Tatum, Degeneres fire up ‘Magic Mike Live’
CTatum’s dancers definitely got Ellen Degeneres’ attention. “I’m still on my team,” Degeneres said Thursday after watching the male revue “Magic Mike Live” at the Hard Rock Hotel. “But I get it.”
The crowd roared back. Tatum, standing at her side, cheered along, too.
She and her film crew took in Thursday’s early performance for a segment of “The Ellen Degeneres Show.”
Degeneres and Tatum have been friends since 2010, when Tatum appeared on her show. It was two years before the first “Magic Mike” movie was released, and they spoke about Tatum’s brief career as a dancer in Tampa, Florida, when he was just 18 years old.
“We talked about this the first time I was on her show, when my actual stripper video came out,” Tatum, the creator of the “Magic Mike” stage show, said after Thursday’s performance. “I actually danced a little on the show, and it became a thing that we kept talking about.”
Thursday’s audience was unaware Tatum and Degeneres were even on the property, and when the two hit the stage the collective shriek from 450 fans (the vast majority female) was deafening.
How loud was it? The decibel reading from the soundboard when Tatum takes the stage is about 120; the sound of a jet engine is 130. As always, the performance was an uproarious exercise — Tatum and Degeneres were both drenched in sweat as they danced and tossed the show’s Magic Mike counterfeit currency at the cast.
“You can throw fake money around!” said Degeneres, who also fired the bills from a phaser-like sidearm. “You don’t even need to use your own money!”
Tatum said he’ll appear onstage again soon — and not just to introduce the performers.
“I promised, by the end of the year — knock on wood — that I’ll be on that stage,” he said. “But I can’t just go up there and dance. You’ve seen these guys. You need to look the part. These guys are in such great shape, and you feel bad about yourself.”
Tyson biopic set
The long-discussed feature film about Mike Tyson’s life and career is a go, says the man at the center of the story.
“It’s on, as of right now,” Tyson said Friday afternoon during an interview at SPI Entertainment’s offices in Green Valley. “Jamie Foxx has signed on for it. Filming hasn’t started yet, but it’s going to happen.”
Foxx is set to portray Tyson, and Martin Scorsese has signed on to direct the biopic.
Tyson says he expects Foxx to come see his new show “Undisputed Truth: Round 2” at Brad Garrett’s Comedy Club at the MGM Grand.
Reports of the film first surfaced in 2014. In January, Foxx said the project was still on and that he was looking forward to working with Scorsese, who directed Robert De Niro to an Oscar-winning performance in “Raging Bull,” the life story of boxing legend Jake Lamotta.
For this still-untitled film, Tyson has some advice for Foxx, who also won an Oscar as Ray Charles in “Ray.”
“Be abstract and expect to do the abnormal,” Tyson said, adding that he would be “a little bit nervous” having his life story splashed across the big screen.
As Tyson said in classic understatement, “A lot of people aren’t going to like the things I’ve done in my life.”
JLY to the Space
John Lloyd Young, who won the Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical for his performance as Frankie Valli in “Jersey Boys,” is booked at the Space at 8 p.m. on Dec. 8-9 (tickets are $45 at thespacelv.com). Young also starred as Valli in the 2014 film adaptation of the musical.
What Works in Vegas
Pete “Big Elvis” Vallee at the Piano Bar at Harrah’s.
His three afternoon sets drew a total of 760 fans to the free-admission show … and Tyson’s show at Brad Garrett’s Comedy Club, which sold out its opener Thursday.
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at jkatsilometes@ reviewjournal.com. Follow @ johnnykats on Twitter, @Johnnykats1 on Instagram.
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