After a long career making movies, some directors take on an increasing producer capacity (Steven Spielberg) while others go to their garage to tinker with passion projects (George Lucas).  Then there’s Oscar-winning director Steven Soderbergh, who currently has the male stripper movie Magic Mike out in theaters and two more projects on the horizon (Bitter Pill and Behind the Candelabra).  That last feature may be telling, as it will debut on HBO before opening to a theatrical audience.  And now it seems as if Soderbergh’s career intentions are leaning more towards the small screen in the future.  Hit the jump for some quotes from Soderbergh himself as to his potential move to television.

It hasn’t even hit theaters yet, but Steven Soderbergh’s Magic Mike may soon be headed to Broadway.  Magic Mike: The Musical is currently in development by Soderbergh and star Channing Tatum, whose early life as a male stripper led to the genesis of the film.  The duo plans to have the musical performing and on its way to Broadway by the summer of next year.  John Buzzetti of WME is bringing the project together, while Soderbergh and Tatum are producing alongside Gregory Jacobs, Nick Wechsler and Reid Carolin. Deadline reports that Carolin, who scripted the feature film, will also pen the musical adaptation.  Magic Mike, starring Tatum, Matthew McConaughey, Alex Pettyfer, Joe Manganiello, Kevin Nash and Olivia Munn opens June 29th.

Magic Mike is the best male-stripper comedy-drama I’ve ever seen.  Granted, it’s the only male-stripper comedy-drama I’ve ever seen, but it’s still an enjoyable and thoughtful movie that explores issues of sexual objectification, artistic integrity, and gender roles.  These weighty topics come about organically through the majesty of well-choreographed and imaginatievely-designed stripping performances.  The film also features surprisingly effective performances from Channing Tatum and Alex Pettyfer along with one of the best roles in Matthew McConaughey‘s career.  Director Steven Soderbergh‘s film mostly keeps to fresh territory, and it only goes astray when it has to move through stale, undeveloped conflicts.  But until it reaches those points, you’ll want to throw dollar bills at the screen.

Magic Mike tells the story of an entrepreneur named Mike (Channing Tatum), who is a man of many talents and seemingly endless charm.  When he’s not roofing houses, detailing cars and designing his own furniture, he’s headlining an all-male revue in Tampa that’s run by club owner Dallas (Matthew McConaughey) and features Ken (Matt Bomer), Big Dick Richie (Joe Manganiello), Tarzan (Kevin Nash) and Tito (Adam Rodriguez).  He sees potential in a 19-year-old co-worker who he calls the Kid (Alex Pettyfer) and takes him under his wing to teach him how to make easy money while taking full advantage of the lifestyle, but quickly realizes that he’s really looking for something more for his own life.  For more on the film, here’s twelve clips.

At the film’s press day, co-stars Channing Tatum (who’s also one of the film’s producers), Matthew McConaughey, Matt Bomer (White Collar) and Joe Manganiello (True Blood) talked about their lack of wardrobe, why male strip clubs are different than female strip clubs, how nervous they all were for their big dance numbers, what surprised them about making this film, and their favorite costumes.  Channing Tatum also talked about how he, himself, ended up stripping at 18 and why he decided to stop.  Check out what they had to say after the jump.

Magic Mike tells the story of an entrepreneur named Mike (Channing Tatum), who is a man of many talents and seemingly endless charm.  When he’s not roofing houses, detailing cars and designing his own furniture, he’s headlining an all-male revue in Tampa.  He sees potential in a 19-year-old co-worker who he calls the Kid (Alex Pettyfer) and takes him under his wing to teach him how to make easy money while taking full advantage of the lifestyle, but quickly realizes that he’s really looking for something more in his own life.  For more on the film, here’s twelve clips.

