It was a Sunday night and I was sitting up in bed scrolling through my facebook before bed as always. Not expecting anything out of the ordinary, I was just about to log off when it happened – the event dropped. ‘Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum Speak to the Phil’ . . . Not an awful lot of information, but just enough to get the hype rolling.
The whole affair felt very ‘Hollywood’. A ticketed event, fans were made queue up in the arts block days before the event happening with some super fan girls showing up as early as 5am just to get their names down on the coveted guest-list. A passer-by remarked; “Why are people bothered about this? Is it because he’s hot?” – The answer to this flying statement, in my opinion, is No.
Both of the actors have truly excelled in their fields, and contributed a huge amount to the entertainment and film industry. Jonah Hill, one of the greatest comedic actors of our time, has been nominated for two Academy Awards and has starred in a multitude of marvellous movies such as Superbad, Get Him in the Greek, Knocked Up, Moneyball and most recently the Wolf of Wall Street. He is also a talented producer, screenwriter and voice actor, having co-produced films such as Brüno, and his voice features in the movie How to Train Your Dragon.
Whispers of “I hope he notices me”, and “I wonder will they be going out tonight?” were rippling through the soon-to-be audience members, and signs reading “WELCOME TO IRELAND JONAH” and “Marry me Channing!”
Channing Tatum, similarly, has a huge list of excellent movies he has starred in such as Dear John, The Vow, She’s the Man, Step Up, White House Down, and many more. He is a producer, actor, model, and dancer and was named the People Magazines Sexiest Man Alive 2012. So, yes, he is really hot, but that is certainly not the only reason why people were bothered about this event.
The address took place in the newly renovated Screen cinema on College Street. The atmosphere was absolutely electric, the place was buzzing with the voices of the few hundred humans that had showed up to have a bit of glamour injected into their lives. Whispers of “I hope he notices me”, and “I wonder will they be going out tonight?” were rippling through the soon-to-be audience members, and signs reading “WELCOME TO IRELAND JONAH” and “Marry me Channing!” were to be seen in the crowd of mainly school uniform-clad gals waiting outside the cinema. Coming from a photo shoot in front square of college, the two men accompanied by their massive entourage and all of Phil Council, showed up to the event an hour late, in true Hollywood style.
The Q&A was shaky to begin with, as a lot of the major fans were having trouble coping with the fact that they were real and they were in the room. Initial questions ranged from asking the actors what they didn’t like about each other, to one super fan requesting they have a dance off against each other. Once the initial excitement calmed down, and the audience became comfortable again, the questions started getting a little bit more serious.
When asked about his writing style, and where he would like to see it going in the future, Jonah said:
“It’s all about collaboration…Writing is the most lonely thing but when you’re with people you’re in the bunker together, sitting there together creating new things which is a lot more fun.”
“I learn something from everybody I work with. From senior actors to the new guys, you can steal from all of them.”
They both expressed how they’d been so lucky with their co-stars in the past, with Channing saying that he loves that he’s been able to work with so many different, talented people in the past and hopefully will continue to.
“I learn something from everybody I work with. From senior actors to the new guys, you can steal from all of them.”
It was obvious that the guys are very good friends, constantly interjecting each other and making fun of one another and the answers they were giving. When Jonah said he would love to collaborate with Jessica Chastain Channing immediately cut in with, “Yeah, pick the most beautiful person you’ve ever met.”
The conversations then moved into the different styles of acting the two are both involved in and how the cope with transitioning from comedic acting to a more serious dramatic style.
Jonah, saying he wanted a career where he could do both comedy and serious acting expressed how happy he was that his career has finally become that. He said that when preparing for a film it’s important to get into the mind-set of the character. He especially enjoyed playing a ‘real person’ as in the Wolf of Wall street where he actually got to meet people who knew the man who’s character he was going to be portraying.
Channing commented that: “It’s just acting. I was terrified of doing comedy. But once you just believe what you’re saying, it’s easy to make yourself into different characters in difference scenarios.”
He then went on to say how all of his different experiences in life before acting have been really positive in helping him find the right emotions for whatever work he is doing.
“The world was my teacher. I have real experiences to draw from, some good some bad, but either way you if you’ve immersed yourself in so many things it means you just have a lot to draw from.”
The Q&A was wound up by an audience member asking Jonah Hill which out of Michael Cera, James Franco and Seth Rogan would he Shoot, Shag, Marry. To this he said, Marry Cera, as they’d have a pretty solid relationship, shag Seth as they wouldn’t be awkward afterwards, and then shoot James in the baby toe as he actually wouldn’t want to hurt any of them that badly.
Unexpectedly, the focus of the event was not on 22 Jump Street, the sequel to 21 Jump Street which both of the actors are starring in. 22 Jump Street is in cinemas in Ireland on the 6th June, where will we see Hill and Tatum play the roles of officers Schmidt and Jenko who go under cover again, this time in College.
The highlight of the entire event, however, was the MC who was warming up the crowd before the talk began. A fantastic DJ, spinning the top 40 tracks, he got all of the fans screaming WOO and had a Q&A of his own with the crowd about 21 and 22 Jump Street knowledge to get the party started. He even gave a Happy Birthday shout out to two Phil regulars, Anna Harrington and Martha Fitzgerald who turned 21 and 22 that day!
