felt misplaced and it was my discovery of the arts as a junior in high school that in many ways changed my life."

He related intensely to Tyler’s struggles to make it. Adler continues: “I always saw Tyler as someone who is very gifted but faces an uphill battle. The new world of Maryland School of the Arts school becomes his salvation, but first he has to prove himself and he also has to wrestle with his feelings of loyalty to his old friends and his old way of life, while realizing at any moment he could lose it all. That’s what makes him such a moving character to me.”

Meanwhile, Rosenberg, who majored in dance in college and danced with a small troupe before becoming a writer, brought a true dancer’s POV to the storyline. "This film was an amazing experience,” she says. “It was finally a chance to dance again, on the page if not on the floor.”

Adler and Rosenberg chose stark, urban Baltimore as the story’s location because both were familiar with it and it seemed to suit the edgier tone of the story. "It has a very rugged, blue-collar vibe, and lots of history with the old row-houses and neighborhoods,” Adler notes. “But it also has a very artistic and beautiful side. The story really contrasts those two worlds as we watch Tyler go from home to school and back again."

To bring out the rhythms and pulse of today’s most talented high school teens, Adler also spent nearly six weeks observing at a local performing arts high school. "I went to classes with the students, sat in on rehearsals and lunch breaks, and watched them prepare for their spring finale performance,” he says. “The idea was always to bring as much authenticity to this story as possible.”

When Anne Fletcher read the script, she knew STEP UP would be a tremendous opportunity for her directorial debut. “I knew I could do it because I really understand the world of dance and young artists because that’s the world I grew up in,” she says. “I loved the script and I felt that it was a chance to tell a very truthful story. But I also knew that the first priority was to hire really good people, because a director is only ever as good as her team.”

Next Page: Casting Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan