By Christina Radish

Ryan Phillippe at the premiere of "Stop-Loss" held at the Directors Guild of America in West Hollywood, Calif. on March 17, 2008.

Ryan Phillippe, and co-star Channing Tatum, recently spoke to MediaBlvd Magazine about the policy of Stop-Loss, and its affect on soldiers and their families.

MediaBlvd Magazine> How did you each become involved with this project? Did (director) Kimberly Peirce specifically choose you?

Channing Tatum> I chose Kimberly on this one. I heard that Kim was doing a movie. I loved her first film. I read the script and had no idea about Stop-Loss. I just fell in love with it, and my character, Steve. The idea of playing a soldier was always in my mind. And, I thought that Steve embodied someone that I’ve always wanted to be. I just never really had the balls to go and join the military, you know? Then I did a really extensive audition process. It was long, back and forth to New York, and stuff like that, until I eventually came onto the movie.

Ryan Phillippe> I read the script. I had just finished working and I was worn out, and I went to meet with Kim. We had a decent meeting, but she didn’t want me and the studio kind of did. I spent more time with her, and then, at that point, I wasn’t sure whether or not it was right for me either. I felt like she was the filmmaker and she was having me forced upon her. And then, I guess she changed her mind. We started spending time together and developed a great working relationship, and I decided it was a great opportunity to work with her and to play this character. There was so much range, and all of the emotion and stuff, with this guy. As we started shooting, I was so happy that it all worked out because I loved the experience and everyone I was working with so much.

MediaBlvd> Ryan, how do you see your character then?

Ryan> I see him as a guy who has always known what is right, and he’s lived that way, through most of his life. He is a very straight-forward, decent, honest guy. And, through the events of this movie, he finds himself having to reconsider all those things about himself. I think that crisis of conscience and that soul-searching over what is duty and honor and weighing what is most important to you, has always been black and white to him. There’s a right way to do things, and a wrong way.

MediaBlvd> You guys play best friends. Did you work on that dynamic before filming?

Channing> I had never met Ryan before, and we just got thrown into Hollywood boot camp together, for six days, out in the 106-degree heat of Austin, which was binding in itself. When you camp, there’s no TV. There’s no nothing, so you just have to sit and talk to each other. And, Ryan came on and was just the leader, immediately. I took to that, and we all just sort of fell into our roles. It was a learning experience. It was like summer camp for kids, where we got to shoot guns and learn urban combat, and stuff.

Ryan> You’d be surprised how close you can get over the course of six days, when you’re with a group of guys, around the clock. It was one of the best things Kim did for us, and for the film, because it was genuine, and I think you see and feel it in the movie. That boot camp laid the groundwork for where we are all at today. We are all still hanging out and staying in touch because it was real, and we all genuinely like each other, even though it is a pretty diverse group, in terms of age and background.

Channing> We all get together. Ryan’s got kids, so he’s a little more locked down, but we all spent New Year’s together, out in the country. We’re a family like that. A lot of people say, “Yeah, we’re all family,” on movies, but this is really real. I love these guys!

MediaBlvd> How did you prepare yourselves to play Texans? Did you just talk to a lot of people there, or did you have friends?

Channing> Being in Austin helped. It’s so atmospheric. Everyone talks funny.

Ryan> I know I put on the jeans and the cowboy hat the whole time I was there. And, I listened to all the country music.

Channing> I’m from Alabama and I love country music, but I didn’t listen to it as much as Ryan did. He listened to it like a maniac.

Ryan> I had to overcompensate because I am from the Northeast coast.

MediaBlvd> What was filming a big movie in Austin like?

Channing> It was cool. They embraced us. The more we went out, the managers in the bars were like, “Yeah, come on back!” It was fun. We had a good time. We lived right on 6^th Street, so you couldn’t walk out of your house without running into some of dunk person.

MediaBlvd> Once you learned about the policy of Stop-Loss, how important was that in your decision making process to take these roles?

Channing Tatum at the premiere of "Stop-Loss" held at the Directors Guild of America in West Hollywood, Calif. on March 17, 2008.

MediaBlvd> Do you have an opinion about Stop-Loss?

Channing> I don’t like to get political, but I feel like, if there was a regular draft, like with Vietnam, I don’t think there would still be a war. It would affect richer families, and I do not think we would be at war anymore.

