channing tatum - step up production notes
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  Cast Infos Other MoviesThe Vow 2012
21 Jump Street 2012
Haywire 2012
The Son of No One 2011
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Step Up 2006
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 Surrounding Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan in STEP UP is an accomplished cast of both young newcomers and award-winning stars. The adult side of the cast is headed up by Academy Award nominee Rachel Griffiths, who plays the key role of the performing arts school’s Principal Gordon. Fresh off her critically acclaimed and long running role on HBO’s dark drama “Six Feet Under,” Griffiths was looking to break out into something completely different. When she read STEP UP, she knew this was it.
“I was drawn to the film because I thought it would be great to be in such a youthful, vibrant, hopeful environment,” says the actress. “Plus I was a huge ‘Fame’ fan. There’s something so wonderful about people at the beginning of their lives. It’s not that there isn’t pain or struggle but there’s also this beautiful, sexy optimism and I wanted to be around that.”
Griffiths was also intrigued by the effect her character has on Tyler, an outsider to the school but someone in deep need of inspiration and direction. "I see Director Gordon as someone who is really tough but really fair,” says Griffiths. “She knows when kids are putting it on the line and she always wants to bring out the best in them. So that’s why she challenges Tyler to find in himself the kind of fight to pursue the positive. She really throws down the gauntlet and he responds. It's a great moment because nobody's ever asked that of Tyler – but she believes he can rise to the occasion.”
Anne Fletcher was thrilled to have an actress of Griffiths caliber take on such a key role. “We talked about who the character was and where we wanted to go with her – and then Rachel went off and created something fantastic,” she remarks. “As such a skilled actress, she was very exciting to work with.”
Another focus of casting became finding the ensemble of talented teens at the school, as well as Tyler’s fun-loving friends back in the neighborhood. One of the first young stars to be cast was Mario, the Baltimore-based, platinum-selling R&B artist who broke out when he himself was only 15 but has yet to make his mark in film. He read for the role of Miles, who helps to guide Tyler through the world of Maryland School of the Arts. “As soon as the doors shut after Mario left the reading, we all said “We have to hire him”. “He is so special ” says Anne Fletcher.
Mario was drawn to the realistic portrait of Miles. "He's a very cool character and he seemed very authentic to me,” he says “He came from the hood” and then to this school to make his life better. I like that the whole idea of the film is that you’ve got to persevere if you want to attain your dreams, which is true no matter where you come from.”
He also sees Miles as key to Tyler’s transformation: "Miles is real valuable to Tyler because he’s the one who can set him straight,” says Mario. “In the beginning, they’re kind of standoffish with each other because they're both from real bad places. But I think Miles understands that Tyler’s emotional issues comes from that fact that he really doesn’t know how to trust anyone yet – and he knows that can change.”
Starring as Nora’s best friend Lucy is newcomer Drew Sidora, a Chicago-born actress, dancer and singer who, without even an agent to rep her, sent a tape to the casting department at Disney hoping someone would give her a chance. “On the tape, Drew was just sitting in her living room reading lines, and it felt so natural and vibrant. Then she sang, a cappella, this beautiful song – and when we saw that, we just had to cast her,” says Feig.
Sidora says she wanted to be part of what she calls, "a love story told through dance." She continues, "Lucy is Nora's best friend, and is a really fun character who has her own transformation. She starts off as someone who goes after men who are not particularly good for her. But when she notices Miles, they connect and she realizes that love can be something really positive."
Rounding out the cast as Tyler’s shocked and dismayed friends from the old neighborhood are Damaine Radcliff, the six foot six actor who last played a basketball player in “Glory Road,” as Tyler’s best friend Mac; and De’Shawn Washington who plays Mac’s younger brother, Skinny, and celebrated his 16th birthday on the set. Ironically, both Radcliff and Washington are skilled dancers but neither one gets a chance to make a move in the film. Instead, their roles are more about the changes and rough roads that friendships go through.
Says Radcliff: “My character starts out tight with Tyler Gage, the best of buddies, sidekicks side by side. Then Mac becomes suspicious of who Tyler is becoming with all the dancing and everything kind of falls apart. We don’t hang out anymore. We aren’t hustling together anymore. And it takes awhile for Mac to realize it’s time for him to try to do something with his life, too.”
Also featured in the rousing finale of STEP UP are teenage brothers Damien and Tourie Escobar, a musical duo known as Nuttin But Stringz. Born and raised in the Southside Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, New York, the brothers took up the violin, a dicey pursuit in that particular neighborhood. Both studied at Juilliard and the Bloomingdale School of Music, and then started playing in subway stations, attracting crowds with their distinctive sound, a unique blend of classical, jazz, rhythm & blues, and hip-hop. They have performed at the Apollo Theatre, and on “The Jay Leno Show,” where Anne Fletcher first saw them, and immediately wanted them to be part of STEP UP.
"I already knew what I wanted for the finale of the movie, which was hip-hop meets an orchestra. So when I heard them, I got on the phone as fast as I could with our music supervisor Buck Damon to get them in the movie. We have them in our opening shot playing Vivaldi, and then in the finale. I was so excited to be able to include them."
In addition to the main cast, several crew members can be seen on screen in STEP UP – director Anne Fletcher is Miss Stephanie, the dance teacher; director of photography Michael Seresin dons overalls to play the part of the Custodian; producer Erik Feig can be seen in the background as the Art Teacher; and additional 2nd assistant director Bill Hardy is the Music Teacher.
Next Page: Set to the Beat: The Choreography of Step Up |
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