At the film’s press day, Academy Award-winning director Steven Soderbergh talked about the celebratory feel that comes from women at male strip shows, how some of the women got a little too over-zealous during filming (especially with Matthew McConaughey), how weird it was to direct his cast while they were wearing nothing but a thong, the aesthetic of the film, the process of preparation, choosing the actors’ thongs, and that there are full-length versions of the dance numbers edited together that could make it to the DVD.  Check out what he said after the jump.

12 clips from director Steven Soderbergh’s male stripper pic Magic Mike have been released.  The film is loosely based on Channing Tatum’s early days as a male stripper, and the actor stars as a stripping mentor to a young up-and-comer played by Alex Pettyfer.  With Soderbergh onboard, we can reasonably assume that this won’t simply be a straightforward, flashy stripper movie.  Early word has been strongly positive, and I’m eager to see what kind of story Soderbergh intends to tell against the backdrop of this kind of world.

Hit the jump to watch the clips.  The film also stars Matthew McConaughey, Matt Bomer, Joe Manganiello, Olivia Munn, Kevin Nash, Riley Keough, Cody Horn and Adam Rodriguez.  Magic Mike opens on June 29th.

With Steven Soderbergh‘s Magic Mike opening this weekend, we’ve been provided with some movie related swag to giveaway to some of our readers.  Starring Matthew McConaughey, Channing Tatum, Alex Pettyfer, Matt Bomer, Joe Manganiello, Olivia Munn, Kevin Nash, Riley Keough, Cody Horn and Adam Rodriguez, Magic Mike takes place in the world of male strippers.  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.”

Hit the jump for what you can win and how to enter.

We’ve got a good selection of new posters to share with you today (in addition to these awesome examples from the upcoming Total Recall reboot).  Here’s what we have to offer:

• Taken 2 – The sequel to Pierre Morel’s Taken features the return of ex-CIA operative Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) who finds himself on the wrong end of a kidnapping.  Taken 2 opens October 5th.
• Savages – Oliver Stone’s newest film stars Taylor Kitsch and Aaron Johnson as two marijuana dealers who must rescue their shared girlfriend (Blake Lively) from Mexican cartel runners (Salma Hayek and Benicio Del Toro). Savages opens July 6th.
• Magic Mike – Based on his real-life experience as a male stripper, Magic Mike follows Channing Tatum, Matthew McConaughey, Alex Pettyfer, Joe Manganiello and more through their daily (and nightly) exploits.  Magic Mike opens June 29th.
• Won’t Back Down – Based on a true story of the fight to reform urban education, Won’t Back Down stars Maggie Gyllenhaal and Viola Davis.  The film opens September 28th.

Hit the jump to check out the posters.

A couple of new red-band clips for director Steven Soderbergh’s Magic Mike have gone online.  Though there aren’t any gratuitous full-frontal shots, there’s plenty of shirtlessness, pantslessness and ass-shots to put the rest of us members of the male species to shame.  I’m beyond eager to see what Soderbergh has put together with this “stripper movie” and based on general buzz, the unofficial Year of Channing Tatum should continue full speed ahead on the heels of Magic Mike.

Hit the jump to watch the NSFW trailer and TV spot, and if you missed 53 high-resolution images from the film click here.  The film also stars Matthew McConaughey, Alex Pettyfer, Matt Bomer, Joe Manganiello, Olivia Munn, Kevin Nash, Riley Keough, Cody Horn and Adam Rodriguez.  The film opens on June 29th.

Ladies, you’ve been patient with our non-stop nerd postings related to all-things-superheroic (which I’m sure you enjoy, too), but we have a little treat for you.  We recently posted images of stars Matthew McConaughey, Channing Tatum and Alex Pettyfer in the stripper story, Magic Mike, but now we’ve got over fifty high resolution images.  You can also listen to what Tatum had to say about the project in this recent interview with Steve.  Directed by Steven Soderbergh and also starring Matt Bomer, Joe Manganiello, Olivia Munn, Kevin Nash, Riley Keough, Cody Horn and Adam Rodriguez, Magic Mike opens on June 29th.  Hit the jump to check out the images.

