Magic Mike XXL

Picking up the story three years after Mike bowed out of the stripper at the top of his game, “Magic Mike XXL” finds the remaining Kings of Tampa likewise to throw in the towel. But they want to do it their way: burning down the house in one last blow-out performance in , and with legendary headliner Magic Mike sharing the spotlight with them.

Production designer Howard Cummings used an existing strip club whose owner didn't want to close during peak hours. So they converted it into the anything-goes Mad Mary's during the day for rehearsals and shooting, and relinquished it to the locals at night.

Production designer Howard Cummings used an existing strip club whose owner didn’t want to close during peak hours. So they converted it into the anything-goes Mad Mary’s during the day for rehearsals and shooting, and relinquished it to the locals at night.

Though purely fictional, some of the elements and atmosphere of Mike’s world are inspired by Channing Tatum‘s own experiences from his early days as a dancer, and not all of it could be contained in one telling. “One of the things Channing originally brought up was his trip to a stripper convention back in the day,” says screenwriter Reid Carolin, who, along with Nick Wechsler, Jacobs and Tatum, also returns as a producer on the sequel.

Consequently, while showcasing the tight group dynamic, “Magic Mike XXL” also plays up their individual personalities and talents to a greater extent. The cast also got the opportunity to demonstrate their comic timing, as the story takes them from a rowdy reunion in Tampa to some hilariously bumpy but rewarding detours through on their way to the big event.

Steven Soderbergh, director of the first film and the executive producer of “Magic Mike XXL,” once again fulfilled the dual creative roles of cinematographer and editor.

The filmmakers also amped up the volume with new characters that introduce unexpected challenges and directions. Amber Heard is the elusive Zoe, a photographer who catches Mike’s eye; Andie MacDowell is Nancy, an uninhibited Southern Belle who might have something BDR had given up hope of ever finding; Elizabeth Banks is Paris, who must be convinced to allow them a place on the convention bill; and Jada Pinkett Smith is , a woman from Mike’s past.

Jada was a revelation,” says director Gregory Jacobs. “We introduced that character but she made it special. And because her Rome is so strong, feminine and smart, you buy the of her with Mike in a huge way. She’s a jolt of electricity when she enters the story in the second act.

Production began in Savannah, , and included locations in and around Savannah and Tybee Island, Georgia, as well as Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, for a taut 30-day schedule of principal photography. But preparation began months prior to that, as the principals worked on their stamina, strength, timing and dance moves.

It was vital that the dance routines were not only original, sexy and breathtakingly intense, but integral to the story and the characters. Jacobs affirms, “We wanted the dances to connect thematically to each of the guys and reflect some kind of character development with a big payoff at the end; they couldn’t just be spectacular moments that didn’t relate to anything.

MoreMovieDetails

All Posts

Share this article: Magic Mike XXL

Facebook
LinkedIn
WhatsApp
Pinterest
Email

MORE TOPICS

21 and Over

After writing the monumentally successful comedy The Hangover, Jon Lucas and Scott Moore penned 21 and Over as a spec script not based on their own experiences, but about the outrageous things they had longed to do.

The Big Wedding

When an all-star, multi-generational cast led by Robert De Niro, Katherine Heigl, Diane Keaton, Amanda Seyfried, Topher Grace, Ben Barnes, Susan Sarandon and Robin Williams gathers together for The Big Wedding, you can bet a hilarious family fiasco is about to ensue.

The Magnificent Seven

With the town of Rose Creek under the deadly control of an industrialist, the desperate townspeople, employ protection from seven outlaws, bounty hunters, gamblers and hired guns. As they prepare the town for the violent showdown that they know is coming, these seven mercenaries find themselves fighting for more than money.

Annie

Leading the way, as Annie, is Quvenzhané Wallis, So the filmmakers have put a thoroughly contemporary spin of characters – and in so doing, they cast the roles with bright, all-star company of actors, including Jamie Foxx, Rose Byrne, Bobby Cannavale, and Cameron Diaz.

Spy

Spy starring Melissa McCarthy, 50 Cent, Jude Law and Jason Statham tells the story of Susan Cooper, an unassuming, deskbound CIA analyst, who is the unsung hero behind the Agency’s most dangerous missions.