Ryan> I don’t like the term a lot of people are throwing around, “The backdoor draft,” because a lot of soldiers know about Stop-Loss. They know about the clause. Some of them don’t. I think some of it is brushed under the rug and breezed over and not brought to attention, but this is the only war it’s been used in, really.

Channing> And, I think the soldiers now are slightly more aware because we’re four or five years in. It’s happened to a lot of people they know. When they signed up, it wasn’t something they were told up front. It’s not a big selling point, when you are trying to get someone to sign up.

Ryan> I’d hate to have it happen to me. I can understand the frustration, if someone signs up and dedicates themselves and survives the length of what their contract was meant to be, and then they’re called back. These soldiers hate being there, and it is boring. It’s a desert, and they sit, every day, and think, “I’m gonna get out. I’m gonna give my mother a hug. I’m gonna have a baby. I’m gonna get this job.” That’s what gets them through their time over there. So, I can’t imagine having all of that taken away from you. It speaks to how unpopular this war really is, and how people do want it to end, to have to force people back into combat.

MediaBlvd> Did it surprise you to find out that Americans are in hiding, and that people that served our country are having to live under the radar now?

Ryan> It did, but I guess I would draw that same parallel to the ex-pats who are up in Canada, or who went off to Mexico. That was the choice they were faced with when the draft was instituted. It’s surprising and, hopefully, that will change. It’s a dangerous thing for the soldiers. It’s also a dangerous thing for the civilians on the foreign soil. The army will now accept people that have legitimate injuries and deficiencies, and put that back into combat because they can’t get enough people over there. I know people who are in the National Guard in their 60s, and they’ll take them to Iraq, even if they only put them in a desk job. Back in the old days, if you had a strain or a bad back, you couldn’t even get in the army. Now, you can be blind in one eye and be put on the battlefield. That disturbs me.                    

MediaBlvd> Have either of you made any trips overseas, with the USO, to see things first-hand?

Ryan> No, I haven’t.

Channing> I haven’t, but I plan to. Me and Joe, and a few other guys, are planning on doing some sort of documentary. We’re still shaping what it’s really gonna be about. I just want to know what the soldiers think. What do they think about all these war films coming out? I want to give them the camera and let them ask me questions. Do they think Hollywood is doing a good job? Do we get it right? I know we can’t get it right. That’s impossible. We can get it close, and we can try our hardest, but we are never gonna know what it’s like to be in war. All we can do is create a real person and try to be a real soldier.

MediaBlvd> Channing, you have both G.I. Joe and Public Enemies coming out in 2009. Can you talk a little bit about what attracted you to G. I. Joe, and what the experience has been like. And, also are you looking forward to working with Johnny Depp and Christian Bale for Public Enemies?

Channing> Oh, man! That goes without saying. That’s obvious. I’ve been a huge fan of both those guys, and (director) Michael Mann. I get to play Pretty Boy Floyd, and Christian Bale gets to shoot me. I’ve never died in a movie. I’m a little nervous. And, with G. I. Joe, I was originally opposed to it, especially coming off of Stop-Loss and playing a soldier about a really sensitive topic. I had no interest in going to play a fake soldier, in a hyper-real fantasy war. I was just like, “Nope. No thanks!” And then, it came back around, and I met on it. I finally read the script, and it was great. It actually has nothing to do with war at all. It’s like The X-Men, Mission Impossible and Star Wars. I got excited about it and jumped on. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is also in it, so that was more of an incentive. I love him. He’s one of my best friends. And, to get the chance to work with him for a long time is really fun.

MediaBlvd> Ryan, what’s Franklyn? Is that something you’ve already finished?

Ryan> Yeah, that’s something I’ve finished. It’s a strange movie. It’s hard to describe. It’s essentially four different characters whose lives intersect in London. It’s with Eva Green and Sam Riley, who’s really great. It’s Batman meets Magnolia.

MediaBlvd> It’s a futuristic film?

Ryan> I play two characters, and the majority of it takes place in an alternate reality. But, the whole movie isn’t set in the future.

MediaBlvd> Ryan, do you know what your next project is going to be?

Ryan> I am writing right now. It is something I’m hoping to direct this fall. It’s a small, dark comedy based on a true-crime story, probably set in Texas.

Channing> I wanna work with Ryan. I want him to direct me, one day.