We’ve got a few new posters to share this afternoon.  Briefly:

• The Campaign – The first one-sheet for the political comedy starring Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis.  The film opens on August 10th. [Update: Another poster for The Campaign has now been added after the jump]
• Magic Mike – A new poster for director Steven Soderbergh’s “male stripper” pic, starring Channing Tatum, Alex Pettyfer and Matthew McConaughey.  The film opens on June 29th.
• The Perks of Being a Wallflower – Fresh off the trailer debut for the feature film adaptation, this first poster highlights stars Logan Lerman, Emma Watson, and Ezra Miller.  The film opens on September 14th.

Hit the jump to check out the posters.

When making a movie about male strippers, it’s nearly impossible to not throw in a variation of The Weather Girls‘ “It’s Raining Men.”  As such, this latest clip/trailer from Steven Soderbergh’s male stripper pic Magic Mike highlights Channing Tatum, Matt Bomer, and Alex Pettyfer performing an umbrella-enhanced routine to said  song.  The dance looks fun and ridiculous, and it’s still hard to believe that Soderbergh is behind the camera on this one.  It’s the unofficial “Year of Channing Tatum” and I’m incredibly interested to see what kind of story Soderbergh is telling with Magic Mike.

Hit the jump to watch the clip/trailer that will play during MTV’s Movie Awards.  The film also stars Matthew McConaughey, Joe Manganiello, Adam Rodriguez, Riley Keough and Olivia Munn.  Magic Mike opens on June 29th.

It’s another poster round-up and do we have an odd assortment to choose from today.  Here they are at a glance:

• Tim Burton’s animated Frankenweenie features a boy scientist who resurrects his canine companion, Sparky.  Starring Charlie Tahan, Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara and Martin Short, Frankenweenie opens October 5th.
• Magic Mike tells the true life story of what it’s like to be a male stripper.  Starring Channing Tatum, Matthew McConaughey, Joe Manganiello, Alex Pettyfer and Matt Bomer, Magic Mike opens June 29th.
• Step Up Revolution is the fourth installment in the franchise and stars Kathryn McCormick, Ryan Guzman and Adam G. Sevani.  The Scott Speer-directed dance-off drops July 27th.
• Danish import comedy, Klown, tells the hilarious tale of a male-bonding road trip gone awry.  The Mikkel Norgaard-directed comedy stars Frank Hvam, Casper Christensen and Marcuz Jess Petersen.

Hit the jump to see the posters.

A new UK trailer for director Steven Soderbergh’s male stripper movie Magic Mike has gone online.  The film is loosely based on star Channing Tatum’s days as a stripper, and the actor plays a mentor to a young “exotic dancer” played by Alex Pettyfer.  Most of the first trailer focused squarely on Tatum’s character and his furniture-making skills, but this trailer shows us a lot more of the mentor/mentee relationship.  We also get some new looks at Matthew McConaughey, who is pitch-perfect as the nightclub’s ringleader.   I’m always down for a new Soderbergh project, and I’m eager to find out what he saw in Tatum’s story that he thought would make a great movie.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The film also stars Riley Keough, Olivia Munn, Matt Bomer, Joe Manganiello, Cody Horn, and Adam Rodriguez.  Magic Mike opens on June 29th.

The line-up for 2012′s Los Angeles Film Festival has been announced and, as expected, Woody Allen’s To Rome With Love will kick things off.  LAFF 2012 will also feature the world premiere of Steven Soderbergh’s Magic Mike to close out the festivities.  Between those two screenings, the world premiere of Dreamworks Pictures’ People Like Us will also be featured, along with screenings of Lorene Scafaria’s Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, Ava DuVernay’s Middle of Nowhere and Benh Zeitlin’s Beasts of the Southern Wild. The festival runs from June 14th to the 24th at L.A. LIVE in downtown Los Angeles for its 18th annual showing.  Hit the jump to see more of what you can expect from the eclectic mix of films at the 2012 Los Angeles Film Festival.